randomwalk
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Comparison · Analytics
abclass vs ggstats
A side-by-side editorial comparison of abclass and ggstats — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
abclass vs ggstats: at a glance
What is abclass?
abclass built out angle-based classifiers in 2022, then went quiet except for CRAN upkeep.
An implementation of multi-category angle-based large-margin classifiers with regularization. The capability was assembled in four releases across 2022: group lasso, then group SCAD and MCP penalties, then sparse matrix input, cross-validation via cv.abclass(), an efficient tuning path in et.abclass(), and experimental sup-norm classifiers. After a three-year gap, 0.5.0 simplified how group penalties are specified and 0.5.1 swapped the quadratic programming backend after qpmadr was archived on CRAN.
What is ggstats?
ggstats keeps widening what a coefficient or Likert plot can be
ggstats extends ggplot2 with statistical plotting: model coefficient plots, Likert and diverging bar charts, proportion geometries and the helpers that make them behave. Recent releases have added an experimental gglikert_side(), left and right total columns for gglikert(), and survey-object support across the Likert family. Development is steady and CRAN-paced, with releases every two to three months.
abclass vs ggstats: editorial side-by-side
abclass
0.0ANALYTICS
abclass built out angle-based classifiers in 2022, then went quiet except for CRAN upkeep.
◆ Current state
An implementation of multi-category angle-based large-margin classifiers with regularization. The capability was assembled in four releases across 2022: group lasso, then group SCAD and MCP penalties, then sparse matrix input, cross-validation via cv.abclass(), an efficient tuning path in et.abclass(), and experimental sup-norm classifiers. After a three-year gap, 0.5.0 simplified how group penalties are specified and 0.5.1 swapped the quadratic programming backend after qpmadr was archived on CRAN.
◆ Where it's heading
The methods surface is complete and the package has moved into maintenance, where releases are triggered by the R ecosystem rather than by research. The one structural habit worth noting is a willingness to change defaults — alpha, epsilon, lum_c and now the cross-validation alignment have all shifted between versions, so results are not stable across upgrades unless arguments are set explicitly.
◆ Prediction
Expect further releases to track CRAN dependency changes, as 0.5.1 did within a day of qpmadr's archival; nothing in the entries points to new penalty families.
ggstats
0.0ANALYTICS
ggstats keeps widening what a coefficient or Likert plot can be
◆ Current state
ggstats extends ggplot2 with statistical plotting: model coefficient plots, Likert and diverging bar charts, proportion geometries and the helpers that make them behave. Recent releases have added an experimental gglikert_side(), left and right total columns for gglikert(), and survey-object support across the Likert family. Development is steady and CRAN-paced, with releases every two to three months.
◆ Where it's heading
Two long-running threads. The coefficient side has been consolidating — ggcoef_multinom() and ggcoef_multicomponents() soft-deprecated in favour of a unified ggcoef_model() with group_by, plus new ggcoef_dodged() and ggcoef_faceted() variants. The Likert side keeps expanding outward instead, absorbing survey objects, total columns and side-by-side layouts. Underneath both is a steady tax of ggplot2 and vctrs compatibility work, including tracking the geom_errorbarh() deprecation in ggplot2 4.0.0.
◆ Prediction
Expect gglikert_side() to lose its experimental status once its interface settles, and the deprecated multinomial entry points to be removed in a future release now that ggcoef_model() covers their cases.
Alternatives to abclass and ggstats
Other Analytics 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 abclass or ggstats.
fastml
fastml added survival modelling and leakage-proof resampling, moving past classification and regression.
churon
churon is spending its entire release history getting a Rust ONNX binding through CRAN.
firatheme
firatheme woke up after four years and started fixing what ggplot2 changed underneath it.
bagyo
bagyo reached CRAN as a Philippine tropical cyclone dataset, with its tags stamped out of order.
rainette
rainette rebuilt its Reinert clustering in 0.2.0, tuned it in 0.3.0, and has coasted since.
See all abclass alternatives → · See all ggstats alternatives →
Recent activity from abclass and ggstats
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 5mo agoggstatsgglikert_side() and total columns for Likert plots
- 7mo agoabclassQuadratic programming backend swapped after CRAN archival
- 7mo agoggstatsLikert functions accept survey objects
- 10mo agoabclassGroup penalty specification simplified
- 11mo agoggstatsTable output for ggcoef_compare(); x-axis limits harmonised
- 1y agoggstatsggstats 0.10.0
- 1y agoggstatsCoefficient plots unified around ggcoef_model() with grouping
- 1y agoggstatsDiverging and Likert geoms redesigned; connector geoms added
- 3y agoabclassSparse input, cross-validation and efficient tuning added
- 4y agoabclassGroup SCAD and MCP penalties added
- 4y agoabclassGroup lasso regularization and correctness fixes
- 4y agoabclassFirst release of the angle-based classifiers
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between abclass and ggstats?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. abclass and ggstats 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 abclass better than ggstats?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. abclass and ggstats 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 Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to abclass?
Top abclass alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "abclass alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/abclass for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to ggstats?
Top ggstats alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "ggstats alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/ggstats for the full list with editorial commentary on each.