r2rtf
The clinical-report table engine learned Chinese, then learned to leave RTF entirely
Comparison · Analytics
osmextract vs simtrial
A side-by-side editorial comparison of osmextract and simtrial — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
osmextract vs simtrial: at a glance
What is osmextract?
osmextract stopped throwing your OpenStreetMap downloads away at the end of every session.
osmextract downloads OpenStreetMap extracts from Geofabrik, BBBike and openstreetmap.fr and translates them into sf objects via GDAL. The 0.6.0 release moved its download cache from `tempdir()` to a persistent `tools::R_user_dir()` location and raised the R floor to 4.1.0 to get it. It also made spatial `place` inputs self-clipping: pass an sf or bbox object and the boundary is now set to match, so only the relevant slice of a country-sized extract is processed.
What is simtrial?
A fixed-design trial simulator grew a pluggable test framework, then spent a year proving the numbers
simtrial simulates time-to-event clinical trials and applies the tests used to analyse them — logrank, weighted logrank, MaxCombo, RMST, milestone. The 0.4.0 release turned it from a fixed-sample simulator into a group sequential one and standardised every test behind a common output contract, and the releases since have been about making that machinery correct and fast enough to run at scale. Version 1.0.0 arrived in June 2025 with the API settled and three vignettes explaining both the one-call and build-it-yourself paths.
osmextract vs simtrial: editorial side-by-side
osmextract
0.0ANALYTICS
osmextract stopped throwing your OpenStreetMap downloads away at the end of every session.
◆ Current state
osmextract downloads OpenStreetMap extracts from Geofabrik, BBBike and openstreetmap.fr and translates them into sf objects via GDAL. The 0.6.0 release moved its download cache from `tempdir()` to a persistent `tools::R_user_dir()` location and raised the R floor to 4.1.0 to get it. It also made spatial `place` inputs self-clipping: pass an sf or bbox object and the boundary is now set to match, so only the relevant slice of a country-sized extract is processed.
◆ Where it's heading
Two threads run through every release. One is chasing GDAL — SQL syntax adjusted for 3.10, ogr2ogr options fixed for 3.9, and an `osmconf.ini` that 0.6.0 finally keeps automatically in sync with whatever sf or GDAL provides rather than shipping a snapshot. The other is the road-network extraction added experimentally in 0.3.1, which has been quietly accumulating real routing semantics since: `access = no` links retained when the mode-specific tag permits them, a `oneway` column by default for driving, and `motor_vehicle` always included.
◆ Prediction
Given that `oe_get_network()` has gained transport-mode detail in three separate releases while remaining flagged as experimental, the next substantive work is most likely there — either more modes or a formal exit from experimental status.
simtrial
0.0ANALYTICS
A fixed-design trial simulator grew a pluggable test framework, then spent a year proving the numbers
◆ Current state
simtrial simulates time-to-event clinical trials and applies the tests used to analyse them — logrank, weighted logrank, MaxCombo, RMST, milestone. The 0.4.0 release turned it from a fixed-sample simulator into a group sequential one and standardised every test behind a common output contract, and the releases since have been about making that machinery correct and fast enough to run at scale. Version 1.0.0 arrived in June 2025 with the API settled and three vignettes explaining both the one-call and build-it-yourself paths.
◆ Where it's heading
Post-1.0 the work is almost entirely statistical correctness and speed, and it is concentrated in sim_gs_n(): one-sided efficacy bounds, stratified targeted-event cut dates, a helper that derives cuttings straight from the design object. Performance moves in one direction throughout — dplyr replaced by data.table, foreach combination replaced by manual assembly, parallelisation added to sim_fixed_n() — because simulation-based operating characteristics are only useful if you can afford enough replications.
◆ Prediction
The recent fixes cluster on stratified and group sequential paths, so the next release most likely continues there rather than adding a new test type. The cut_from_design() helper suggests tighter coupling to gsDesign2 design objects is the direction of travel.
Alternatives to osmextract and simtrial
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 osmextract or simtrial.
DoseFinding
New stewardship at openpharma, then two releases adding the methods MCP-Mod was missing
webmockr
The stubbing library added httr2 support, then spent a year cutting itself free of everything else
crul
crul took mocking back from webmockr and made it a property of the client itself
dendroNetwork
Six releases, six identical bodies — the feed carries the package abstract instead of release notes
chattr
chattr deleted every LLM integration it had written and outsourced the lot to ellmer
See all osmextract alternatives → · See all simtrial alternatives →
Recent activity from osmextract and simtrial
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 4mo agoosmextractDownloads move to a persistent cache outside tempdir ⚡
- 8mo agosimtrialOne-sided efficacy bound and stratified cut date corrected
- 11mo agosimtrialsim_gs_n moved to data.table; stratified design example added
- 1y agosimtrial1.0.0 settles the wlr interface and documents both simulation paths
- 1y agoosmextractoe_match gains a version argument for historical extracts
- 1y agoosmextractRouting semantics sharpen for driving and restricted-access links
- 1y agosimtrialMilestone Z-score denominator corrected; parallel sim_fixed_n arrives
- 2y agosimtrialChecks pass without Suggests dependencies
- 2y agosimtrialRMST and milestone tests, plus a user-definable cut and test framework ⚡
- 2y agoosmextract51 new openstreetmap.fr regions and a GDAL 3.9 fix
- 3y agoosmextractNon-Geofabrik downloads were saved under the wrong filename
- 3y agoosmextractHelp files regenerated for valid HTML5
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between osmextract and simtrial?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. osmextract and simtrial 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 osmextract better than simtrial?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. osmextract and simtrial 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 osmextract?
Top osmextract alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "osmextract alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/osmextract for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to simtrial?
Top simtrial alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "simtrial alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/simtrial for the full list with editorial commentary on each.