tern.rbmi
Reference-based multiple imputation tables, shipping only what CRAN checks demand.
Comparison · Analytics
CMAQ vs windex
A side-by-side editorial comparison of CMAQ and windex — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
CMAQ vs windex: 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 windex?
Steady, unglamorous upkeep on a niche phylogenetic adaptation index.
windex calculates the Wheatsheaf index for measuring adaptation in a phylogenetic comparative framework, with supporting simulation tests and node-distance tooling. Recent releases have loosened the input format requirements, improved troubleshooting in treedatacheck, and added a barplot for fitted logistic regression models. The package's analytic core is unchanged across the visible window.
CMAQ vs windex: 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.
windex
0.0ANALYTICS
Steady, unglamorous upkeep on a niche phylogenetic adaptation index.
◆ Current state
windex calculates the Wheatsheaf index for measuring adaptation in a phylogenetic comparative framework, with supporting simulation tests and node-distance tooling. Recent releases have loosened the input format requirements, improved troubleshooting in treedatacheck, and added a barplot for fitted logistic regression models. The package's analytic core is unchanged across the visible window.
◆ Where it's heading
Every release in this window is a variation on the same theme: make existing functions easier to use and their plots easier to customise. Some releases exist only to satisfy CRAN policy changes with no functional difference. This is a stable single-purpose package where usability friction, not method development, drives the work.
◆ Prediction
Expect further small usability and plotting additions on the same roughly annual cadence; nothing here points to new methods.
Alternatives to CMAQ and windex
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 windex.
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 windex
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 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 agowindexRelaxes input formats; adds logistic regression barplots
- 1y agoCMAQCMAQ 5.5 adds global simulation coupled to MPAS-A ⚡
- 1y agoCMAQCMAQ 5.4.0.5: minor ELMO output fixes
- 2y agowindexwindex 2.0.8
- 2y agoCMAQCMAQ 5.4.0.4 fixes RBSTATS under ROS3, corrects a molecular weight
- 2y agowindexnodeDist returns age distributions; plot axes customisable
- 2y agowindexCRAN policy compliance release, no functional change
- 5y agowindexMerges sister-clade functions into richYuleInputs
- 5y agowindexAdds modSel.geiger for geiger model selection tables
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between CMAQ and windex?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. CMAQ and windex 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 windex?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. CMAQ and windex 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 windex?
Top windex alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "windex alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/windex-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.