jSDM
Joint species distribution models in Gibbs-sampled C++, quiet since 2023.
Comparison · Infra & APIs
mice vs prova
A side-by-side editorial comparison of mice and prova — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:statistics
mice vs prova: at a glance
What is mice?
mice can finally predict, not just estimate, from multiply imputed data.
mice is the reference implementation of multiple imputation by chained equations, and the default answer to missing data in R. The releases here follow a consistent shape: one or two substantive additions per version, most contributed by outside authors, plus fixes to methods that have been in the package for years. The current 3.19.0 adds predict_mi(), which pools predictions across imputations under Rubin's rules and can return prediction intervals.
What is prova?
prova adds expected-utility calculation on top of its Bayesian inference core.
prova does Bayesian nonparametric inference in R — probabilities through Pr() and qPr(), mutual information, quantile plots. Five releases in about two weeks renamed its central argument, collapsed two plotting functions into one, and then in v2.3.0 introduced exputility() for expected utilities and their revisability, with plot() and print() methods attached from the start.
mice vs prova: editorial side-by-side
mice
0.0INFRA · APIS
mice can finally predict, not just estimate, from multiply imputed data.
◆ Current state
mice is the reference implementation of multiple imputation by chained equations, and the default answer to missing data in R. The releases here follow a consistent shape: one or two substantive additions per version, most contributed by outside authors, plus fixes to methods that have been in the package for years. The current 3.19.0 adds predict_mi(), which pools predictions across imputations under Rubin's rules and can return prediction intervals.
◆ Where it's heading
Two things are happening. The imputation method catalogue keeps widening — lasso variants, multivariate PMM, categorical PMM via canonical correlation — while the pooling side is being extended past its original purpose, first to synthetic data, now to predictions on held-out sets. That second thread points at predictive modelling workflows rather than the inferential ones mice was built for. Meanwhile the maintainers keep finding consequential old bugs: the augment() ordered-factor defect in 3.18.0 had been silently degrading ordinal imputations for years.
◆ Prediction
predict_mi() is framed around evaluating predictive performance on test sets, and the ignore argument added in 3.12.0 already exists to hold out rows from the imputation model. Expect the next work to join those up into a fuller train/test story for imputed data, since the pieces are now in place but not yet connected.
prova
6.3INFRA · APIS
prova adds expected-utility calculation on top of its Bayesian inference core.
◆ Current state
prova does Bayesian nonparametric inference in R — probabilities through Pr() and qPr(), mutual information, quantile plots. Five releases in about two weeks renamed its central argument, collapsed two plotting functions into one, and then in v2.3.0 introduced exputility() for expected utilities and their revisability, with plot() and print() methods attached from the start.
◆ Where it's heading
Two arcs run in parallel. One compresses the API: learnt= became K=, flexiplot() and plotquantiles() merged into pplot(), and omitting arguments such as Y=, X= and K= got simpler. The other extends reach — mutualinfoF() for finite-domain variates, quantile accuracy reported alongside mutual information, and now a decision-theoretic layer sitting on the inference the package already did.
◆ Prediction
exputility() shipping with print() and plot() methods matches how the probability and mutual-information classes were treated, so utilities are likely to get the same class-based handling as they mature. The notes do not say whether decision analysis extends beyond expected utility.
Alternatives to mice and prova
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 mice or prova.
rsofun
An ecosystem model starts tracking carbon isotopes and land-use change.
usmap
Ten years in, US mapping splits its data out and finally adds Puerto Rico.
trackeR
Fitness-tracking analysis in slow maintenance, still absorbing upstream breakage.
states
State-panel tooling holding steady since its 2020 data and ergonomics release.
multimark
Five years of compiler and CRAN fixes on a capture-recapture package.
Recent activity from mice and prova
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 13d agoprovaexputility() brings decision analysis into prova ⚡
- 20d agoprovaCumulative 2.x notes, plus hist() and mutual-information changes
- 23d agoprovalearnt= becomes K=; pplot() replaces two plot functions
- 28d agoprovaFix for pre-existing parallel clusters
- 28d agoprovaextraDistr dropped; mutual-information objects get a class
- 8mo agomicemice 3.19.0 ⚡
- 1y agomicemice 3.18.0
- 1y agomicemice 3.17.0
- 3y agomicemice 3.16.0
- 3y agomicemice 3.15.0
- 4y agomicemice 3.14.0
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between mice and prova?
Both compete on the same themes — statistics — within Infra & APIs. prova is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is mice better than prova?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. prova is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to mice?
Top mice alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "mice alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/mice for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to prova?
Top prova alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "prova alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/prova for the full list with editorial commentary on each.