tern.rbmi
Reference-based multiple imputation tables, shipping only what CRAN checks demand.
Comparison · Analytics
CMAQ vs treespace
A side-by-side editorial comparison of CMAQ and treespace — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
CMAQ vs treespace: 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 treespace?
treespace ships once every year or two, and only when CRAN or a user forces it.
treespace explores and compares sets of phylogenetic and transmission trees, including the tree-distance measures used in outbreak reconstruction. Its release history is entirely reactive: five updates across five years, each triggered by a CRAN policy change, an upstream package removal, or a bug someone reported. The most recent is an Rd cross-reference format patch plus a maintainer email change.
CMAQ vs treespace: 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.
treespace
0.0ANALYTICS
treespace ships once every year or two, and only when CRAN or a user forces it.
◆ Current state
treespace explores and compares sets of phylogenetic and transmission trees, including the tree-distance measures used in outbreak reconstruction. Its release history is entirely reactive: five updates across five years, each triggered by a CRAN policy change, an upstream package removal, or a bug someone reported. The most recent is an Rd cross-reference format patch plus a maintainer email change.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is stable and lightly staffed rather than abandoned — bugs that affect correctness do get fixed, and CRAN deadlines are met. But the 2023 update is the telling one: rather than vendor or replace adephylo when it faced removal, the maintainers disabled two tree-vector methods and marked the loss as hopefully temporary. Two years on, nothing in the feed indicates they came back.
◆ Prediction
The next entry will most likely be another CRAN-compliance patch, on the pattern of four of the last five releases. Whether the Abouheif and sumDD methods ever return is not something these entries give any signal on.
Alternatives to CMAQ and treespace
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 treespace.
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 CMAQ alternatives → · See all treespace alternatives →
Recent activity from CMAQ and treespace
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 11mo agotreespacetreespace patches Rd cross-references for CRAN
- 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 agoCMAQCMAQ 5.4.0.5: minor ELMO output fixes
- 2y agoCMAQCMAQ 5.4.0.4 fixes RBSTATS under ROS3, corrects a molecular weight
- 2y agotreespacetreespace disables Abouheif and sumDD as adephylo exits CRAN
- 3y agotreespacetreespace fixes vignette build on NA tree names
- 5y agotreespacetreespace fixes dist indexing that broke its tests
- 5y agotreespacetreespace corrects tip label handling in transmission distances
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between CMAQ and treespace?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. CMAQ and treespace 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 treespace?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. CMAQ and treespace 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 treespace?
Top treespace alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "treespace alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/treespace-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.