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Comparison · Analytics
distributions3 vs pegboard
A side-by-side editorial comparison of distributions3 and pegboard — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-package
distributions3 vs pegboard: at a glance
What is distributions3?
distributions3 0.3.0 adds sample-based distributions and likelihood derivatives
An R package giving probability distributions a consistent object interface - d/p/q/r functions, moments, and prodist() methods that pull a fitted distribution out of a regression object. Version 0.3.0 is the first substantive release under Achim Zeileis's maintenance, and it widens what a distribution is allowed to be: Empirical() represents a distribution by a random sample rather than by parameters, and numerical fallbacks now fill in cdf(), pdf(), quantile(), random() and the moments for any object that implements only some of them. New score() and hessian() generics compute first and second derivatives of the log-likelihood with respect to the parameters, analytically for a few distributions and numerically for the rest.
What is pegboard?
The Carpentries' lesson parser spends its releases keeping pace with tinkr underneath it.
pegboard reads and validates Carpentries lesson source, and its recent releases are dominated by tracking changes in tinkr, the Markdown layer it sits on. The 0.7.8 switch from yaml to frontmatter handling needed a hotfix three days later in 0.7.9; 0.7.6 was similarly a compatibility fix for a tinkr show argument change. The genuinely additive work — tabset panel support in 0.7.5, caution divs in 0.7.7 — is smaller and less frequent.
distributions3 vs pegboard: editorial side-by-side
distributions3
6.3ANALYTICS
distributions3 0.3.0 adds sample-based distributions and likelihood derivatives
◆ Current state
An R package giving probability distributions a consistent object interface - d/p/q/r functions, moments, and prodist() methods that pull a fitted distribution out of a regression object. Version 0.3.0 is the first substantive release under Achim Zeileis's maintenance, and it widens what a distribution is allowed to be: Empirical() represents a distribution by a random sample rather than by parameters, and numerical fallbacks now fill in cdf(), pdf(), quantile(), random() and the moments for any object that implements only some of them. New score() and hessian() generics compute first and second derivatives of the log-likelihood with respect to the parameters, analytically for a few distributions and numerically for the rest.
◆ Where it's heading
Growth used to arrive as new distribution families contributed from outside - the extreme-value set, Erlang, later the Poisson binomial. This release changes the axis: alongside two new distributions it adds an inference layer (score, hessian) and a forecast-evaluation one (crps() methods against scoringRules), which are capabilities about distributions rather than more of them. Dependency weight is being cut at the same time, with ggplot2 demoted to Suggests and glue replaced by base R sprintf().
◆ Prediction
With numeric fallbacks and the derivative generics in place, expect analytic score() and hessian() methods to be filled in across more of the distribution catalogue. The constructor-default change is the likeliest source of follow-up fixes, since calls like Poisson() now return a length-zero distribution where they previously errored.
pegboard
0.0ANALYTICS
The Carpentries' lesson parser spends its releases keeping pace with tinkr underneath it.
◆ Current state
pegboard reads and validates Carpentries lesson source, and its recent releases are dominated by tracking changes in tinkr, the Markdown layer it sits on. The 0.7.8 switch from yaml to frontmatter handling needed a hotfix three days later in 0.7.9; 0.7.6 was similarly a compatibility fix for a tinkr show argument change. The genuinely additive work — tabset panel support in 0.7.5, caution divs in 0.7.7 — is smaller and less frequent.
◆ Where it's heading
This is infrastructure whose roadmap is largely set by its dependency. Contributor churn is visible in the release notes, with several first-time contributors and the release role passing between maintainers, which suggests a community project maintained in bursts rather than to a plan. New lesson-authoring features arrive when someone contributes one, not on a cadence.
◆ Prediction
The next release will most likely be another tinkr compatibility pass or a small addition to the set of recognised div types, following the pattern of every release in this window.
Alternatives to distributions3 and pegboard
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 distributions3 or pegboard.
RStudio
RStudio ships through release branches, and the notes are commit messages
dbt Core
dbt Fusion's second beta is adapter work: ClickHouse gets materializations, indexes, and catalogs
Fulcrum
Fulcrum is betting its whole map stack on Esri, with a hard Google Maps cutoff on September 1.
Holistics
Holistics keeps fencing in the AI layer it spent the summer building.
Dovetail
Dovetail spent July opening doors to other tools and August making its own rooms easier to enter.
See all distributions3 alternatives → · See all pegboard alternatives →
Recent activity from distributions3 and pegboard
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2h agodistributions3Empirical distributions, plus score and hessian generics ⚡
- 28d agodistributions3Maintenance moves to Achim Zeileis; moment calculations corrected
- 10mo agodistributions3ggplot2 compatibility for the plotting functions
- 1y agopegboardHotfix for the tinkr frontmatter handling in 0.7.8
- 1y agopegboardFrontmatter replaces yaml handling in lesson parsing
- 1y agopegboardcaution joins the recognised lesson div types
- 1y agodistributions3Poisson binomial distribution, with a normal-approximation fallback
- 2y agopegboardEpisode and tests realigned to a tinkr argument change
- 2y agopegboardTabs and tabset panels supported in lesson source
- 2y agopegboardTrailing comma fix in glue() and DESCRIPTION updates
- 3y agodistributions3is_discrete and is_continuous generics, plus elementwise type-safety
- 4y agodistributions3Extreme-value family, Erlang, and a plotting generic
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between distributions3 and pegboard?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. distributions3 is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 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 distributions3 better than pegboard?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. distributions3 is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 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 distributions3?
Top distributions3 alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "distributions3 alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/distributions3-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to pegboard?
Top pegboard alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "pegboard alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/pegboard for the full list with editorial commentary on each.