tidyr
tidyr replaced separate() with a family that says what it does.
Comparison · Analytics
iris vs silx
A side-by-side editorial comparison of iris and silx — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
iris vs silx: at a glance
What is iris?
Iris ships steadily on a two-a-year cadence, but its feed publishes only pointers.
Iris tags a release candidate roughly every four to five months — 3.13 through 3.16 over the past year — and the cadence is the only thing the feed actually reports. Every entry is the same seven-line template: a line saying this is a release candidate, conda-forge and PyPI install commands, and a link to a 'What's New' page held elsewhere. No release notes reach the feed at all.
What is silx?
silx 3.0 moved its default Qt binding to PySide6 — a migration for everyone embedding it.
silx releases a couple of times a year and reached 3.0.0 in April 2026, which raised the Python floor to 3.10 and switched the default Qt binding to PySide6. The same release reworked the viewer's data views: 3D scatter support, dedicated RGB(A) image views, the composite ImageView split into Plot2dView and ComplexImageView, and NXdata stacks displayed as images. 3.1.0 has since added asinh axis scaling, the twilight colormaps, and dark-theme icons.
iris vs silx: editorial side-by-side
iris
2.5ANALYTICS
Iris ships steadily on a two-a-year cadence, but its feed publishes only pointers.
◆ Current state
Iris tags a release candidate roughly every four to five months — 3.13 through 3.16 over the past year — and the cadence is the only thing the feed actually reports. Every entry is the same seven-line template: a line saying this is a release candidate, conda-forge and PyPI install commands, and a link to a 'What's New' page held elsewhere. No release notes reach the feed at all.
◆ Where it's heading
The version numbers say a mature Met Office library is being maintained on a predictable schedule; nothing in the published entries says what is being maintained. Until the project puts release content in the tag body, its public trail will read as cadence without substance, and readers have to leave the feed to learn anything. The pattern has been identical across four consecutive releases, so it is a deliberate publishing choice rather than an oversight.
◆ Prediction
Expect v3.17.0rc0 around late 2026 on the same schedule, carrying the same boilerplate — the notes will again live on the documentation site rather than in the release entry.
silx
2.5ANALYTICS
silx 3.0 moved its default Qt binding to PySide6 — a migration for everyone embedding it.
◆ Current state
silx releases a couple of times a year and reached 3.0.0 in April 2026, which raised the Python floor to 3.10 and switched the default Qt binding to PySide6. The same release reworked the viewer's data views: 3D scatter support, dedicated RGB(A) image views, the composite ImageView split into Plot2dView and ComplexImageView, and NXdata stacks displayed as images. 3.1.0 has since added asinh axis scaling, the twilight colormaps, and dark-theme icons.
◆ Where it's heading
The project is doing a generational refresh of its GUI layer: modern Qt binding, modules broken out of the composite widgets that had accumulated responsibilities, and the theming work that a desktop application needs to look current. Underneath, the recurring fixes are about HDF5 behavior in real facility environments — file locking, NFS refresh, Windows display paths — which is where a synchrotron toolkit actually gets stressed. Feature growth is concentrated in silx view rather than the library API.
◆ Prediction
Expect the 3.1.x line to keep filling in plotting options and theming, with the PySide6 default flushing out binding-specific bugs from downstream applications over the next few releases.
Alternatives to iris and silx
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 iris or silx.
modeltime
modeltime built conformal intervals in, then went quiet on features.
performance
performance keeps adding ways to check a model you have already fitted.
cmdstanpy
CmdStanPy is clearing deprecations ahead of a 2.0 it keeps announcing.
dowhy
DoWhy adds one estimation method a year and keeps its identification edge.
OpenHouse
OpenHouse is hardening the seams where table policies and jobs quietly fail.
Recent activity from iris and silx
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2d agosilx3.1.0: asinh axis scaling, twilight colormaps, dark-theme icons
- 13d agoirisv3.16.0rc0
- 3mo agosilx3.0.1: 2026/05/07
- 3mo agosilx3.0.0: PySide6 becomes the default Qt binding, Python 3.10 required ⚡
- 3mo agosilx3.0.0rc1: release candidate for the PySide6 migration
- 4mo agoirisv3.15.0rc0
- 9mo agoirisv3.14.0rc0
- 1y agoirisv3.13.0rc0
- 1y agosilx2.2.2: 2025/04/07
- 1y agosilx2.2.0b0: HSDS URL support and a multi-curve comparison window
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between iris and silx?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. iris and silx are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 2.5 vs 2.5, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is iris better than silx?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. iris and silx are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 2.5 vs 2.5, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to iris?
Top iris alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "iris alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/scitools-iris for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to silx?
Top silx alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "silx alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/silx for the full list with editorial commentary on each.