ImportError: cannot import name '_fit_context' from 'sklearn.base'

[sali316]

Describe the bug
I installed latest version of feature-engine. When I try to import RareLabelEncoder and OrdinalEncoder classes, I get ImportError: cannot import name '_fit_context' from 'sklearn.base'

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. from feature_engine.encoding import (
   RareLabelEncoder,
   OrdinalEncoder,
   )

Expected behavior
I should be able to import without seeing the error. I also tried using scikit-learn=1.4.0 with feature-engine=1.6.0 but got same error.

Versions used
feature-engine: 1.8.1
scikit-learn: 1.5.2
python: 3.9.12
jupyter notebook: 6.5.2

Screenshots

Desktop (please complete the following information):

• OS: Windows 11
• Browser Chrome

[solegalli]

Hey @sali316

Sorry to hear about this issue. I can't, unfortunately, reproduce it in my system.

The following command:

from feature_engine.encoding import (
    RareLabelEncoder,
    OrdinalEncoder,
)

runs without a problem.

These are my versions:

sklearn = '1.5.2'
pandas = '2.2.3'
numpy = '1.26.4'
feature_engine = '1.8.1'

Could you try updating or downgrading your versions and see if that solves the issue? I am aware that sklearn has still not caught up with the latest release of numpy, maybe that is the issue? it supports numpy 1.26.4 at most.

Please let me know if you solve it or if it persists, in which case, I need the versions of additional libraries.

Thank you!