tealeaves
A leaf-temperature model that finished its job in 2020 and has stayed finished
Comparison · Infra & APIs
MIC vs rgm
A side-by-side editorial comparison of MIC and rgm — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
MIC vs rgm: at a glance
What is MIC?
An antimicrobial testing package cut its genomic half loose to become one thing well.
MIC analyses and validates antimicrobial minimum inhibitory concentration data. Version 2.0.0 removed every genomic function and ported them to a separate package, faLearn, leaving MIC focused on concentration analysis and method validation. The result needs fewer dependencies and no longer requires compilation, which is a meaningful install-time change for a clinical microbiology audience.
What is rgm?
A microbiome network model that got itself un-archived by deleting the dependency that killed it.
rgm implements the random graphical model for microbiome interactions across related environments, published in JABES in 2026. The package was archived from CRAN in February 2026 because of its dependency on huge; the recovery release drops that dependency entirely, which cost it the graphical-lasso warm start that used to seed the initial graph — the default is now an empty graph, with warm starts left to the user. A post-processing function returning ggplot diagnostics arrived in the same release.
MIC vs rgm: editorial side-by-side
MIC
0.0INFRA · APIS
An antimicrobial testing package cut its genomic half loose to become one thing well.
◆ Current state
MIC analyses and validates antimicrobial minimum inhibitory concentration data. Version 2.0.0 removed every genomic function and ported them to a separate package, faLearn, leaving MIC focused on concentration analysis and method validation. The result needs fewer dependencies and no longer requires compilation, which is a meaningful install-time change for a clinical microbiology audience.
◆ Where it's heading
The split was announced a release before it happened, with the genomic functions deprecated in 1.2.0 and the destination named. Around that, the substantive work has been on censoring: MIC values are reported with inequality signs, and 1.1.0 then 1.2.0 built out increasingly precise handling of them, separating less-than-or-equal from strictly-less-than and adding tolerance arguments to the comparison and agreement functions. That is the package's real subject matter, and shedding the genomic code is what makes room for it.
◆ Prediction
With the scope settled, expect continued work on validation semantics and on the AMR package interoperability the notes already track. The relationship between MIC and faLearn is the thing to watch, since users of the removed functions now have to install both.
rgm
0.0INFRA · APIS
A microbiome network model that got itself un-archived by deleting the dependency that killed it.
◆ Current state
rgm implements the random graphical model for microbiome interactions across related environments, published in JABES in 2026. The package was archived from CRAN in February 2026 because of its dependency on huge; the recovery release drops that dependency entirely, which cost it the graphical-lasso warm start that used to seed the initial graph — the default is now an empty graph, with warm starts left to the user. A post-processing function returning ggplot diagnostics arrived in the same release.
◆ Where it's heading
Three tags shipped inside two hours on one day, and the notes are candid about why: 1.1.0 held the actual work but was never released, 1.2.0 restated it under a higher version to signal the size of the change, and 1.2.1 answered CRAN pre-test feedback. Beyond the archival recovery, the visible work is housekeeping that had accumulated — a shadowed rmvnorm() definition, roxygen import tags that were silently emitting nothing, leftover C++ template scaffolding, and build artifacts under version control. The diagnostics function is the only genuinely new user-facing capability in the window.
◆ Prediction
The immediate task was restoring availability, and that is done; the open question the entries raise is whether losing the graphical-lasso warm start affects convergence in practice, which the new diagnostic plots are positioned to answer.
Alternatives to MIC and rgm
Other Infra & APIs 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 MIC or rgm.
Infisical
A credential platform assembled two or three pull requests at a time, never a headline
SigNoz
Search without knowing the field — SigNoz keeps lowering the cost of not knowing your schema
nmfspalette
A NOAA Fisheries colour palette that ships when the branding guide changes
onemap
A genetic-mapping mainstay that now points new users toward MAPpoly at load time
logbin
Relative-risk regression that converges where glm fails, under an unreadable tag order
Recent activity from MIC and rgm
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 3mo agorgmJournal DOI replaces the preprint; promotional wording removed
- 3mo agorgmBack on CRAN after dropping the dependency that caused archival
- 3mo agorgmUnreleased twin of the CRAN recovery release
- 8mo agoMICGenomic functions removed and ported to faLearn ⚡
- 9mo agoMICGenomic functions deprecated; censoring distinguishes leq and geq
- 1y agoMICessential_agreement rebuilt around explicit censoring control
- 2y agorgmFirst release: simulation, estimation and post-processing
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between MIC and rgm?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. MIC and rgm 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 MIC better than rgm?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. MIC and rgm 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 Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to MIC?
Top MIC alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "MIC alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/mic for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to rgm?
Top rgm alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "rgm alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rgm for the full list with editorial commentary on each.