EvoPhylo
EvoPhylo added BEAST2 alongside MrBayes, then went quiet for two years.
Comparison · Analytics
mrbayes vs rjdqa
A side-by-side editorial comparison of mrbayes and rjdqa — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-package
mrbayes vs rjdqa: at a glance
What is mrbayes?
mrbayes spent 2026 auditing its own Bayesian MR estimators for coding errors.
mrbayes wraps Stan and JAGS implementations of Bayesian Mendelian randomization estimators — IVW, MR-Egger, radial Egger, and their multivariable forms. Most of the visible history is packaging work: dependency trimming, conditional examples so the package installs where JAGS will not compile, a maintainer handover. The 0.5.3 release in July 2026 breaks that pattern with a dense list of fixes inside the model code itself.
What is rjdqa?
rjdqa keeps refining one screen: the seasonal adjustment quality dashboard
rjdqa builds quality assessment dashboards for seasonal adjustment models produced by JDemetra+, aimed at official statisticians reviewing adjusted series. Essentially all development goes into two functions, simple_dashboard() and its denser variant simple_dashboard2(). Version 0.1.6 adds parameters to append observations to the forecast and to control whether the residual trading-days test is printed, defaulting to monthly series only, plus outlier table layout work and user-defined calendar regressor support in sc_dashboard().
mrbayes vs rjdqa: editorial side-by-side
mrbayes
0.0ANALYTICS
mrbayes spent 2026 auditing its own Bayesian MR estimators for coding errors.
◆ Current state
mrbayes wraps Stan and JAGS implementations of Bayesian Mendelian randomization estimators — IVW, MR-Egger, radial Egger, and their multivariable forms. Most of the visible history is packaging work: dependency trimming, conditional examples so the package installs where JAGS will not compile, a maintainer handover. The 0.5.3 release in July 2026 breaks that pattern with a dense list of fixes inside the model code itself.
◆ Where it's heading
The package has moved from packaging upkeep into a correctness-audit phase. 0.5.3 fixes a hardcoded three-exposure loop in MVMR-Egger reporting, a broken joint-prior branch, a sigma parameterization error in radial Egger, and several prior specifications — the profile of a maintainer reading their own model files closely rather than responding to bug reports. Platform work continues underneath: an R 4.3.0 floor inherited through a transitive dependency chain, and segfault fixes on macOS ARM.
◆ Prediction
Expect further audit-driven patches to the remaining rjags and Stan model files rather than new estimators; the fixes in 0.5.3 cluster in the Egger variants, which suggests that is where the reading is still in progress.
rjdqa
0.0ANALYTICS
rjdqa keeps refining one screen: the seasonal adjustment quality dashboard
◆ Current state
rjdqa builds quality assessment dashboards for seasonal adjustment models produced by JDemetra+, aimed at official statisticians reviewing adjusted series. Essentially all development goes into two functions, simple_dashboard() and its denser variant simple_dashboard2(). Version 0.1.6 adds parameters to append observations to the forecast and to control whether the residual trading-days test is printed, defaulting to monthly series only, plus outlier table layout work and user-defined calendar regressor support in sc_dashboard().
◆ Where it's heading
The package has converged on a single deliverable and is tuning it against reviewer practice. Each release adds a parameter that lets the analyst include or exclude one element of the dashboard, or adjusts how densely information is packed into the fixed space of the layout. The td_effect default — print the test only for monthly series — is characteristic: the knowledge about when a diagnostic is meaningful is being encoded into the tool rather than left to the reader.
◆ Prediction
The pattern of adding one toggle per diagnostic per release points at the same thing again, most likely another test given a conditional default, rather than a new dashboard function alongside the two that exist.
Alternatives to mrbayes and rjdqa
Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either mrbayes or rjdqa.
treespace
treespace ships once every year or two, and only when CRAN or a user forces it.
Rpath
Rpath 1.1.0 learns to read Ecopath's own files, easing migration off the desktop tool.
TAF
TAF keeps turning ICES stock assessments into reproducible, dependency-pinned projects.
parallelDist
parallelDist is in pure preservation mode — one build fix every few years.
cairo
Cairo finally catches R's graphics engine, all the way to GE API 16.
See all mrbayes alternatives → · See all rjdqa alternatives →
Recent activity from mrbayes and rjdqa
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agomrbayesEstimator audit fixes MVMR-Egger loops and radial Egger sigma
- 9mo agorjdqaForecast observations and conditional trading-days test in dashboards
- 1y agorjdqaFix tail() usage on ts objects
- 1y agomrbayesMVMR rjags example gated on rjags being installed
- 1y agomrbayesExamples and tests skip when rstan or rjags is missing
- 1y agomrbayespkgdown site updated
- 1y agomrbayesHelper command added for installing JAGS
- 1y agomrbayesDependency surface trimmed; maintainer handover
- 2y agorjdqaFix dependency minimums and outlier ordering
- 2y agorjdqasimple_dashboard2() added; deprecated sa_dashboard() removed
- 2y agorjdqasimple_dashboard() introduced; sa_dashboard() deprecated
- 7y agorjdqaFirst CRAN release
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between mrbayes and rjdqa?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. mrbayes and rjdqa are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is mrbayes better than rjdqa?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. mrbayes and rjdqa are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to mrbayes?
Top mrbayes alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "mrbayes alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/mrbayes for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to rjdqa?
Top rjdqa alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "rjdqa alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rjdqa-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.