tidytlg
A tables-listings-graphs package that reached CRAN and then went quiet.
Comparison · Analytics
simtrial vs sparsevctrs
A side-by-side editorial comparison of simtrial and sparsevctrs — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
simtrial vs sparsevctrs: at a glance
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.
What is sparsevctrs?
Sparse vectors stopped being a storage trick and became something you can do arithmetic on
sparsevctrs supplies sparse vectors that live inside ordinary data frames and tibbles, which is what lets tidymodels carry wide, mostly-zero feature matrices without densifying them. Through 0.2.0 and 0.3.0 the package built out a computation layer on top of that storage — first summary statistics, then scalar and element-wise arithmetic — and everything since has been correctness work at the C level.
simtrial vs sparsevctrs: editorial side-by-side
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.
sparsevctrs
0.0ANALYTICS
Sparse vectors stopped being a storage trick and became something you can do arithmetic on
◆ Current state
sparsevctrs supplies sparse vectors that live inside ordinary data frames and tibbles, which is what lets tidymodels carry wide, mostly-zero feature matrices without densifying them. Through 0.2.0 and 0.3.0 the package built out a computation layer on top of that storage — first summary statistics, then scalar and element-wise arithmetic — and everything since has been correctness work at the C level.
◆ Where it's heading
The release pattern splits cleanly at 0.3.0. Before it, new functions arrive in batches; after it, five consecutive releases are bug fixes, and the bugs are the kind that come with hand-written sparse kernels: a stack imbalance when sparse_multiplication() returns all zeros, undefined behaviour in multiplication, type errors in sparse_is_na(), coercion failures on NA input. That is the expected cost of an ALTREP-backed numerical layer, and the fixes are landing steadily.
◆ Prediction
With the arithmetic surface in place and the recent releases all narrow fixes, the next one is more likely another correctness patch than a new function family. The R devel fix in 0.3.5 suggests upcoming R releases are the current source of breakage.
Alternatives to simtrial and sparsevctrs
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 simtrial or sparsevctrs.
Tplyr
Tplyr made clinical summary tables explain where every number came from.
rlistings
Clinical listings that keep inheriting their hardest problem — pagination — from the layer below.
hoardr
A cache-directory helper that has shipped nothing but CRAN-triggered patches for seven years.
gigs
gigs redesigned its whole conversion API for rOpenSci, then spent three releases getting the docs to build.
riem
A weather-data client that keeps rewriting its HTTP layer while slowly tightening its API.
See all simtrial alternatives → · See all sparsevctrs alternatives →
Recent activity from simtrial and sparsevctrs
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 8mo agosparsevctrsSparse character vector fix for R devel
- 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 agosparsevctrsStack imbalance in sparse multiplication fixed
- 1y agosparsevctrsSparse matrix coercion no longer errors on NA input
- 1y agosparsevctrssparsity() fixed for classed numeric vectors
- 1y agosparsevctrsUndefined behaviour in sparse multiplication fixed
- 1y agosparsevctrsScalar and element-wise arithmetic for sparse vectors ⚡
- 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 ⚡
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between simtrial and sparsevctrs?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. simtrial and sparsevctrs 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 simtrial better than sparsevctrs?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. simtrial and sparsevctrs 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 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.
What are the best alternatives to sparsevctrs?
Top sparsevctrs alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "sparsevctrs alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/sparsevctrs for the full list with editorial commentary on each.