rnaturalearth
rnaturalearth finished its sp exit and is now optimising how the data actually arrives.
Comparison · Analytics
mlr3viz vs posterior
A side-by-side editorial comparison of mlr3viz and posterior — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
mlr3viz vs posterior: at a glance
What is mlr3viz?
mlr3viz keeps the ecosystem's plots working while the plots themselves move out
mlr3viz supplies autoplot methods across mlr3 objects — learners, resample and benchmark results, tuning instances, ensemble feature-selection results. Recent releases are mostly defensive: suppressing ggplot2::fortify() warnings on ROC and PRC curves, pinning legend order so plots are deterministic across ggplot2 environments, and tracking mlr3 1.7.2. A visible piece of scope also left, with the LearnerSurvCoxPH plot moving to mlr3proba.
What is posterior?
posterior keeps deepening two things: the rvar type and Pareto-based diagnostics.
The releases in this window advance on two fronts. The rvar random-variable type gained factor and ordered subtypes (1.4.0), rvar-indexed slicing and `rvar_ifelse()` (1.5.0), base `%*%` matrix multiplication and indexed variable names (1.6.0). Separately, Pareto diagnostics have grown from `pareto_smooth()` options and individual `pareto_khat()`-family functions (1.6.0) through `pit()` for draws and rvars (1.6.1) to exported generalized-Pareto functions and `pareto_pit` (1.7.0). 1.7.1 is a paperwork release for a JOSS submission.
mlr3viz vs posterior: editorial side-by-side
mlr3viz
2.5ANALYTICS
mlr3viz keeps the ecosystem's plots working while the plots themselves move out
◆ Current state
mlr3viz supplies autoplot methods across mlr3 objects — learners, resample and benchmark results, tuning instances, ensemble feature-selection results. Recent releases are mostly defensive: suppressing ggplot2::fortify() warnings on ROC and PRC curves, pinning legend order so plots are deterministic across ggplot2 environments, and tracking mlr3 1.7.2. A visible piece of scope also left, with the LearnerSurvCoxPH plot moving to mlr3proba.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is being narrowed toward generic plotting infrastructure while learner-specific plots migrate to the packages that own those learners. What it does add is access rather than new charts — passing parameters through to precrec::autoplot(), better hints when the wrong autoplot type is requested, and a confidence-interval plot for mlr3inferr. Determinism across ggplot2 versions has become a recurring concern, which is what happens when a visualization package is depended on by documentation and tests.
◆ Prediction
Following the Cox proportional-hazards precedent, further learner-specific plots are likely to move to their owning packages, leaving mlr3viz with the cross-cutting result objects.
posterior
0.0ANALYTICS
posterior keeps deepening two things: the rvar type and Pareto-based diagnostics.
◆ Current state
The releases in this window advance on two fronts. The rvar random-variable type gained factor and ordered subtypes (1.4.0), rvar-indexed slicing and `rvar_ifelse()` (1.5.0), base `%*%` matrix multiplication and indexed variable names (1.6.0). Separately, Pareto diagnostics have grown from `pareto_smooth()` options and individual `pareto_khat()`-family functions (1.6.0) through `pit()` for draws and rvars (1.6.1) to exported generalized-Pareto functions and `pareto_pit` (1.7.0). 1.7.1 is a paperwork release for a JOSS submission.
◆ Where it's heading
posterior is positioning itself as shared infrastructure rather than an end-user package: 1.7.0 explicitly exports generalized-Pareto machinery 'for use in other packages', and the JOSS paper is a citation vehicle for the same audience. The rvar work points the same way — a random-variable type other Bayesian packages can build on. Cadence is steady but unhurried, roughly one feature release a year.
◆ Prediction
More diagnostic functions are likely to be exported for downstream reuse, following the pattern 1.7.0 established with the generalized-Pareto helpers.
Alternatives to mlr3viz and posterior
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 mlr3viz or posterior.
writexl
writexl spent nine years refusing to do formatting, then shipped all of it in 2.0.0.
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.
See all mlr3viz alternatives → · See all posterior alternatives →
Recent activity from mlr3viz and posterior
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 18d agomlr3vizmlr3viz 0.11.1 pins legend order for deterministic plots
- 2mo agoposteriorposterior 1.7.1 released for JOSS paper
- 3mo agoposteriorposterior 1.7.0 exports generalized-Pareto functions
- 5mo agomlr3vizmlr3viz 0.11.0 quiets ggplot2 fortify warnings on ROC curves
- 10mo agoposteriorposterior 1.6.1 adds pit() for draws and rvars
- 1y agomlr3vizmlr3viz 0.10.1 passes plotting parameters through to precrec
- 1y agomlr3vizmlr3viz 0.10.0 adds a LearnerSurvCoxPH plot
- 1y agoposteriorposterior 1.6.0 adds Pareto diagnostics and ESS-based thinning
- 2y agomlr3vizmlr3viz 0.9.0 adds EnsembleFSResult plots
- 2y agomlr3vizmlr3viz 0.8.0 tracks paradox 1.0.0
- 2y agoposteriorposterior 1.5.0 adds nested-Rhat and rvar indexing
- 3y agoposteriorposterior 1.4.0 adds factor and ordered rvar subtypes
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between mlr3viz and posterior?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. mlr3viz 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 mlr3viz better than posterior?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. mlr3viz 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 mlr3viz?
Top mlr3viz alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "mlr3viz alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/mlr3viz for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to posterior?
Top posterior alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "posterior alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/posterior for the full list with editorial commentary on each.