Mixed-type datasets

Thanks for sharing the great algorithm and library!

Wondering what would be the recommended way of feeding mixed-type data with some categorical features to UMAP? Binary encoding (possibly with appropriate distance metrics)?

The issue names no files, tests, or entry points. First determine how UMAP currently accepts input data and distance metrics, then establish whether mixed categorical and numerical features require a documented workflow or a library change. Done would require a clear, validated recommendation for mixed-type datasets.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.