Changelog

Source: NEWS.md

coglasso (development version)

• Begun new development version

coglasso 1.1.0

CRAN release: 2025-10-28

New functions

• New bs() is a wrapping function that single-handedly builds the multi-omics networks with coglasso() and selects the best one according to the preferred model selection method with select_coglasso() in a single function call.

• New get_network() is extracts a network in the igraph format from an object either of class coglasso or of class select_coglasso.

• New get_pcor() extracts a matrix of partial correlations from an object either of class coglasso or of class select_coglasso.

• New plot() can now plot both coglasso and select_coglasso objects. The plots will have color coded nodes and weighted edges.

• New select_coglasso() is a wrapping function to handle all possible present (and future) model selection methods. For the moment it allows to perform model selection with either eXtended StARS, eXtended Efficient StARS (see below), or eBIC.

• New xestars(), performs eXtended Efficient StARS, a significantly faster version of XStARS.
  How much faster?
  In our tests, xestars() runs 80-90% faster than xstars(), even more in specific instances.
  What features make xestars() faster?
  First of all, the check for stability that in xstars() is performed after iterating throughout all the penalty parameters, here is implemented as a stopping criterion. Hence, less penalty parameters are explored, moreover usually are excluded those that lead to denser network (and so to longer network estimations).
  Second, the use of vectors instead of matrixes to keep track of the network variabilities makes the algorithm proceed faster, for the former are easier and lighter objects to deal with.
  Third, a new sampling strategy allows a the computation of as many correlation matrixes (the input to coglasso()), as the number of repetitions of the algorithm only once at the beginning of the algorithm. The original strategy performs this every time the algorithm switches from the selection of lambda_w to that of a lambda_b (which can happen several times). Especially for larger data sets, this consists a huge difference.
  How do xstars() and xestars() differ in results?
  The impressive increase in speed comes with some minor costs.
  The different sampling strategy that guarantees not only a faster, but also a fairer parameter selection, may lead to different selected hyperparameters between the older and the new methodology.

• New xstars() implements the XStARS algorithm seen in the original manuscript of collaborative graphical lasso. It performs stability-based selection of the c hyperparameter simultaneously with lambda_w and lambda_b. It substitutes the more primitive stars_coglasso(), now under deprecation.

New features and upgrades

• A new version of the collaborative graphical lasso algorithm, is now able to accept more than two omics layers. This new version, called general |D| version, provides the same results for two omics layers, but it is slightly slower, so the general |D| algorithm will only be used when necessary. The current version has convergence issues for most values of c. Hopefully this will be fixed by the 2.0.0 release.

• Added a logo to the package.

• In bs() and coglasso(), the generation procedure oflambda_w and lambda_b is now different: the maximum values will be, respectively, the highest within Pearson’s correlation value and the highest between Pearson’s correlation value. Moreover, in previous versions the granularity of the search grid increased as the values of lambda_w and lambda_b decreased. As our major interest lies in sparser network, this granularity has now been inverted.

• coglasso() now outputs an object of S3 class coglasso, while all functions whose returned object concerns a selected network, like bs(),select_coglasso(), and all the other selecting functions output a select_coglasso. Both these classes have related print() and plot() methods.

• coglasso() gains a lock_lambdas argument to simulate the single penalty parameter-behavior of the original glasso. It is currently chiefly for testing purposes, so we have not implemented any selection procedure for it yet.

Bug fixes

• xstars() now properly selects lambda_b. The selection process was never really happening, and we were selecting lambda_w twice, instead. This will lead to inevitable backward incompatibilities, at least of the results of the previous version of xstars(), that will not be reproducible.

Deprecations

• In coglasso() and bs(), pX is being deprecated, will be unusable from version 1.2.0 (or 2.0.0). It is now substituted by the argument p. p can take a vector with the dimensions of multiple omics layer, as now the package accepts more than two omics layers.

• stars_coglasso() is being deprecated, will be unusable from version 1.2.0 (or 2.0.0). Substituted by xstars().

coglasso 1.0.2

CRAN release: 2024-04-03

• Description field of DESCRIPTION now complies the CRAN reviewer’s comments.

coglasso 1.0.1

• Made the Description field of the DESCRIPTION file more explanatory and added the official reference to the main method in it.

• Added the official reference to the main method in the README file.

• Changed to in man/stars_coglasso.Rd.

coglasso 1.0.0

• Initial CRAN submission.