easystats
The easystats meta-package is install tooling wrapped around a relicensed ecosystem.
Comparison · Analytics
bonsai vs desirability2
A side-by-side editorial comparison of bonsai and desirability2 — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:tidymodels
bonsai vs desirability2: at a glance
What is bonsai?
bonsai keeps widening tidymodels' boosted-tree engine bench, catboost most recently
bonsai exists to attach non-core tree engines to parsnip's boost_tree() and rand_forest(), and the release history reads as a steady accumulation of them: partykit, aorsf, lightgbm, and now catboost. The 0.4.x line is spent making catboost behave like a full tidymodels citizen rather than adding anything new.
What is desirability2?
desirability2 is making multi-metric model selection a first-class tidymodels step.
desirability2 implements desirability functions, which map several metrics onto a common 0-1 scale so they can be combined into a single objective. The package is young: three releases, the first of which only added a NEWS file. Its substance arrived in 0.1.0 with hooks into tidymodels' tune package.
bonsai vs desirability2: editorial side-by-side
bonsai
0.0ANALYTICS
bonsai keeps widening tidymodels' boosted-tree engine bench, catboost most recently
◆ Current state
bonsai exists to attach non-core tree engines to parsnip's boost_tree() and rand_forest(), and the release history reads as a steady accumulation of them: partykit, aorsf, lightgbm, and now catboost. The 0.4.x line is spent making catboost behave like a full tidymodels citizen rather than adding anything new.
◆ Where it's heading
Each engine follows the same arc — land it, then close the gaps that keep it from tuning cleanly (parameter naming, multi_predict, threading, case weights). Recent work is squarely in that second phase for catboost, with dials supplying the matching parameter objects on its own release schedule. Bug-fix density is high relative to new surface.
◆ Prediction
Expect the catboost integration to keep filling in tuning and GPU-related arguments before any further engine is added; the entries give no signal about which engine would come next.
desirability2
0.0ANALYTICS
desirability2 is making multi-metric model selection a first-class tidymodels step.
◆ Current state
desirability2 implements desirability functions, which map several metrics onto a common 0-1 scale so they can be combined into a single objective. The package is young: three releases, the first of which only added a NEWS file. Its substance arrived in 0.1.0 with hooks into tidymodels' tune package.
◆ Where it's heading
The direction is integration rather than standalone use. Version 0.1.0 added select_best_desirability() and show_best_desirability() to resolve a tuning run against several metrics at once; 0.2.0 exported make_desirability_cols() so other packages can build on it and made data-driven limits the default, removing the need to state ranges by hand. Both releases move work from the user into the package.
◆ Prediction
The exported helper and the developer-facing desirability() API point to adoption by other tidymodels packages as the next step rather than new functionality here.
Alternatives to bonsai and desirability2
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 bonsai or desirability2.
discrim
discrim settled into a thin engine shim after handing its model definitions to parsnip.
dbparser
dbparser shed its database and CSV writers to become just a DrugBank parser.
crosstalk
crosstalk is frozen infrastructure: four releases in five years, mostly CRAN upkeep.
cmdstanr
cmdstanr keeps adding fast approximations beside full HMC, and fighting Windows toolchains.
comtradr
comtradr's 1.0 line is a long tail of patches against a brittle UN trade API.
See all bonsai alternatives → · See all desirability2 alternatives →
Recent activity from bonsai and desirability2
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2mo agobonsaicatboost gains multi_predict() and corrected tuning parameters
- 11mo agodesirability2make_desirability_cols() exported; data-driven limits on by default
- 1y agodesirability2Desirability-based model selection added for tune ⚡
- 1y agobonsaicatboost engine added to boost_tree()
- 1y agobonsailightgbm accepts sparse matrices for fit and predict
- 2y agobonsaiaorsf fit failure in multisession workers fixed
- 2y agobonsaiaorsf engine added; lightgbm gains dataset params and case weights
- 3y agodesirability2NEWS.md added to track package changes
- 3y agobonsailightgbm num_leaves becomes tunable; alias arguments disallowed
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between bonsai and desirability2?
Both compete on the same themes — tidymodels — within Analytics. bonsai and desirability2 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 bonsai better than desirability2?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. bonsai and desirability2 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 bonsai?
Top bonsai alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "bonsai alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/bonsai-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to desirability2?
Top desirability2 alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "desirability2 alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/desirability2 for the full list with editorial commentary on each.