mlr3proba
mlr3proba is shedding weight as its survival work moves into sibling packages
Comparison · Analytics
embed vs modeldata
A side-by-side editorial comparison of embed and modeldata — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:tidymodels
embed vs modeldata: at a glance
What is embed?
embed keeps adding encoding steps while shedding its deep-learning dependencies
embed supplies recipes steps that turn categorical predictors into numeric representations — likelihood encoding, UMAP projection, string-distance collapsing. The 1.1.x line made UMAP arguments tunable and moved keras and tensorflow out of hard dependencies; 1.2.0 added analytical likelihood encoding with partial pooling and retired step_feature_hash() in favor of textrecipes.
What is modeldata?
The tidymodels example-data package grows one dataset at a time, on nobody's schedule
modeldata exists to supply the datasets and simulation functions that tidymodels documentation, tests, and teaching material depend on. Releases arrive roughly once or twice a year and consist almost entirely of new data sets plus occasional simulation methods. The most recent work adds a Worley (1987) regression simulation and moves the package off the magrittr pipe onto base R's.
embed vs modeldata: editorial side-by-side
embed
0.0ANALYTICS
embed keeps adding encoding steps while shedding its deep-learning dependencies
◆ Current state
embed supplies recipes steps that turn categorical predictors into numeric representations — likelihood encoding, UMAP projection, string-distance collapsing. The 1.1.x line made UMAP arguments tunable and moved keras and tensorflow out of hard dependencies; 1.2.0 added analytical likelihood encoding with partial pooling and retired step_feature_hash() in favor of textrecipes.
◆ Where it's heading
Two quiet directions run through these releases. One is making the steps tunable rather than fixed, so they participate properly in tidymodels grids. The other is boundary maintenance: heavy dependencies pushed to Suggests, overlapping steps handed to the package that owns them. Recent releases are thin and fix-driven.
◆ Prediction
Expect further consolidation with textrecipes over which package owns which encoding step, and continued upkeep against xgboost and uwot releases rather than new step families.
modeldata
0.0ANALYTICS
The tidymodels example-data package grows one dataset at a time, on nobody's schedule
◆ Current state
modeldata exists to supply the datasets and simulation functions that tidymodels documentation, tests, and teaching material depend on. Releases arrive roughly once or twice a year and consist almost entirely of new data sets plus occasional simulation methods. The most recent work adds a Worley (1987) regression simulation and moves the package off the magrittr pipe onto base R's.
◆ Where it's heading
Two lines run through the history: broadening coverage of task types — ordinal classification, multinomial, regression, QSAR-style chemistry data — and building out synthetic simulation so tutorials can demonstrate a method without shipping a real dataset for it. The simulation side has grown from a single regression generator into a family with logistic and multinomial variants and a keep_truth option that exposes the error-free outcome. Infrastructure changes appear only when the wider tidyverse moves, as the base-pipe transition shows.
◆ Prediction
The pattern points to another simulation method or a dataset filling a task type the collection still lacks, rather than any change in what the package does.
Alternatives to embed and modeldata
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 embed or modeldata.
mlr3viz
mlr3viz keeps the ecosystem's plots working while the plots themselves move out
mlr3tuning
mlr3tuning is rebuilding its async machinery under a stable public surface
timetk
timetk swallowed anomalize whole, then went quiet for two years
modelbased
modelbased is turning marginal effects into a full contrast grammar
parameters
easystats' parameters package absorbs one more model class every few weeks
See all embed alternatives → · See all modeldata alternatives →
Recent activity from embed and modeldata
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 6mo agoembedstep_umap() zero-component bug fixed
- 8mo agoembedCompatibility with all xgboost versions
- 11mo agoembedstep_lencode() adds analytical likelihood encoding with pooling
- 11mo agomodeldatamodeldata 1.5.1 fixes documentation and column-name typos
- 1y agomodeldatamodeldata 1.5.0 adds a Worley (1987) regression simulation
- 1y agoembedUMAP initial and target_weight become tunable
- 2y agomodeldatamodeldata 1.4.0 adds the cat_adoption data set
- 2y agoembedkeras and tensorflow moved to Suggests
- 2y agomodeldatamodeldata 1.3.0 adds the deliveries data set
- 2y agoembedstep_collapse_stringdist() returns factors
- 3y agomodeldatamodeldata 1.2.0 adds eight data sets across regression and classification
- 3y agomodeldatamodeldata 1.1.0 adds logistic and multinomial simulation plus keep_truth
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between embed and modeldata?
Both compete on the same themes — tidymodels — within Analytics. embed and modeldata 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 embed better than modeldata?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. embed and modeldata 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 embed?
Top embed alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "embed alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/embed for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to modeldata?
Top modeldata alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "modeldata alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/modeldata for the full list with editorial commentary on each.