mlr3proba
mlr3proba is shedding weight as its survival work moves into sibling packages
Comparison · Analytics
patchwork vs textrecipes
A side-by-side editorial comparison of patchwork and textrecipes — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
patchwork vs textrecipes: at a glance
What is patchwork?
patchwork stopped being a ggplot composer and became a page composer.
patchwork assembles plots into compositions with arithmetic operators, and the 1.x line has steadily hardened that grammar: guide and axis collection, free() to exempt a plot from alignment, inset_element() for overlays, and list-like behaviour so lapply() and length() work on a patchwork. Version 1.3.0 added native gt table support. The two releases since are a load-time warning fix and a compatibility pass for the next ggplot2 release.
What is textrecipes?
Text features finally stay sparse all the way to the model.
textrecipes supplies the recipes steps for turning text into model-ready columns: tokenizing, hashing, term frequency, TF-IDF, and word embeddings. Version 1.1.0 added a sparse argument to step_dummy_hash(), step_texthash(), step_tf() and step_tfidf() so they emit sparse vectors. The releases before it are a long consistency pass — keep_original_cols on every step that creates columns, informative errors on name collisions, tunable arguments documented, integer rather than double output where integers are what is meant.
patchwork vs textrecipes: editorial side-by-side
patchwork
0.0ANALYTICS
patchwork stopped being a ggplot composer and became a page composer.
◆ Current state
patchwork assembles plots into compositions with arithmetic operators, and the 1.x line has steadily hardened that grammar: guide and axis collection, free() to exempt a plot from alignment, inset_element() for overlays, and list-like behaviour so lapply() and length() work on a patchwork. Version 1.3.0 added native gt table support. The two releases since are a load-time warning fix and a compatibility pass for the next ggplot2 release.
◆ Where it's heading
The centre of gravity is shifting from alignment mechanics to composition scope. Early releases were almost entirely bug fixes against grid and ggplot2 internals — strip placement, fixed aspect ratios, guide merging. Recent ones add object types and escape hatches instead. Between feature cycles the package is in maintenance defined by ggplot2's release calendar, which is what 1.3.1 is in its entirety.
◆ Prediction
Expect wrap_table() to grow beyond gt to other table objects, and expect the next substantive release to be triggered by a ggplot2 internals change rather than by a patchwork roadmap.
textrecipes
0.0ANALYTICS
Text features finally stay sparse all the way to the model.
◆ Current state
textrecipes supplies the recipes steps for turning text into model-ready columns: tokenizing, hashing, term frequency, TF-IDF, and word embeddings. Version 1.1.0 added a sparse argument to step_dummy_hash(), step_texthash(), step_tf() and step_tfidf() so they emit sparse vectors. The releases before it are a long consistency pass — keep_original_cols on every step that creates columns, informative errors on name collisions, tunable arguments documented, integer rather than double output where integers are what is meant.
◆ Where it's heading
Two forces drive this package. One is memory: text produces wide, mostly-zero matrices, and the sparse work is the direct answer, landing in the same period that workflows learned to fit and predict on dgCMatrix input. The other is upstream churn — the tweets tokenizer was deprecated because tokenizers deprecated it, the politeness feature disappeared when textfeatures left Suggests. The package's own agenda is consistency; its release timing belongs to its dependencies.
◆ Prediction
Expect the sparse argument to spread to the remaining column-producing steps, since only four of them have it, and expect more steps to be reworked as recipes' own sparse-data support matures.
Alternatives to patchwork and textrecipes
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 patchwork or textrecipes.
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 patchwork alternatives → · See all textrecipes alternatives →
Recent activity from patchwork and textrecipes
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 11mo agopatchworkFix spurious load-time warnings
- 1y agopatchworkCompatibility pass for the next ggplot2 release
- 1y agotextrecipesHashing and TF-IDF steps can emit sparse vectors ⚡
- 1y agotextrecipesstep_textfeatures() sped up; clean_levels NA bug fixed
- 1y agopatchworkgt tables become first-class patchwork objects ⚡
- 2y agopatchworkAxis collection and free() arrive
- 2y agotextrecipestextfeatures dependency dropped; politeness feature removed
- 2y agotextrecipesuntokenize and normalization return factors
- 2y agotextrecipeskeep_original_cols everywhere; hashing column order fixed
- 3y agopatchworkPatchworks behave like lists; NULL becomes a no-op
- 3y agotextrecipesTunable arguments documented; name collisions now error
- 3y agopatchworkClearer error when plotting space is too small
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between patchwork and textrecipes?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. patchwork and textrecipes 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 patchwork better than textrecipes?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. patchwork and textrecipes 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 patchwork?
Top patchwork alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "patchwork alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/patchwork for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to textrecipes?
Top textrecipes alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "textrecipes alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/textrecipes for the full list with editorial commentary on each.