rnaturalearth
rnaturalearth finished its sp exit and is now optimising how the data actually arrives.
Comparison · Analytics
censored vs taxize
A side-by-side editorial comparison of censored and taxize — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
censored vs taxize: 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 taxize?
taxize spends its releases absorbing other people's API changes, one dead source at a time.
The most recent work is migration: 0.10.0 replaced the deprecated Global Names Resolver functions with GNA equivalents (`gna_verifier`, `gna_parse`), rewrote `scrapenames` for the new API, and updated its rredlist usage to match that package's own v4 rewrite. 0.10.1 then tuned `gna_verifier`'s batch size to 50. The older entries in the window show the same shape from a different angle: `tnrs()` made defunct because the service died, COL dropped over rate limiting, NatureServe reworked for a new API, and a package-wide parameter rename to `sci` / `com` / `id` / `sci_com` / `sci_id`.
censored vs taxize: 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.
taxize
0.0ANALYTICS
taxize spends its releases absorbing other people's API changes, one dead source at a time.
◆ Current state
The most recent work is migration: 0.10.0 replaced the deprecated Global Names Resolver functions with GNA equivalents (`gna_verifier`, `gna_parse`), rewrote `scrapenames` for the new API, and updated its rredlist usage to match that package's own v4 rewrite. 0.10.1 then tuned `gna_verifier`'s batch size to 50. The older entries in the window show the same shape from a different angle: `tnrs()` made defunct because the service died, COL dropped over rate limiting, NatureServe reworked for a new API, and a package-wide parameter rename to `sci` / `com` / `id` / `sci_com` / `sci_id`.
◆ Where it's heading
taxize's job is aggregating a dozen taxonomic databases, so most of its engineering is downstream of decisions it does not control — sources go away, endpoints change, rate limits appear. The visible trend is consolidation: fewer, better-maintained backends rather than broader coverage. Release cadence has thinned to roughly one a year, and the rredlist coupling means it now inherits that package's breaking changes too.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next release to track another upstream source change rather than add new databases; the deprecated-parameter aliases from the 0.9.97 rename are also overdue for removal.
Alternatives to censored and taxize
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 taxize.
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.
rotl
rotl's whole release history is keeping name matching honest against a moving taxonomy.
See all censored alternatives → · See all taxize alternatives →
Recent activity from censored and taxize
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 4mo agocensoredcensored 0.3.4
- 5mo agotaxizetaxize 0.10.1 lowers gna_verifier batch size
- 1y agocensoredQuantile prediction format follows new parsnip requirements
- 1y agotaxizetaxize 0.10.0 migrates to GNA and the new rredlist API
- 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 agocensoredeval_time replaces time; matrix fitting for censored regression
- 5y agotaxizetaxize 0.9.99 retires tnrs(), paginates WORMS queries
- 5y agotaxizetaxize 0.9.98 adds NCBI and zoological rank names
- 6y agotaxizetaxize 0.9.97 standardises parameter names package-wide
- 6y agotaxizetaxize 0.9.96 updates NatureServe for its new API
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between censored and taxize?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. censored and taxize 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 taxize?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. censored and taxize 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 taxize?
Top taxize alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "taxize alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/taxize for the full list with editorial commentary on each.