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OpenMC vs StatsBase.jl

A side-by-side editorial comparison of OpenMC and StatsBase.jl — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

OpenMC vs StatsBase.jl: at a glance

FeatureOpenMCStatsBase.jl
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score2.50.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesmonte-carlo-transport, random-ray, depletion, neutronicsjulia, statistics, maintenance, dependency bumps
Last editorial update1d ago2h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is OpenMC?

OpenMC's random ray solver has gone from new arrival to the centre of every release

OpenMC is a Monte Carlo particle transport code for neutronics and radiation analysis. Since the random ray transport solver landed in 0.15.0 it has received substantial work in every subsequent release, most recently local adjoint sources, temperature and distributed-density feedback, fission-heating tallies and a weight-window bootstrapping workflow. The other consistent thread is shutdown-dose and depletion tooling, where 0.15.3 introduced an R2SManager to automate the rigorous two-step workflow and 0.16.0 extended it with reactivity control, CRAM substeps and multiple meshes.

Read the full OpenMC trajectory →

What is StatsBase.jl?

StatsBase.jl is in caretaker mode — correctness fixes in, dependency bumps out.

StatsBase.jl is deep in the 0.34 patch series, releasing every few months with changes that are either small correctness fixes or bot-authored dependency bumps. The most substantive recent release, 0.34.10, fixed weighted sampling with UnitWeights, sped up unweighted ecdf, and widened quantile to accept non-Real element types. Since then the tags have thinned to CI action bumps and a diff-only note.

Read the full StatsBase.jl trajectory →

OpenMC vs StatsBase.jl: editorial side-by-side

O
OpenMC
ANALYTICS
2.5

OpenMC's random ray solver has gone from new arrival to the centre of every release

◆ Current state

OpenMC is a Monte Carlo particle transport code for neutronics and radiation analysis. Since the random ray transport solver landed in 0.15.0 it has received substantial work in every subsequent release, most recently local adjoint sources, temperature and distributed-density feedback, fission-heating tallies and a weight-window bootstrapping workflow. The other consistent thread is shutdown-dose and depletion tooling, where 0.15.3 introduced an R2SManager to automate the rigorous two-step workflow and 0.16.0 extended it with reactivity control, CRAM substeps and multiple meshes.

◆ Where it's heading

The project is layering a deterministic-adjacent solver alongside its Monte Carlo core rather than replacing it, and the ratio of random-ray work to core-solver work in each release keeps rising. In parallel it is packaging expert workflows into objects — R2SManager is the clearest case, turning a multi-stage shutdown dose calculation into a class rather than a recipe. The Python API is where most of that packaging surfaces, and it is also where the compatibility breaks land, with the minimum version moving to 3.12 in 0.16.0.

◆ Prediction

Given that every release since 0.15.0 has expanded the random ray solver's feedback and tally coverage, the next is likely to continue closing the gap between it and the main solver's feature set. The notes do not indicate whether it is intended to become a default path.

S
StatsBase.jl
ANALYTICS
0.0

StatsBase.jl is in caretaker mode — correctness fixes in, dependency bumps out.

◆ Current state

StatsBase.jl is deep in the 0.34 patch series, releasing every few months with changes that are either small correctness fixes or bot-authored dependency bumps. The most substantive recent release, 0.34.10, fixed weighted sampling with UnitWeights, sped up unweighted ecdf, and widened quantile to accept non-Real element types. Since then the tags have thinned to CI action bumps and a diff-only note.

◆ Where it's heading

This is the shape of a foundational Julia package that has reached its intended scope: the API is settled, and maintenance means keeping compat bounds current and closing long-tail correctness issues raised by users. Nothing in the feed suggests new statistical capability is being staged. The most likely reason is that new work now lands in the downstream packages that build on StatsBase rather than in StatsBase itself.

◆ Prediction

Expect more 0.34.x patches on the same rhythm — CompatHelper bumps and occasional user-reported edge-case fixes — with no signal in these entries that a 0.35 or 1.0 is being prepared.

Alternatives to OpenMC and StatsBase.jl

Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either OpenMC or StatsBase.jl.

See all OpenMC alternatives → · See all StatsBase.jl alternatives →

Recent activity from OpenMC and StatsBase.jl

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 6d agoOpenMCSurface-flux tallies and PDG particle identifiers in OpenMC 0.16.0
  2. 1mo agoStatsBase.jlv0.34.12
  3. 2mo agoStatsBase.jlv0.34.11
  4. 7mo agoStatsBase.jl0.34.10: faster unweighted ecdf and quantile on non-Real element types
  5. 8mo agoOpenMCR2SManager automates shutdown dose rate calculations in OpenMC 0.15.3
  6. 1y agoOpenMCOpenMC 0.15.2 hotfixes an MPI regression
  7. 1y agoOpenMCRay-traced material volumes and Phong-shaded plots in OpenMC 0.15.1
  8. 2y agoOpenMCOpenMC 0.15.0 introduces a random ray transport solver
  9. 2y agoOpenMCWeight window generation and continuous nuclide feed in OpenMC 0.14.0

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between OpenMC and StatsBase.jl?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. OpenMC is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is OpenMC better than StatsBase.jl?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. OpenMC is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to OpenMC?

Top OpenMC alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "OpenMC alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/openmc for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to StatsBase.jl?

Top StatsBase.jl alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "StatsBase.jl alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/statsbase-jl for the full list with editorial commentary on each.