STACAS
Single-cell batch correction that learned to use cell labels, then spent three releases chasing Seurat.
Comparison · Analytics
sdsfun vs TLF-Library
A side-by-side editorial comparison of sdsfun and TLF-Library — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
sdsfun vs TLF-Library: at a glance
What is sdsfun?
A spatial-statistics utility package exists to be depended on, and is built accordingly.
sdsfun collects spatial data science utilities — neighbour lists, spatial constrained clustering, discretization, dummy variable generation, geographical detector statistics and projection helpers — with the computationally heavy parts implemented in Rcpp. It was assembled quickly across late 2024, adding a function set roughly every three weeks, and has slowed since to a couple of releases a year. The most recent work is corrective: no longer initializing the RNG state at load, fixing matrix inputs misread as vectors, and clearing an Armadillo deprecation.
What is TLF-Library?
The Open Systems Pharmacology plotting layer spent 2025 absorbing a ggplot2 major break.
tlf is the plotting library behind Open Systems Pharmacology's tables, listings and figures — a ggplot2 wrapper producing the PK/PD reporting output the OSP suite generates. Recent work splits into two strands: a feature set adding Lower Limit Of Quantification annotation to time-profile and observed-vs-predicted plots alongside a reworked axis-limits API, and then hot fixes to survive ggplot2 v4.0.0's breaking changes. The axis change is the substantive one, separating cropping the view from filtering the data behind it.
sdsfun vs TLF-Library: editorial side-by-side
sdsfun
0.0ANALYTICS
A spatial-statistics utility package exists to be depended on, and is built accordingly.
◆ Current state
sdsfun collects spatial data science utilities — neighbour lists, spatial constrained clustering, discretization, dummy variable generation, geographical detector statistics and projection helpers — with the computationally heavy parts implemented in Rcpp. It was assembled quickly across late 2024, adding a function set roughly every three weeks, and has slowed since to a couple of releases a year. The most recent work is corrective: no longer initializing the RNG state at load, fixing matrix inputs misread as vectors, and clearing an Armadillo deprecation.
◆ Where it's heading
This is infrastructure for a family of packages rather than an end-user tool, and the changelog says so directly — functions were added to support gdverse and sesp, and moran_test was migrated in from geocomplexity. That migration pattern is the defining move: capability consolidates here so the downstream packages can share it instead of each carrying its own copy. Growth has slowed as that consolidation completed, leaving correctness and dependency upkeep.
◆ Prediction
Given the package moves when its dependents need something, the next release most likely brings in another shared function or responds to a downstream requirement rather than following its own plan. Armadillo and CRAN check changes remain the reliable source of maintenance work.
TLF-Library
0.0ANALYTICS
The Open Systems Pharmacology plotting layer spent 2025 absorbing a ggplot2 major break.
◆ Current state
tlf is the plotting library behind Open Systems Pharmacology's tables, listings and figures — a ggplot2 wrapper producing the PK/PD reporting output the OSP suite generates. Recent work splits into two strands: a feature set adding Lower Limit Of Quantification annotation to time-profile and observed-vs-predicted plots alongside a reworked axis-limits API, and then hot fixes to survive ggplot2 v4.0.0's breaking changes. The axis change is the substantive one, separating cropping the view from filtering the data behind it.
◆ Where it's heading
The library is maturing into a stable reporting dependency rather than growing new plot types — the newest releases are watermark placement, log-tick safety and upstream compatibility, not new figures. Its exposure is to ggplot2: v4.0.0 required same-day hot fixes, which is the risk profile of a wrapper this thin. Note that this feed's version numbers and publication stamps disagree, with 1.5.170 stamped four months before the lower-numbered 1.5.158, so the release order has to be read from version numbers and the changelog ranges rather than from the feed order.
◆ Prediction
With the ggplot2 v4 fallout patched and the LLOQ work promoted to a stable 1.6 line, the next releases most likely continue as small rendering fixes. Nothing in these entries points to a new plot class in progress.
Alternatives to sdsfun and TLF-Library
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 sdsfun or TLF-Library.
ggtrace
A debugger for ggplot2's internals, hardening its grip as the internals it traces keep moving.
kde1d
A univariate density estimator that added zero-inflated data and reopened its C++ API to do it.
svines
Stationary vine copulas for time series, released in lockstep with the rest of Nagler's vine stack.
gghighlight
A single-purpose ggplot2 extension that has spent six years tracking ggplot2 instead of growing.
rtrek
A Star Trek data package that became a Memory Alpha web client and has been patching scrapers ever since.
See all sdsfun alternatives → · See all TLF-Library alternatives →
Recent activity from sdsfun and TLF-Library
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 9mo agoTLF-LibraryWatermark positioning decoupled from plot scales
- 10mo agosdsfunPackage load stops touching the RNG state
- 11mo agoTLF-LibraryHot fixes for ggplot2 v4.0.0 breaking changes
- 11mo agoTLF-LibraryLLOQ annotation and axis cropping split from data filtering
- 1y agoTLF-LibraryDev build introducing LLOQ plots and the xAxisLimits rename
- 1y agosdsfunUnified partial correlation testing and head/tails discretization
- 1y agoTLF-LibraryError-bar cap fixes atop a restated feature list
- 1y agosdsfunMissing-value handling added to linear trend removal
- 1y agosdsfunCovariate-based detrending and long-to-matrix spatial reshaping
- 1y agosdsfunSpatially constrained hierarchical clustering and SPADE estimation
- 1y agosdsfunFast geodetector q-value estimator added
- 1y agoTLF-LibraryDual-axis plots stop tripping cowplot
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between sdsfun and TLF-Library?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. sdsfun and TLF-Library 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 sdsfun better than TLF-Library?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. sdsfun and TLF-Library 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 sdsfun?
Top sdsfun alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "sdsfun alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/sdsfun for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to TLF-Library?
Top TLF-Library alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "TLF-Library alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/tlf-library for the full list with editorial commentary on each.