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Comparison · Analytics
distributional vs distributions3
A side-by-side editorial comparison of distributional and distributions3 — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-packageprobability-distributions
distributional vs distributions3: at a glance
| Feature | distributional | distributions3 |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Analytics | Analytics |
| Velocity score | 0.0 | 2.5 |
| Sparks · 30d | 0 | 0 |
| Top themes | r-package, probability-distributions, distribution-arithmetic, numerical-methods | r-package, probability-distributions, statistical-modelling, maintainership |
| Last editorial update | 1h ago | 1h ago |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
What is distributional?
distributional taught + and - to work on any pair of distributions, closing the algebra it started with.
The R package providing vectorised distribution objects — the substrate that forecasting and anomaly tooling in the same ecosystem builds on. Cadence has picked up sharply, with four releases in the six months to June 2026 against roughly one a year before that. Two kinds of work alternate: adding distribution families (Dirichlet, Horseshoe, Laplace, multivariate t, g-and-k, the extreme-value pair) and deepening what can be computed generically across all of them.
What is distributions3?
distributions3 changes hands to Achim Zeileis, and a moment calculation bug goes with it.
An R package giving probability distributions a consistent object interface — d/p/q/r functions, moments, and prodist() methods that extract a fitted distribution from a regression object. Releases are infrequent, roughly one a year, and the last one is largely administrative: Achim Zeileis takes over maintenance from Alex Hayes, with all URLs and documentation updated to match, alongside a fix to incorrect moment calculations reported by a user.
distributional vs distributions3: editorial side-by-side
distributional
0.0ANALYTICS
distributional taught + and - to work on any pair of distributions, closing the algebra it started with.
◆ Current state
The R package providing vectorised distribution objects — the substrate that forecasting and anomaly tooling in the same ecosystem builds on. Cadence has picked up sharply, with four releases in the six months to June 2026 against roughly one a year before that. Two kinds of work alternate: adding distribution families (Dirichlet, Horseshoe, Laplace, multivariate t, g-and-k, the extreme-value pair) and deepening what can be computed generically across all of them.
◆ Where it's heading
The generic-computation thread is the one that matters and it has been building steadily: a Monte Carlo default method for cdf(), has_symmetry() to let algorithms specialise, hdr() moving to exact results for symmetric distributions and 4096 quantiles elsewhere, open-versus-closed support intervals. Version 0.8.0 is where that thread arrives somewhere — arithmetic on arbitrary distributions, with closed forms used when they exist and numerical convolution when they do not. The package is positioning itself as a computational layer rather than a catalogue, which is consistent with how weird and the forecasting packages consume it.
◆ Prediction
Expect the numerical machinery behind dist_convolved() to be reused for other operators, and more generics like has_symmetry() that let downstream algorithms take exact paths when a distribution supports them.
distributions3
2.5ANALYTICS
distributions3 changes hands to Achim Zeileis, and a moment calculation bug goes with it.
◆ Current state
An R package giving probability distributions a consistent object interface — d/p/q/r functions, moments, and prodist() methods that extract a fitted distribution from a regression object. Releases are infrequent, roughly one a year, and the last one is largely administrative: Achim Zeileis takes over maintenance from Alex Hayes, with all URLs and documentation updated to match, alongside a fix to incorrect moment calculations reported by a user.
◆ Where it's heading
The package's growth has come in two modes. Early releases absorbed whole families of distributions from outside contributors — the extreme-value set, Erlang, later the Poisson binomial — while later ones tightened the interface itself with is_discrete() and is_continuous() generics and elementwise type-safety when applying a distribution vector to a numeric vector. The handover is the notable event in the current window: maintenance moves to the author of the surrounding statistical ecosystem this package already integrates with through prodist() and countreg, which suggests the interface work will continue over the distribution-collection work.
◆ Prediction
Expect closer alignment with Zeileis's own packages, with prodist() coverage widening to more model classes; the entries here do not indicate whether new distribution families remain on the agenda.
Alternatives to distributional and distributions3
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 distributional or distributions3.
epiworldR
epiworldR is a thin R shell whose releases track the C++ simulator underneath it
watina
A groundwater database client that has started doing the domain analysis too
inbospatial
A thin R wrapper over Flemish geospatial services, adding one standard at a time
Fluent Bit
Fluent Bit keeps two lines alive while the 5.x branch quietly opens 5.1.
OpenCTI
OpenCTI is rebuilding its connector layer into a marketplace and wiring the platform to XTM Hub
See all distributional alternatives → · See all distributions3 alternatives →
Recent activity from distributional and distributions3
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 24d agodistributions3Maintenance moves to Achim Zeileis; moment calculations corrected
- 1mo agodistributionalConditional S3 registration so the package loads on R before 4.3
- 1mo agodistributionalDistribution arithmetic: FFT convolution behind the + and - operators ⚡
- 2mo agodistributionalVectorised p in quantile() for inflated distributions; open brackets on infinite bounds
- 5mo agodistributionalDirichlet and Horseshoe distributions added
- 7mo agodistributionalhas_symmetry() generic, exact HDRs for symmetric distributions
- 10mo agodistributions3ggplot2 compatibility for the plotting functions
- 1y agodistributionalMonte Carlo cdf() default method; g-and-k, g-and-h and extreme-value families
- 1y agodistributions3Poisson binomial distribution, with a normal-approximation fallback
- 3y agodistributions3is_discrete and is_continuous generics, plus elementwise type-safety
- 4y agodistributions3Extreme-value family, Erlang, and a plotting generic
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between distributional and distributions3?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package, probability-distributions — within Analytics. distributions3 is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is distributional better than distributions3?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. distributions3 is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to distributional?
Top distributional alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "distributional alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/distributional-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to distributions3?
Top distributions3 alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "distributions3 alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/distributions3-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.