# `pls_glm` — PLS-GLM (Generalised Linear Model PLS)
_Group_: **Classification & GLM** · _Registry tolerance_: `1e-06`
## Description
PLS-GLM (§5) — softmax/Poisson IRLS on PLS scores
From the `pls4all.sklearn.PLSGLMRegressor` docstring:
> PLS + Generalised Linear Model head (Bastien 2005).
> **Registry note** — R `plsRglm::plsRglm` (Bastien, Vinzi & Tenenhaus 2005) with `scaleX=FALSE`. pls4all's default now mirrors the plsRglm algorithm exactly: per-component partial-regression weights (Gaussian-identity uses closed-form OLS; Poisson-log uses IRLS), score-space GLM coefficients, and per-target stacking. The legacy single-pass C++ kernel (centred SIMPLS + column-mean intercept) is opt-in via ``legacy=True``.
### Parameters
| Name | Type | Default | Notes |
|------|------|---------|-------|
| `n_components` | `int` | `2` | Number of latent components extracted (k). |
| `poisson` | `bool` | `False` | If True, fit a Poisson-deviance PLS-GLM (default Gaussian link). |
| `n_targets` | `int` | `3` | registry benchmark cell value |
## Explanations
### Bibliographic source
Marx, B. D. (1996). *Iteratively reweighted partial least squares estimation for generalized linear regression*. Technometrics 38(4), 374–381.
### Mathematical principle
PLS-GLM generalises PLS-logistic to any GLM family. The IRLS recipe is identical — derive a working response from the current linear predictor, fit PLS with the GLM weights, iterate — but the link function varies: identity for Gaussian, log for Poisson, logit for Bernoulli/binomial.
pls4all currently supports Gaussian and Poisson families (controlled by the `poisson` flag). The Poisson case is useful for count regression on spectroscopy data where the response is an integer abundance (cell counts, particle counts) rather than a continuous concentration.
Compared to running a vanilla PLS on $\log(y+1)$, the true Poisson formulation correctly handles the mean–variance relationship and is less biased for low counts.
### Implementation
`n4m_estimators_pls_glm_fit`. Reference: R `plsRglm 1.7.0`.
R roxygen note (`sklearn_methods.R::pls_glm`):
> PLS-GLM — formula entry point. Default is Gaussian; set
> `family = "poisson"` for Poisson IRLS.
MATLAB header (`bindings/matlab/+pls4all/GlmRegression.m`):
```text
pls4all.GlmRegression — PLS-GLM (Gaussian / Poisson IRLS).
Like MB-PLS, uses the stored intercept directly.
```
### Usage
Every pls4all binding tab dispatches into the same C kernel; the external libraries listed at the bottom of the page are the parity references registered in `benchmarks.parity_timing.registry`. Switch tabs to read the same fit in your language. The R package now ships drop-in-compatible facades for the CRAN `pls` package (`plsr`, `pcr`, `mvr`) and for the `mdatools::pls(x, y, ...)` matrix idiom — those tabs appear only on the methods that have a meaningful equivalence.
**pls4all bindings**
::::{tab-set}
:class: pls4all-bindings
:::{tab-item} C ABI · libn4m
:sync: c
:class-label: lang-c
```c
/* C ABI — libn4m */
n4m_context_t* ctx = n4m_context_create();
n4m_config_t* cfg = n4m_config_create();
n4m_method_result_t* res = NULL;
n4m_estimators_pls_glm_fit(ctx, cfg, &x_view, &y_view, /* hyperparams */, &res);
/* … read coefficients / mask / scores via */
/* n4m_method_result_get_double_matrix / vector / scalar … */
n4m_method_result_destroy(res);
n4m_config_destroy(cfg);
n4m_context_destroy(ctx);
```
:::
:::{tab-item} Python · pls4all (raw)
:sync: python-raw
:class-label: lang-python
```python
import pls4all
from pls4all._methods import pls_glm_fit
with pls4all.Context() as ctx, pls4all.Config() as cfg:
res = pls_glm_fit(ctx, cfg, X, y, n_components=4)
# then: res.matrix("predictions"), res.matrix("coefficients"),
# res.vector("mask"), res.scalar("intercept"), …
```
:::
:::{tab-item} Python · pls4all.sklearn
:sync: python-sklearn
:class-label: lang-python
```python
from pls4all.sklearn import PLSGLMRegressor
mdl = PLSGLMRegressor(n_components=2, poisson=False)
mdl.fit(X, y)
y_hat = mdl.predict(X_test)
```
:::
:::{tab-item} R · pls4all_method()
:sync: r-dispatcher
:class-label: lang-r
```r
library(pls4all)
# Unified low-level dispatcher (May 2026 R cleanup):
res <- pls4all_method("pls_glm", X, y,
n_components = 4L, params = list(n_targets = 3L, poisson = 0L))
# res is a named list with MethodResult arrays/scalars.
# selected_indices / top_k_intervals are 1-based.
```
:::
:::{tab-item} R · pls4all (raw fn)
:sync: r-raw
:class-label: lang-r
```r
library(pls4all)
res <- pls_glm_fit(X, Y, n_components, poisson = FALSE)
yhat <- pls4all_predict(res, X_test)
```
:::
:::{tab-item} R · pls4all (formula+S3)
:sync: r-formula
:class-label: lang-r
```r
library(pls4all)
fit <- pls_glm(y ~ ., data = train, ncomp = 4L)
yhat <- predict(fit, newdata = test)
summary(fit)
```
:::
:::{tab-item} MATLAB · pls4all (MEX)
:sync: matlab-mex
:class-label: lang-matlab
```matlab
res = pls4all.pls_glm(X, y, 4);
% see header of bindings/matlab/+pls4all/pls_glm.m for full
% parameter surface:
% res = pls_glm(X, Y, n_components, family)
yhat = predict(res, Xtest);
```
:::
:::{tab-item} MATLAB · pls4all (classdef)
:sync: matlab-classdef
:class-label: lang-matlab
```matlab
mdl = pls4all.fit("pls_glm", X, y, "NumComponents", 4);
yhat = predict(mdl, Xtest);
```
:::
::::
**Registry parity references** 📐
:::{card}
:class-card: external-refs
- 📐 **`ref.r_plsrglm`** (R · r) — `plsRglm` 1.5.1 · strict (rmse_rel ≤ 1e-06) — R `plsRglm::plsRglm` (Bastien, Vinzi & Tenenhaus 2005) with the `pls-glm-gaussian` / `pls-glm-poisson` family. pls4all implements a simpler PLS-then-link variant so predictions diverge substantially; the parity check is a presence flag for the external reference.
:::
### Benchmarks
Adaptive wall-clock per cell measured against [`full_matrix.csv`](../benchmarks/overview.md). Only backends that implement this method are listed; libraries without the method are omitted.
**Verdict** · ✓ ref / ≈ ref / ~ shape mark a reference-gate pass at strict / relaxed / qualitative tolerance · ✓ bind = pls4all binding agrees with the C++ baseline · ⇄ cross-check = documented by-design selector/RNG/model, noncanonical API/facade convention, or secondary oracle · ✗ divergent · ⚠ error · — not run. The fastest backend per column is marked 🏆.
**Reference gate**: strict — numeric equivalence (`rmse_rel_tol ≤ 1e-06`).
Rows tagged with **📐** are the canonical parity references for this method (declared in [`parity_timing.registry`](../benchmarks/methodology.md)). C++ and external rows show reference parity; pls4all language bindings show binding parity against the C++ backend. Hover the icon for role and tolerance band.
::::{tab-set}
:class: parity-tabs
:::{tab-item} 1 thread
:sync: threads-1
| Backend | Parity | 200×30 (ms) |
| C++ native · libn4m |
pls4all.cpp.blas+omp | ✓ ref 1e-15 | 3.57 ms |
| Python · pls4all |
pls4all.python | ✓ bind | 7.99 ms |
pls4all.sklearn | ⇄ +4e-01 | 2.74 ms🏆 |
| R · pls4all |
pls4all.R | ⇄ +4e-01 | 7.97 ms |
pls4all.R.formula | ⇄ +4e-01 | 22.7 ms |
pls4all.R.mdatools | ⇄ +4e-01 | 25.8 ms |
pls4all.R.pls | ⇄ +4e-01 | 18.4 ms |
| R · external |
📐ref.r_plsrglm | source | 240.6 ms |
:::
:::{tab-item} 3 threads
:sync: threads-3
| Backend | Parity | 200×30 (ms) |
| C++ native · libn4m |
pls4all.cpp.blas+omp | ✓ ref 1e-15 | 3.56 ms |
| Python · pls4all |
pls4all.python | ✓ bind | 8.04 ms |
pls4all.sklearn | ⇄ +4e-01 | 1.50 ms🏆 |
| R · pls4all |
pls4all.R | ⇄ +4e-01 | 4.56 ms |
pls4all.R.formula | ⇄ +4e-01 | 5.18 ms |
pls4all.R.mdatools | ⇄ +4e-01 | 5.40 ms |
pls4all.R.pls | ⇄ +4e-01 | 5.24 ms |
| R · external |
📐ref.r_plsrglm | source | 138.8 ms |
:::
:::{tab-item} 10 threads
:sync: threads-10
| Backend | Parity | 200×30 (ms) |
| C++ native · libn4m |
pls4all.cpp.blas+omp | ✓ ref 1e-15 | 2.07 ms |
| Python · pls4all |
pls4all.python | ✓ bind | 2.05 ms |
pls4all.sklearn | ⇄ +4e-01 | 1.46 ms🏆 |
| R · pls4all |
pls4all.R | ⇄ +4e-01 | 3.78 ms |
pls4all.R.formula | ⇄ +4e-01 | 5.59 ms |
pls4all.R.mdatools | ⇄ +4e-01 | 4.89 ms |
pls4all.R.pls | ⇄ +4e-01 | 4.78 ms |
| R · external |
📐ref.r_plsrglm | source | 134.0 ms |
:::
::::
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_See also_: [benchmark overview](../benchmarks/overview.md) · [methods index](index.md) · [interactive dashboard](../landing/dashboard.md)