gps2gtfs
gps2gtfs spent a release making its docs stop describing functions it does not have.
Comparison · Analytics
pedbuildr vs pedFamilias
A side-by-side editorial comparison of pedbuildr and pedFamilias — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:forensic geneticsr packages
pedbuildr vs pedFamilias: at a glance
What is pedbuildr?
pedbuildr reconstructs pedigrees from DNA, and it just got much faster at the search.
pedbuildr infers pedigree structure from marker data by scoring candidate pedigrees against likelihoods. Version 0.4.0 moved reconstruct() to mirai for parallel likelihood computation, deprecated the old numCores argument, and picked up the improved loop breaking from pedtools and pedprobr, which lets many complex looped pedigrees succeed where they previously failed. buildPeds() also got significantly faster in its default configuration where mating between lineally related individuals is disallowed.
What is pedFamilias?
pedFamilias exists to read one legacy file format, and it has that job nearly finished.
pedFamilias holds the Familias file interoperability code that was split out of forrel, principally readFam() and writeFam(). The visible history is short and narrow: URL paths accepted as input, a deduplicate option for files produced by the Familias DVI module, better handling of extra individuals, and a fallback mutation model when stabilization fails. The most recent release is explicitly maintenance.
pedbuildr vs pedFamilias: editorial side-by-side
pedbuildr
0.0ANALYTICS
pedbuildr reconstructs pedigrees from DNA, and it just got much faster at the search.
◆ Current state
pedbuildr infers pedigree structure from marker data by scoring candidate pedigrees against likelihoods. Version 0.4.0 moved reconstruct() to mirai for parallel likelihood computation, deprecated the old numCores argument, and picked up the improved loop breaking from pedtools and pedprobr, which lets many complex looped pedigrees succeed where they previously failed. buildPeds() also got significantly faster in its default configuration where mating between lineally related individuals is disallowed.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is bounded by two costs: how many candidate pedigrees it enumerates and how expensive each likelihood is. The recent release attacks both, parallelizing the likelihoods and speeding up enumeration in the common case. The earlier 0.3.0 release worked on the other end, adding inbreeding limits and a proper result class so the output of a large search is manageable. Releases are infrequent, roughly three years apart in this window.
◆ Prediction
Expect the candidate generation side to receive the same attention the likelihood side just did, since search space size is the remaining bound on what pedbuildr can reconstruct.
pedFamilias
0.0ANALYTICS
pedFamilias exists to read one legacy file format, and it has that job nearly finished.
◆ Current state
pedFamilias holds the Familias file interoperability code that was split out of forrel, principally readFam() and writeFam(). The visible history is short and narrow: URL paths accepted as input, a deduplicate option for files produced by the Familias DVI module, better handling of extra individuals, and a fallback mutation model when stabilization fails. The most recent release is explicitly maintenance.
◆ Where it's heading
This is a package with a bounded remit. The format it parses does not change, so releases arrive only when someone encounters a file it mishandles, and the fixes are correspondingly specific. The interesting movement is upstream instead: forrel finally removed its deprecated readFam() re-export in 1.9.0, completing the split that created this package.
◆ Prediction
Expect continued low-frequency maintenance driven by real-world .fam files rather than any planned feature work.
Alternatives to pedbuildr and pedFamilias
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 pedbuildr or pedFamilias.
ducksemantics
ducksemantics puts an ontology graph and ColBERT retrieval inside DuckDB, callable from R.
dvir
dvir keeps making disaster victim identification a single call instead of a workflow.
forrel
forrel is getting faster at the simulations forensic kinship work actually spends its time on.
pedmut
pedmut turns awkward mutation models into ones the likelihood engine can actually handle.
pedprobr
pedprobr is the likelihood engine, and it keeps finding ways to compute what it previously could not.
See all pedbuildr alternatives → · See all pedFamilias alternatives →
Recent activity from pedbuildr and pedFamilias
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agopedbuildrmirai parallelism and faster pedigree enumeration
- 2mo agopedFamiliasMaintenance release
- 1y agopedFamiliasreadFam() accepts URLs
- 2y agopedFamiliasExtra-individual parsing and mutation model fallback
- 2y agopedFamiliasdeduplicate option for Familias DVI files
- 2y agopedbuildrpedCollection class and an inbreeding ceiling
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between pedbuildr and pedFamilias?
Both compete on the same themes — forensic genetics, r packages — within Analytics. pedbuildr and pedFamilias 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 pedbuildr better than pedFamilias?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. pedbuildr and pedFamilias 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 pedbuildr?
Top pedbuildr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "pedbuildr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/pedbuildr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to pedFamilias?
Top pedFamilias alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "pedFamilias alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/pedfamilias for the full list with editorial commentary on each.