User-visible changes

  • New Cindex family to optimize survival models w.r.t. the concordance index. Fixes #53.
  • Added function varimp to extract variable importance. A dedicated plot function exists (plot(varimp())). Code was provided by Tobias Kuehn and Almond Stoecker. See pull request #29.
  • Improved plot function for boosting models: • plot fails earlier in case of multiple levelplots, i.e., maps (thanks to Mikko Korpela). See pull request #39. • Provide sensible defaults for xlab and ylab and allow user-specified axis labels for bi- and multivariate plots. Fixes #51. • Export plot functions (plot.glmboost, plot.mboost, lines.mboost, plot.varimp and plot.cvrisk) for better usability and visibility.

Miscellaneous

  • Updated manual regarding the usage of families and clarified the usage of argument qoffset.
  • Updated manual for base-learners: • Highlight that x should be centered if bols(x, intercept = FALSE) is used. • Discourage using bbs(, constraint != "none"); Preferably use bmono for constrained effect estimates. Fixes #36.
  • Improved vignettes (thanks to Mikko Korpela). See pull request #38.

Bug-fixes

  • Solve potential problem with IPCweights(). Fixes #54.
  • Drop unobserved factor levels from bols(). Fixes #47.
  • Adapt btree to changes introduced in package party. Fixes #58.
  • Improved cvrisk to be more robust in various use cases (thanks to Mikko Korpela). See pull request #42.
  • Be more careful regarding namespace scoping rules. Fixes #45.