rnaturalearth
rnaturalearth finished its sp exit and is now optimising how the data actually arrives.
Comparison · Analytics
censored vs rotl
A side-by-side editorial comparison of censored and rotl — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
censored vs rotl: 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 rotl?
rotl's whole release history is keeping name matching honest against a moving taxonomy.
Nearly every entry concerns `tnrs_match_names()`, the function that maps user-supplied names onto Open Tree taxonomy ids. 3.1.0 changed which taxon wins a multi-way match — highest matching score rather than lowest OTT id, reversing the rule 3.0.4 introduced. 3.0.12 defaulted `context_name` to 'All life' so a context inferred from the first name could not silently skew later ones. 3.0.11 made a total failure to match return an empty tibble with a warning instead of an error. The rest are small fixes tracking Open Tree API changes.
censored vs rotl: 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.
rotl
0.0ANALYTICS
rotl's whole release history is keeping name matching honest against a moving taxonomy.
◆ Current state
Nearly every entry concerns `tnrs_match_names()`, the function that maps user-supplied names onto Open Tree taxonomy ids. 3.1.0 changed which taxon wins a multi-way match — highest matching score rather than lowest OTT id, reversing the rule 3.0.4 introduced. 3.0.12 defaulted `context_name` to 'All life' so a context inferred from the first name could not silently skew later ones. 3.0.11 made a total failure to match return an empty tibble with a warning instead of an error. The rest are small fixes tracking Open Tree API changes.
◆ Where it's heading
The recurring problem is ambiguity: names match several taxa, and the package has changed its tie-breaking rule twice while making failures and edge cases return predictable objects rather than errors. Nothing here expands what rotl can retrieve; it makes what it retrieves reproducible. The feed also stops in mid-2023, so the package appears dormant.
◆ Prediction
Nothing in the window suggests new capability. If a release comes, the pattern says it will follow an Open Tree API change or another matching-behaviour correction.
Alternatives to censored and rotl
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 rotl.
writexl
writexl spent nine years refusing to do formatting, then shipped all of it in 2.0.0.
rgbif
rgbif is steadily pushing users off paged searching and onto real downloads.
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.
taxize
taxize spends its releases absorbing other people's API changes, one dead source at a time.
See all censored alternatives → · See all rotl alternatives →
Recent activity from censored and rotl
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 4mo agocensoredcensored 0.3.4
- 1y agocensoredQuantile prediction format follows new parsnip requirements
- 2y agocensoredSurvival probabilities at infinite evaluation times now computed
- 2y agocensoredcensored 0.3.1
- 2y agocensoredmulti_predict() for all glmnet prediction types; aorsf predicts time
- 3y agorotlrotl 3.1.0 matches on score instead of lowest OTT id
- 3y agocensoredeval_time replaces time; matrix fitting for censored regression
- 4y agorotlrotl 3.0.12 defaults matching context to All life
- 5y agorotlrotl 3.0.11 returns empty tibble when no names match
- 6y agorotlrotl 3.0.10 tracks Open Tree API updates
- 7y agorotlrotl 3.0.9 tracks Open Tree API updates
- 7y agorotlrotl 3.0.7 updates vignette for TNRS endpoint change
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between censored and rotl?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. censored and rotl 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 rotl?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. censored and rotl 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 rotl?
Top rotl alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "rotl alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rotl for the full list with editorial commentary on each.