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metatools

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metatools — R package from the pharmaverse project

SDTM supplemental-qualifier merging got sturdier, then the package went quiet for two years.

pharmaversesdtmadamclinical-trialsmetadatar-package
Current state
metatools provides the utilities that build and check SDTM and ADaM datasets against their metadata in the pharmaverse. The 0.1.6 release in July 2024 is the substantive one: combine_supp() learned to handle zero-row supplemental data, to refuse QNAM columns already present in the source, and to route multiple QNAM values to the same IDVAR, alongside enhanced controlled-terminology checks and record-uniqueness verification. Nothing has shipped since.
Where it's heading
The package's development has been concentrated on one function, combine_supp(), which is where the messy realities of supplemental qualifiers surface — whitespace in join keys, empty supp datasets, colliding names. 0.1.6 also drew three first-time contributors, which is the healthiest signal in the history, but no release has followed. Sibling packages have meanwhile been dropping metatools as a dependency.
Prediction
Without a release in two years the package looks stable rather than active; the plausible trigger is a controlled-terminology or dplyr change that forces the checks to be updated.

Recent moves

  1. 2y ago

    combine_supp() hardened; controlled-terminology checks extended

    Zero-row supplemental data is accepted, QNAM columns already in the source are rejected outright, and multiple QNAM values can target the same IDVAR. check_ct_data() is extended and record uniqueness by key is now verified — the checks that catch a bad dataset before it reaches a submission.

    View source ↗
  2. 3y ago

    0.1.4 Update to dplyr and small bug fixes

    combine_supp() trims whitespace before merging, fixing joins that silently failed on padded keys, and get_bad_ct() arrives to surface controlled-terminology violations. The dplyr compatibility work is routine; the whitespace fix is the one that quietly changes results.

    View source ↗
  3. 4y ago

    0.1.1 first CRAN release

    The first CRAN release, assembled from a long run of PRs covering build_from_derived(), label handling, subgroup fixes and clearer controlled-terminology error messages. It also switched to depending on metacore from CRAN, settling the package's place in the pharmaverse stack.

    View source ↗