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Comparison · Analytics
mlr3proba vs rnaturalearth
A side-by-side editorial comparison of mlr3proba and rnaturalearth — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
mlr3proba vs rnaturalearth: at a glance
What is mlr3proba?
mlr3proba is shedding weight as its survival work moves into sibling packages
mlr3proba provides probabilistic supervised learning for mlr3 — survival analysis, density estimation, and the measures that go with them. Recent releases are almost entirely upkeep: a distr6 fork to work around an upstream problem, an ooplah fix, a predict-type correction, and registration in mlr_reflections$loaded_packages. The one deletion is telling, with LearnerDensPenalized removed after pendensity left CRAN.
What is rnaturalearth?
rnaturalearth finished its sp exit and is now optimising how the data actually arrives.
1.0.0 ended sp support outright, making sf the default and offering terra's SpatVector via `returnclass`, after 0.3.3 had signposted that with lifecycle badges. The two releases since move to delivery mechanics: 1.1.0 reads data directly out of the zip through the GDAL Virtual File System, starts moving unloaded downloads to GeoPackage instead of shapefile, and switches the base URL to naciscdn.org; 1.2.0 adds caching to `ne_download()` when `destdir` is persistent, swaps devtools for pak when installing the companion data packages, and handles Natural Earth's inconsistent raster zip layouts.
mlr3proba vs rnaturalearth: editorial side-by-side
mlr3proba
0.0ANALYTICS
mlr3proba is shedding weight as its survival work moves into sibling packages
◆ Current state
mlr3proba provides probabilistic supervised learning for mlr3 — survival analysis, density estimation, and the measures that go with them. Recent releases are almost entirely upkeep: a distr6 fork to work around an upstream problem, an ooplah fix, a predict-type correction, and registration in mlr_reflections$loaded_packages. The one deletion is telling, with LearnerDensPenalized removed after pendensity left CRAN.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is being pared back rather than extended. Its README now points at survdistr and mlr3cmprsk as matured alternatives for parts of what it covers, which reads as scope being handed off, while the Cox proportional-hazards autoplot arrived from mlr3viz in the other direction. Several fixes exist to route around dependencies that broke or disappeared, which is the recurring cost of building on a long chain of specialized CRAN packages.
◆ Prediction
The dependency churn suggests more consolidation — further reliance on survdistr and mlr3cmprsk, and more learners retired when the package underneath them goes unmaintained.
rnaturalearth
0.0ANALYTICS
rnaturalearth finished its sp exit and is now optimising how the data actually arrives.
◆ Current state
1.0.0 ended sp support outright, making sf the default and offering terra's SpatVector via `returnclass`, after 0.3.3 had signposted that with lifecycle badges. The two releases since move to delivery mechanics: 1.1.0 reads data directly out of the zip through the GDAL Virtual File System, starts moving unloaded downloads to GeoPackage instead of shapefile, and switches the base URL to naciscdn.org; 1.2.0 adds caching to `ne_download()` when `destdir` is persistent, swaps devtools for pak when installing the companion data packages, and handles Natural Earth's inconsistent raster zip layouts.
◆ Where it's heading
With the class question settled, the work has shifted to not re-downloading and not unpacking — VFS reads, caching, and a container format that does not need a sidecar of four files. That points at the package being used in repeated or automated contexts rather than interactive one-offs. The shapefile-to-GeoPackage transition is explicitly incomplete.
◆ Prediction
Completing the GeoPackage transition for `load = FALSE` downloads is the obvious next step, since 1.1.0 described it as in progress.
Alternatives to mlr3proba and rnaturalearth
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 mlr3proba or rnaturalearth.
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.
taxize
taxize spends its releases absorbing other people's API changes, one dead source at a time.
See all mlr3proba alternatives → · See all rnaturalearth alternatives →
Recent activity from mlr3proba and rnaturalearth
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2mo agomlr3probamlr3proba 0.8.10 registers itself in the mlr3 loaded-packages registry
- 4mo agomlr3probamlr3proba 0.8.9 drops LearnerDensPenalized after pendensity left CRAN
- 5mo agomlr3probamlr3proba 0.8.8
- 5mo agomlr3probamlr3proba 0.8.7
- 6mo agornaturalearthrnaturalearth 1.2.0
- 9mo agomlr3probamlr3proba 0.8.5
- 10mo agomlr3probamlr3proba 0.8.4 takes over the Cox proportional-hazards autoplot
- 1y agornaturalearthrnaturalearth 1.1.0
- 2y agornaturalearthrnaturalearth 1.0.0 drops sp for sf and terra
- 3y agornaturalearthrnaturalearth 0.3.3 deprecates sp, imports terra
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between mlr3proba and rnaturalearth?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. mlr3proba and rnaturalearth 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 mlr3proba better than rnaturalearth?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. mlr3proba and rnaturalearth 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 mlr3proba?
Top mlr3proba alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "mlr3proba alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/mlr3proba for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to rnaturalearth?
Top rnaturalearth alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "rnaturalearth alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rnaturalearth for the full list with editorial commentary on each.