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Comparison · Analytics
FedData vs mlr3cmprsk
A side-by-side editorial comparison of FedData and mlr3cmprsk — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
FedData vs mlr3cmprsk: at a glance
What is FedData?
FedData has spent two major versions migrating US federal geodata off R's retiring spatial stack.
FedData downloads and standardises US federal geospatial datasets — NLCD, NHD, NED, SSURGO, Daymet, GHCN, PAD-US, NASS — into consistent R objects. Two breaking majors define the current package: 3.0.0 moved returns to sf and raster and pulled data from cloud-optimised GeoTIFFs, and 4.0.0 finished the job by dropping sp and raster entirely for terra and sf. Recent releases are dataset refreshes, most recently PAD-US 4.0.
What is mlr3cmprsk?
Competing risks arrive in mlr3, going from a non-parametric baseline to Fine-Gray regression in seven weeks.
mlr3cmprsk extends mlr3 to competing-risks analysis: learners predicting cumulative incidence functions, plus measures to score them. It appeared in February 2026 and reached 0.0.5 by April, adding a Fine-Gray learner and a Brier score along the way. The version numbers say pre-release; the cadence says active build-out.
FedData vs mlr3cmprsk: editorial side-by-side
FedData
0.0ANALYTICS
FedData has spent two major versions migrating US federal geodata off R's retiring spatial stack.
◆ Current state
FedData downloads and standardises US federal geospatial datasets — NLCD, NHD, NED, SSURGO, Daymet, GHCN, PAD-US, NASS — into consistent R objects. Two breaking majors define the current package: 3.0.0 moved returns to sf and raster and pulled data from cloud-optimised GeoTIFFs, and 4.0.0 finished the job by dropping sp and raster entirely for terra and sf. Recent releases are dataset refreshes, most recently PAD-US 4.0.
◆ Where it's heading
The package tracks two moving targets at once: the R spatial stack, which it has now fully migrated onto terra and sf, and the federal agencies whose URLs, file naming and hosting keep shifting. With the dependency migration finished, releases have shrunk to single-dataset updates such as annual NLCD and PAD-US 4.0, which suggests the structural work is done and the ongoing cost is data-source maintenance.
◆ Prediction
Expect continued small releases pinned to new vintages of the underlying federal datasets, plus fixes when an agency moves or reformats a source; no further dependency-level upheaval is visible in these entries.
mlr3cmprsk
0.0ANALYTICS
Competing risks arrive in mlr3, going from a non-parametric baseline to Fine-Gray regression in seven weeks.
◆ Current state
mlr3cmprsk extends mlr3 to competing-risks analysis: learners predicting cumulative incidence functions, plus measures to score them. It appeared in February 2026 and reached 0.0.5 by April, adding a Fine-Gray learner and a Brier score along the way. The version numbers say pre-release; the cadence says active build-out.
◆ Where it's heading
The package assembled a working evaluation stack fast. It started with the Aalen-Johansen estimator as a non-parametric baseline, added Fine-Gray as a regression alternative, then filled in the scoring side with an AUC refactor and a fixed-time Brier score. Development has run in lockstep with survdistr and mlr3extralearners, which picked up the dependency at 1.5.2.
◆ Prediction
The visible gaps are more learners — cause-specific Cox and boosting variants — and the tuning and pipeline integration the rest of mlr3 expects; the measure side currently looks further along than the model side.
Alternatives to FedData and mlr3cmprsk
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 FedData or mlr3cmprsk.
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See all FedData alternatives → · See all mlr3cmprsk alternatives →
Recent activity from FedData and mlr3cmprsk
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 4mo agomlr3cmprskBrier score for competing risks and an AUC refactor
- 4mo agomlr3cmprskFine-Gray learner brings regression modelling to competing risks ⚡
- 4mo agomlr3cmprskAalen-Johansen learner gains standard mlr3 properties
- 4mo agomlr3cmprskCIF interpolation pulled from survdistr
- 5mo agomlr3cmprskFirst release on mlr-org.r-universe
- 1y agoFedDataget_padus() updated to PAD-US 4.0
- 1y agoFedDataAnnual NLCD access added; get_nass() retired
- 2y agoFedDatasp and raster dropped; everything returns terra or sf ⚡
- 3y agoFedDataGHCN moves to https; NHD handles empty and odd geometries
- 3y agoFedDataAll raster writing moves to terra
- 3y agoFedDataVersion 3 rebuilds on sf and cloud-optimised GeoTIFFs ⚡
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between FedData and mlr3cmprsk?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. FedData and mlr3cmprsk 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 FedData better than mlr3cmprsk?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. FedData and mlr3cmprsk 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 FedData?
Top FedData alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "FedData alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/feddata for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to mlr3cmprsk?
Top mlr3cmprsk alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "mlr3cmprsk alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/mlr3cmprsk for the full list with editorial commentary on each.