rnaturalearth
rnaturalearth finished its sp exit and is now optimising how the data actually arrives.
Comparison · Analytics
censored vs rgbif
A side-by-side editorial comparison of censored and rgbif — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
censored vs rgbif: at a glance
What is censored?
censored keeps survival models aligned with parsnip's shifting prediction contracts
censored supplies survival-analysis engines to parsnip, and its release history is dominated by staying in step with the rest of tidymodels rather than shipping independent features. The 0.2.0 and 0.3.0 releases added engines and prediction types; everything since has been contract alignment — quantile prediction format, hardhat test adaptation, flexsurv preparation.
What is rgbif?
rgbif is steadily pushing users off paged searching and onto real downloads.
rgbif ships several times a year and the recent releases cluster around downloads. 3.8.1 added `occ_download_sql()` for SQL-based occurrence downloads; 3.8.2 added DOI-to-download-key resolution and institutionKey downloads; 3.8.3 relayed GBIF's new throttling of bulk paging through `occ_search()` with a message pointing users at `occ_download()`; 3.8.5 added a family of `occ_download_stats_*()` functions plus multiple-taxonomy and verbatim-extension downloads. Alongside that, `name_backbone()` moved to GBIF API v2, and 3.8.0 soft-deprecated `occ_data()`.
censored vs rgbif: editorial side-by-side
censored
0.0ANALYTICS
censored keeps survival models aligned with parsnip's shifting prediction contracts
◆ Current state
censored supplies survival-analysis engines to parsnip, and its release history is dominated by staying in step with the rest of tidymodels rather than shipping independent features. The 0.2.0 and 0.3.0 releases added engines and prediction types; everything since has been contract alignment — quantile prediction format, hardhat test adaptation, flexsurv preparation.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is settling into a downstream role where parsnip and hardhat set the interface and censored implements it for censored regression. Breaking changes arrive from upstream, not from new ideas here. The substantive engine work — aorsf, flexsurvspline, glmnet multi_predict — is behind it, and recent cycles are thin.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next releases to track further parsnip prediction-type changes rather than add engines; the entries do not show new survival methods in progress.
rgbif
0.0ANALYTICS
rgbif is steadily pushing users off paged searching and onto real downloads.
◆ Current state
rgbif ships several times a year and the recent releases cluster around downloads. 3.8.1 added `occ_download_sql()` for SQL-based occurrence downloads; 3.8.2 added DOI-to-download-key resolution and institutionKey downloads; 3.8.3 relayed GBIF's new throttling of bulk paging through `occ_search()` with a message pointing users at `occ_download()`; 3.8.5 added a family of `occ_download_stats_*()` functions plus multiple-taxonomy and verbatim-extension downloads. Alongside that, `name_backbone()` moved to GBIF API v2, and 3.8.0 soft-deprecated `occ_data()`.
◆ Where it's heading
Two things are happening at once. GBIF is discouraging bulk retrieval through the search API, and rgbif is building out the download path fast enough to absorb the traffic — SQL queries, DOI round-tripping, format description, and now statistics about the downloads themselves. Metadata coverage has expanded in parallel, with a dozen `dataset_*()` functions in 3.7.9 and GRSciColl institution search in 3.8.3. The deprecations are consistent: `occ_data()`, `occ_facet()`, `occ_count(type=)` all retired in favour of narrower replacements.
◆ Prediction
The download surface is where the next additions will land — likely more SQL-download tooling and further statistics endpoints, following 3.8.1 and 3.8.5.
Alternatives to censored and rgbif
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 censored or rgbif.
writexl
writexl spent nine years refusing to do formatting, then shipped all of it in 2.0.0.
rstanarm
rstanarm is community-maintained now, tracking Stan and lme4 rather than adding models.
taxa
taxa started a ground-up rewrite in 2021 and has published almost nothing since.
rotl
rotl's whole release history is keeping name matching honest against a moving taxonomy.
taxize
taxize spends its releases absorbing other people's API changes, one dead source at a time.
See all censored alternatives → · See all rgbif alternatives →
Recent activity from censored and rgbif
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 4mo agocensoredcensored 0.3.4
- 4mo agorgbifrgbif 3.8.5 adds occurrence download statistics functions
- 8mo agorgbifrgbif 3.8.4 moves name matching to GBIF API v2
- 11mo agorgbifrgbif 3.8.3 adds GRSciColl search, relays GBIF paging throttle
- 1y agorgbifrgbif 3.8.2 resolves download DOIs to keys
- 1y agocensoredQuantile prediction format follows new parsnip requirements
- 1y agorgbifrgbif 3.8.1 adds SQL-based occurrence downloads ⚡
- 2y agocensoredSurvival probabilities at infinite evaluation times now computed
- 2y agorgbifrgbif 3.8.0 soft-deprecates occ_data(), adds download describe
- 2y agocensoredcensored 0.3.1
- 2y agocensoredmulti_predict() for all glmnet prediction types; aorsf predicts time
- 3y agocensoredeval_time replaces time; matrix fitting for censored regression
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between censored and rgbif?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. censored and rgbif 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 censored better than rgbif?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. censored and rgbif 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 censored?
Top censored alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "censored alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/censored for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to rgbif?
Top rgbif alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "rgbif alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rgbif for the full list with editorial commentary on each.