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kernelshap vs tern.rbmi

A side-by-side editorial comparison of kernelshap and tern.rbmi — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

kernelshap vs tern.rbmi: at a glance

Featurekernelshaptern.rbmi
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesshap, model explainability, sampling algorithms, numerical correctnesspharmaverse, multiple-imputation, cran-maintenance, tabulation
Last editorial update9h ago45m ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is kernelshap?

kernelshap makes permutation SHAP practical past eight features, then fixes the kernel weights it had wrong.

kernelshap computes model-agnostic SHAP values in R through Kernel SHAP, permutation SHAP and an exact additive explainer. Version 0.8.0 added a sampling permutation-SHAP algorithm with standard errors and early stopping, lifting the practical feature ceiling past what the exact method allows. Version 0.9.0 then corrected a bug in how kernel weights were computed — exact Kernel SHAP now agrees with exact permutation SHAP — and moved parallelism from foreach to doFuture.

Read the full kernelshap trajectory →

What is tern.rbmi?

Reference-based multiple imputation tables, shipping only what CRAN checks demand.

tern.rbmi renders the output of {rbmi} reference-based multiple imputation analyses into tern tables for clinical reporting. Its three most recent releases exist to satisfy CRAN: restricting vignette builds to gcc, adding V8 to Suggests, and a plain resubmission. No user-facing functionality has changed in the visible window, and the three older entries now backfilled are version-bump automation.

Read the full tern.rbmi trajectory →

kernelshap vs tern.rbmi: editorial side-by-side

K
kernelshap
ANALYTICS
0.0

kernelshap makes permutation SHAP practical past eight features, then fixes the kernel weights it had wrong.

◆ Current state

kernelshap computes model-agnostic SHAP values in R through Kernel SHAP, permutation SHAP and an exact additive explainer. Version 0.8.0 added a sampling permutation-SHAP algorithm with standard errors and early stopping, lifting the practical feature ceiling past what the exact method allows. Version 0.9.0 then corrected a bug in how kernel weights were computed — exact Kernel SHAP now agrees with exact permutation SHAP — and moved parallelism from foreach to doFuture.

◆ Where it's heading

Two concerns drive this package: making exact methods reach further, and being demonstrably right. The first shows in the additive explainer, the optional background dataset and the sampling permutation algorithm; the second in unit tests written against Python's shap, credited fixes from outside contributors, and a willingness to ship a correctness fix that changes numbers people have already published. Speed work runs continuously underneath — direct solves replacing the Moore-Penrose pseudo-inverse, roughly 10% less memory.

◆ Prediction

The 0.6.0 and 0.7.0 notes each promised a stable 1.0.0 that has not arrived; with the weighting bug fixed and parallelism reworked, a 1.0 release is the most plausible next step.

T
tern.rbmi
ANALYTICS
0.0

Reference-based multiple imputation tables, shipping only what CRAN checks demand.

◆ Current state

tern.rbmi renders the output of {rbmi} reference-based multiple imputation analyses into tern tables for clinical reporting. Its three most recent releases exist to satisfy CRAN: restricting vignette builds to gcc, adding V8 to Suggests, and a plain resubmission. No user-facing functionality has changed in the visible window, and the three older entries now backfilled are version-bump automation.

◆ Where it's heading

This is a thin adapter package and behaves like one — it moves when CRAN or an upstream dependency forces it to. Between 2022 and 2024 the feed shows only version bumps, and the 2025 releases are packaging concerns rather than analysis changes. The newly surfaced 2022 entries reinforce rather than change that reading.

◆ Prediction

Expect the next release to be triggered by a CRAN check failure or an {rbmi} update rather than by new tabulation features.

Alternatives to kernelshap and tern.rbmi

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 kernelshap or tern.rbmi.

See all kernelshap alternatives → · See all tern.rbmi alternatives →

Recent activity from kernelshap and tern.rbmi

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 1y agokernelshapKernel weight bug fixed; parallelism moves to doFuture
  2. 1y agotern.rbmiVignette built only under gcc
  3. 1y agokernelshapSampling permutation SHAP with standard errors
  4. 1y agotern.rbmiV8 added to Suggests
  5. 1y agotern.rbmiCRAN resubmission with dependency and workflow updates
  6. 1y agokernelshapBackground data now optional; ranger survival support
  7. 2y agokernelshapFactor-valued predictions dropped
  8. 2y agokernelshapadditive_shap() explains additive models exactly
  9. 2y agokernelshapFaster on plain data.frames
  10. 3y agotern.rbmiAutomated release commit for 0.1.1
  11. 4y agotern.rbmiDevelopment version bump to 0.1.0.9004
  12. 4y agotern.rbmiCI automation commit, no release content

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between kernelshap and tern.rbmi?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. kernelshap and tern.rbmi 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 kernelshap better than tern.rbmi?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. kernelshap and tern.rbmi 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 kernelshap?

Top kernelshap alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "kernelshap alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/kernelshap for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to tern.rbmi?

Top tern.rbmi alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "tern.rbmi alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/tern-rbmi for the full list with editorial commentary on each.