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Comparison · Infra & APIs
nmfspalette vs rmake
A side-by-side editorial comparison of nmfspalette and rmake — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:reproducibility
nmfspalette vs rmake: at a glance
What is nmfspalette?
A NOAA Fisheries colour palette that ships when the branding guide changes
nmfspalette supplies the NOAA Fisheries colour palette as an R package, for figures that have to follow agency branding. Its five releases track the branding guide rather than any software need: a first version in 2020, a breaking switch to CSS-compatible colour names in 2021, an update to the 2022 branding colours applied in July 2023, and a 2024 release whose stated purpose is to mint a DOI. There is no functionality here beyond supplying colours.
What is rmake?
A Makefile generator for R projects keeps adding rule types instead of a build engine.
rmake generates GNU Make files for R analytical projects, so the dependency graph of an analysis is expressed in R and executed by make. The recent releases have widened the rule vocabulary with subdirectory and knitr rules, added stream redirection to make(), and started checking that GNU Make is actually present rather than assuming it.
nmfspalette vs rmake: editorial side-by-side
nmfspalette
0.0INFRA · APIS
A NOAA Fisheries colour palette that ships when the branding guide changes
◆ Current state
nmfspalette supplies the NOAA Fisheries colour palette as an R package, for figures that have to follow agency branding. Its five releases track the branding guide rather than any software need: a first version in 2020, a breaking switch to CSS-compatible colour names in 2021, an update to the 2022 branding colours applied in July 2023, and a 2024 release whose stated purpose is to mint a DOI. There is no functionality here beyond supplying colours.
◆ Where it's heading
This is a package whose release schedule is set outside the project — it changes when NOAA publishes new branding, and the 2022 guide took until 2023 to land here. The one release with real user impact was the 2021 breaking change, which replaced the branding guide's colour names with CSS-compatible ones and would have broken any code naming a colour directly. The DOI release indicates the maintainer expects it to be cited in publications, which is the natural end state for an agency-standard palette.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next release when NOAA Fisheries revises its branding guide again; on the 2022-to-2023 precedent, it will follow the guide by several months.
rmake
0.0INFRA · APIS
A Makefile generator for R projects keeps adding rule types instead of a build engine.
◆ Current state
rmake generates GNU Make files for R analytical projects, so the dependency graph of an analysis is expressed in R and executed by make. The recent releases have widened the rule vocabulary with subdirectory and knitr rules, added stream redirection to make(), and started checking that GNU Make is actually present rather than assuming it.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is committed to delegating execution rather than reimplementing it, and the work reflects that: more rule constructors, better handling of the messy parts of shelling out, and dependency reduction. Adding hasGnuMake() and tests for its presence is the sort of change that follows real reports from users whose systems did not have it. Long command lines and filenames with spaces both got fixed, which is the usual tax on generating shell text.
◆ Prediction
Expect further rule constructors for common R document and compilation targets, and continued hardening of the generated Make syntax against unusual paths and long commands.
Alternatives to nmfspalette and rmake
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 nmfspalette or rmake.
Warp
Warp turned its quarter of software-factory essays into infrastructure you can buy.
Okta
Okta's developer blog is a Cross App Access campaign, now diluted by advocacy-team storytelling.
tealeaves
A leaf-temperature model that finished its job in 2020 and has stayed finished
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
See all nmfspalette alternatives → · See all rmake alternatives →
Recent activity from nmfspalette and rmake
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 7mo agormakeGNU Make presence now checked; long command lines fixed
- 9mo agormakemake() gains stdout, stderr and stdin arguments
- 9mo agormakeSubdirectory, knitr and dependency rule constructors added
- 2y agonmfspaletteMinor updates and DOI
- 2y agonmfspaletteUpdate to new 2022 colors
- 5y agonmfspaletteRelease with CSS compatible names
- 5y agonmfspaletteRelease update to work with r-cmd-check
- 5y agonmfspaletteThe first release of nmfspalette
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between nmfspalette and rmake?
Both compete on the same themes — reproducibility — within Infra & APIs. nmfspalette and rmake 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 nmfspalette better than rmake?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. nmfspalette and rmake 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 nmfspalette?
Top nmfspalette alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "nmfspalette alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/nmfspalette for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to rmake?
Top rmake alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "rmake alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rmake for the full list with editorial commentary on each.