tern.rbmi
Reference-based multiple imputation tables, shipping only what CRAN checks demand.
Comparison · Analytics
arulesViz vs Rpath
A side-by-side editorial comparison of arulesViz and Rpath — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
arulesViz vs Rpath: at a glance
What is arulesViz?
arulesViz finished its move to ggplot2 and has been coasting on maintenance since.
arulesViz draws the association rules produced by arules — scatterplots, matrix and grouped-matrix views, rule graphs, and a Shiny explorer. The rendering foundation has been settled since 1.5.0 made ggplot2 the default engine for most plots. The two most recent releases contain no new capability: roxygen migration and deprecation catch-up in 1.5.3, and a partial-argument-match cleanup in 1.5.4 that landed the same week as the identical fix in sibling package seriation.
What is Rpath?
Rpath 1.1.0 learns to read Ecopath's own files, easing migration off the desktop tool.
Rpath is NOAA's R implementation of the Ecopath with Ecosim mass-balance equations for marine food web models. The feed is an archive backfill and arrives out of version order, with several entries carrying only a journal abstract instead of release notes. The substantive recent work is 1.0.0, which paired real ecosim bug fixes with the documentation and packaging expected of a 1.0, and 1.1.0, which adds .eiixml import and new balance estimation.
arulesViz vs Rpath: editorial side-by-side
arulesViz
0.0ANALYTICS
arulesViz finished its move to ggplot2 and has been coasting on maintenance since.
◆ Current state
arulesViz draws the association rules produced by arules — scatterplots, matrix and grouped-matrix views, rule graphs, and a Shiny explorer. The rendering foundation has been settled since 1.5.0 made ggplot2 the default engine for most plots. The two most recent releases contain no new capability: roxygen migration and deprecation catch-up in 1.5.3, and a partial-argument-match cleanup in 1.5.4 that landed the same week as the identical fix in sibling package seriation.
◆ Where it's heading
The 2021 releases were a deliberate consolidation. 1.4-0 added ggplot2 engines and cut plotly_arules and the experimental iplots support out of the interface; 1.5.0 promoted ggplot2 to default and exposed the conversions to igraph and matrix so users could build their own views; 1.5-1 filled gaps in the graph and grouped-matrix methods. Since then the package tracks its dependencies rather than extending itself, which is a reasonable end state for a mature visualization layer.
◆ Prediction
Expect continued reactive releases keyed to ggplot2 and igraph deprecations, which have driven two of the last three updates. Nothing in these entries suggests new plot methods are planned.
Rpath
0.0ANALYTICS
Rpath 1.1.0 learns to read Ecopath's own files, easing migration off the desktop tool.
◆ Current state
Rpath is NOAA's R implementation of the Ecopath with Ecosim mass-balance equations for marine food web models. The feed is an archive backfill and arrives out of version order, with several entries carrying only a journal abstract instead of release notes. The substantive recent work is 1.0.0, which paired real ecosim bug fixes with the documentation and packaging expected of a 1.0, and 1.1.0, which adds .eiixml import and new balance estimation.
◆ Where it's heading
Development is moving from a faithful reimplementation of published equations toward a tool that can take over an existing modeling practice. Importing .eiixml files means models authored in the EwE desktop software no longer have to be rebuilt by hand, and the balance work reduces how many parameters a modeler must supply up front. The 1.0.0 release's contributor guidelines, issue templates and per-function examples point the same direction: preparing for users the maintainers do not personally know.
◆ Prediction
The next releases will likely widen the import path and tighten balance diagnostics, since 1.1.0 already spent effort on error messages for models missing parameters — the failure mode imported models will hit most.
Alternatives to arulesViz and Rpath
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 arulesViz or Rpath.
tern.mmrm
An MMRM tabulation package that has published nothing since its 2024 CRAN releases.
ggmagnify
A single-purpose ggplot2 inset tool, refining the same three arguments.
symengine
An R symbolic-maths binding whose changelog is really the C++ core's release notes.
gtfstools
gtfstools stopped guarding its own object model and started accepting everyone else's.
quantities
The glue package that makes R carry units and uncertainty through the same calculation.
See all arulesViz alternatives → · See all Rpath alternatives →
Recent activity from arulesViz and Rpath
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 11mo agoRpathRpath 1.1.0 imports EwE .eiixml models and estimates P/B ⚡
- 11mo agoarulesVizarulesViz 1.5.4: partial argument matches, translucent NA color
- 1y agoRpathRpath 1.0.0 fixes ecosim double-counting and completes docs
- 1y agoRpathRpath 0.6.0
- 1y agoRpathRpath 0.8.0 adds bioenergetics and monthly adjustments
- 1y agoRpathRpath 0.9.0
- 1y agoRpathRpath 0.9.1: documentation updates
- 2y agoarulesVizarulesViz 1.5.3 moves docs to roxygen, updates deprecated calls
- 4y agoarulesVizarulesViz 1.5-1 extends graph and grouped-matrix plots
- 5y agoarulesVizarulesViz 1.5.0 makes ggplot2 the default plotting engine
- 5y agoarulesVizarulesViz 1.4-0 adds ggplot2 engines, drops plotly_arules and iplots
- 7y agoarulesVizarulesViz 1.3-3 cleans up the ruleExplorer interface
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between arulesViz and Rpath?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. arulesViz and Rpath 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 arulesViz better than Rpath?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. arulesViz and Rpath 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 arulesViz?
Top arulesViz alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "arulesViz alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/arulesviz-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Rpath?
Top Rpath alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Rpath alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rpath-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.