tern.rbmi
Reference-based multiple imputation tables, shipping only what CRAN checks demand.
Comparison · Analytics
CMAQ vs protr
A side-by-side editorial comparison of CMAQ and protr — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
CMAQ vs protr: at a glance
What is CMAQ?
CMAQ went global in v5.5, and has been patching that surface ever since.
CMAQ is the EPA's Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system, used for regulatory and research air quality simulation. Its release rhythm is strictly two-tier: numbered major versions carry new science and fresh benchmark datasets, while the x.y.z.n updates carry bug fixes against documentation and benchmarks that stay pinned to the parent version. The current line is v5.5, which introduced CRACMM2 chemistry and coupling to MPAS-A meteorology, followed by three patch rollups.
What is protr?
protr's feature set is finished; the work now is surviving Bioconductor's churn.
protr generates numerical descriptors from protein sequences for machine learning, plus alignment-based similarity between sequences. The descriptor functions have been stable for years. Recent releases divide cleanly into two kinds: extending the similarity computations to work under memory constraints, and absorbing the Bioconductor split that moved pairwise alignment out of Biostrings into pwalign.
CMAQ vs protr: editorial side-by-side
CMAQ
0.0ANALYTICS
CMAQ went global in v5.5, and has been patching that surface ever since.
◆ Current state
CMAQ is the EPA's Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system, used for regulatory and research air quality simulation. Its release rhythm is strictly two-tier: numbered major versions carry new science and fresh benchmark datasets, while the x.y.z.n updates carry bug fixes against documentation and benchmarks that stay pinned to the parent version. The current line is v5.5, which introduced CRACMM2 chemistry and coupling to MPAS-A meteorology, followed by three patch rollups.
◆ Where it's heading
The v5.5 patches cluster around the newest and most sensitive components. ISAM source apportionment and DDM-3D sensitivity analysis account for corrections in every one of the three updates, and CRACMM2 needed fixes within months of release. That is the expected shape after a major version lands: the science is stable, the instrumentation built on top of it is not. Parallel I/O work in the latest patch suggests the global configurations are now being run at scales that expose throughput limits.
◆ Prediction
The next major version will fold these fixes in with new science, documentation and benchmark data — the release notes state this explicitly each time. Until then, expect further ISAM and DDM-3D corrections, which have appeared in every patch so far.
protr
0.0ANALYTICS
protr's feature set is finished; the work now is surviving Bioconductor's churn.
◆ Current state
protr generates numerical descriptors from protein sequences for machine learning, plus alignment-based similarity between sequences. The descriptor functions have been stable for years. Recent releases divide cleanly into two kinds: extending the similarity computations to work under memory constraints, and absorbing the Bioconductor split that moved pairwise alignment out of Biostrings into pwalign.
◆ Where it's heading
The similarity side is where the remaining engineering goes, and it follows a consistent pattern — whatever parSeqSim() gained, crossSetSim() eventually gets. Batching, verbose progress and a disk-backed variant all arrived for the single-set case first and were mirrored for the cross-set case in 1.7-1. That is a maintainer closing feature-parity gaps rather than opening new directions, and the two most recent releases contain no user-facing change at all.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next release to react to another Bioconductor or R CMD check change, which accounts for three of the last four. The similarity functions now have parity, so there is no obvious internal backlog left.
Alternatives to CMAQ and protr
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 CMAQ or protr.
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.
Recent activity from CMAQ and protr
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 11mo agoprotrprotr 1.7-5 silences a Debian r-devel check note
- 1y agoCMAQCMAQ 5.5.0.3 enables parallel I/O, fixes DDM-3D control files
- 1y agoCMAQCMAQ 5.5.0.2 corrects ISAM aerosol and cloud processing
- 1y agoCMAQCMAQ 5.5.0.1 fixes SAPRC mechanism runs and NLCD mapping
- 1y agoCMAQCMAQ 5.5 adds global simulation coupled to MPAS-A ⚡
- 1y agoprotrprotr 1.7-4 checks alignment dependencies upfront
- 1y agoCMAQCMAQ 5.4.0.5: minor ELMO output fixes
- 1y agoprotrprotr 1.7-3 detects Biostrings version to find pwalign
- 2y agoprotrprotr 1.7-2 fixes citation key and vignette accessibility
- 2y agoprotrprotr 1.7-1 brings crossSetSim to parity with parSeqSim
- 2y agoCMAQCMAQ 5.4.0.4 fixes RBSTATS under ROS3, corrects a molecular weight
- 2y agoprotrprotr 1.7-0 adds crossSetSim for two-set similarity
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between CMAQ and protr?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. CMAQ and protr 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 CMAQ better than protr?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. CMAQ and protr 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 CMAQ?
Top CMAQ alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "CMAQ alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/cmaq for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to protr?
Top protr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "protr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/protr-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.