pr2database
The protist reference database keeps widening past the rRNA gene it was built on.
Comparison · Infra & APIs
goat vs PINstimation
A side-by-side editorial comparison of goat and PINstimation — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-package
goat vs PINstimation: at a glance
What is goat?
A gene-set enrichment package that outgrew its human-only origins, then went quiet.
GOAT is a CRAN-published R package for gene set enrichment testing, now at 1.1.4. The visible arc runs from a 2024 beta through a first public CRAN release to a 1.1 line that broadened the package past human gene sets and added persistence for completed analyses. Recent releases are small: the newest ships an igraph handle on plot_network() plus bug fixes.
What is PINstimation?
A market-microstructure toolkit that keeps adding estimators as the papers land.
PINstimation estimates probability-of-informed-trading models — PIN, multilayer PIN, adjusted PIN and VPIN — from trade and quote data, and handles the trade classification and aggregation that feeds them. The current 0.2.0 adds ivpin(), a maximum-likelihood variant of VPIN from Ke and Lin (2017). The package's early history is compressed into a single hour of backfilled tags in October 2022, so version order there does not track release order.
goat vs PINstimation: editorial side-by-side
goat
0.0INFRA · APIS
A gene-set enrichment package that outgrew its human-only origins, then went quiet.
◆ Current state
GOAT is a CRAN-published R package for gene set enrichment testing, now at 1.1.4. The visible arc runs from a 2024 beta through a first public CRAN release to a 1.1 line that broadened the package past human gene sets and added persistence for completed analyses. Recent releases are small: the newest ships an igraph handle on plot_network() plus bug fixes.
◆ Where it's heading
The substantive expansion happened in the 1.1 cycle; everything since has been maintenance and plotting ergonomics. Each release since 1.1 touches one function and returns something callers previously had to reconstruct, which reads as a package settling into a stable API and responding to individual user requests rather than pursuing new scope. The 13-month gap between 1.1.2 and 1.1.4 puts it firmly in low-cadence maintenance.
◆ Prediction
Expect continued point releases that expose internals from the plotting functions or refresh the bundled GO release, not new analysis capability. The entries give no signal of a planned 1.2.
PINstimation
0.0INFRA · APIS
A market-microstructure toolkit that keeps adding estimators as the papers land.
◆ Current state
PINstimation estimates probability-of-informed-trading models — PIN, multilayer PIN, adjusted PIN and VPIN — from trade and quote data, and handles the trade classification and aggregation that feeds them. The current 0.2.0 adds ivpin(), a maximum-likelihood variant of VPIN from Ke and Lin (2017). The package's early history is compressed into a single hour of backfilled tags in October 2022, so version order there does not track release order.
◆ Where it's heading
Each release tracks the literature: a Bayesian PIN estimator from Griffin et al., an improved VPIN from Ke and Lin, initial-parameter generation realigned to Ersan and Ghachem. The other steady thread is data handling — matrix inputs so the estimators compose with rolling windows, user-specified aggregation frequencies, and now quote leads as well as lags. The three-year gap between 0.1.2 and 0.2.0 makes this a slow, publication-paced package rather than an actively developed one.
◆ Prediction
On this pattern the next release adds whatever estimator the authors publish next, since two of the three feature releases here implement a specific paper. Nothing in the entries points to a change in the package's structure.
Alternatives to goat and PINstimation
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 goat or PINstimation.
ggalign
Composable aligned layouts, rebuilt on S7 while ggplot2 4.0 lands underneath.
prioritizr
Conservation planning absorbs the literature's target-setting rules as code.
jSDM
Joint species distribution models in Gibbs-sampled C++, quiet since 2023.
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.
See all goat alternatives → · See all PINstimation alternatives →
Recent activity from goat and PINstimation
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 6mo agogoatplot_network() now hands back the igraph object
- 8mo agoPINstimationPINstimation 0.2.0
- 1y agogoatFix for a reduce_genesets() infinite loop
- 1y agogoatGene sets beyond human, and analyses you can reload ⚡
- 2y agogoatFirst public release, now on CRAN ⚡
- 2y agogoatplot_lollipop() gains barplots and an effect-size axis
- 2y agogoatBeta 0.9.5 tagged, with no changes described
- 3y agoPINstimationPINstimation v0.1.2
- 3y agoPINstimationPINstimation v0.1.1
- 3y agoPINstimationPINstimation v0.0.1-beta
- 3y agoPINstimationPINstimation v0.1.0
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between goat and PINstimation?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Infra & APIs. goat and PINstimation 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 goat better than PINstimation?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. goat and PINstimation 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 goat?
Top goat alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "goat alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/goat for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to PINstimation?
Top PINstimation alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "PINstimation alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/pinstimation for the full list with editorial commentary on each.