PyMC3 is a probabilistic programming package for Python that allows users to fit Bayesian models using a variety of numerical methods, most notably Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) and variational inference (VI). Its flexibility and extensibility make it applicable to a large suite of problems. Along with core model specification and fitting functionality, PyMC3 includes functionality for summarizing output and for model diagnostics.
JAGS is Just Another Gibbs Sampler. It is a program for analysis of Bayesian hierarchical models using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation not wholly unlike BUGS. JAGS was written with three aims in mind:
- To have a cross-platform engine for the BUGS language
- To be extensible, allowing users to write their own functions, distributions and samplers.
- To be a platform for experimentation with ideas in Bayesian modelling
Stan® is a state-of-the-art platform for statistical modeling and high-performance statistical computation. Thousands of users rely on Stan for statistical modeling, data analysis, and prediction in the social, biological, and physical sciences, engineering, and business.
Pyro is a universal probabilistic programming language (PPL) written in Python and supported by PyTorch on the backend. Pyro enables flexible and expressive deep probabilistic modeling, unifying the best of modern deep learning and Bayesian modeling. It was designed with these key principles:
- Universal: Pyro can represent any computable probability distribution.
- Scalable: Pyro scales to large data sets with little overhead.
- Minimal: Pyro is implemented with a small core of powerful, composable abstractions.
- Flexible: Pyro aims for automation when you want it, control when you need it.
TensorFlow Probability is a library for probabilistic reasoning and statistical analysis in TensorFlow. As part of the TensorFlow ecosystem, TensorFlow Probability provides integration of probabilistic methods with deep networks, gradient-based inference using automatic differentiation, and scalability to large datasets and models with hardware acceleration (GPUs) and distributed computation.