modeltime
modeltime built conformal intervals in, then went quiet on features.
Comparison · Analytics
silx vs tidyr
A side-by-side editorial comparison of silx and tidyr — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
silx vs tidyr: at a glance
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.
What is tidyr?
tidyr replaced separate() with a family that says what it does.
tidyr is at 1.3.2, a collection of argument additions — fill() gains .by, expand_grid() gains .vary — and better error messages around unchop() and pivot_wider_spec(). The structural work is 1.3.0, which introduced separate_wider_delim(), separate_wider_position(), separate_wider_regex(), separate_longer_delim() and separate_longer_position() as thorough replacements for separate(), extract() and separate_rows().
silx vs tidyr: editorial side-by-side
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.
tidyr
0.0ANALYTICS
tidyr replaced separate() with a family that says what it does.
◆ Current state
tidyr is at 1.3.2, a collection of argument additions — fill() gains .by, expand_grid() gains .vary — and better error messages around unchop() and pivot_wider_spec(). The structural work is 1.3.0, which introduced separate_wider_delim(), separate_wider_position(), separate_wider_regex(), separate_longer_delim() and separate_longer_position() as thorough replacements for separate(), extract() and separate_rows().
◆ Where it's heading
Two habits define this window. Verbs are being split into explicitly named variants rather than overloaded with arguments, which is what the separate_* family does to separate(). And .by is spreading as the standard way to express grouping inline — nest(.by=) in 1.3.0, fill(.by=) in 1.3.2 — pulling users away from wrapping calls in group_by().
◆ Prediction
Given that .by has now reached fill() and nest(), the next release most likely extends the same argument to further verbs rather than reworking another function family.
Alternatives to silx and tidyr
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 silx or tidyr.
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.
statsmodels
statsmodels ships only what the ecosystem breaks — six releases, no new statistics.
Recent activity from silx and tidyr
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2d agosilx3.1.0: asinh axis scaling, twilight colormaps, dark-theme icons
- 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
- 7mo agotidyrfill() gains .by; expand_grid() gains .vary
- 1y agosilx2.2.2: 2025/04/07
- 1y agosilx2.2.0b0: HSDS URL support and a multi-curve comparison window
- 2y agotidyrpivot_wider duplicate message uses modern syntax
- 3y agotidyrseparate_wider_* family supersedes separate() and extract()
- 3y agotidyrHot patch for R CMD check failures
- 4y agotidyrpivot_wider() gains names_expand, id_expand and unused_fn
- 4y agotidyrLarge speedups to unchop(), unnest() and expand_grid()
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between silx and tidyr?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. silx 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 silx better than tidyr?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. silx 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 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.
What are the best alternatives to tidyr?
Top tidyr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "tidyr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/tidyr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.