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Comparison · Analytics
silx vs tinkr
A side-by-side editorial comparison of silx and tinkr — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
silx vs tinkr: at a glance
What is silx?
silx settles into maintenance a release after its PySide6 migration
silx is in the quiet phase after a generational release. 3.1.1 is a single fix to FitWidget loading a fit function from file. The release before it, 3.1.0, was the first real feature work since the migration - asinh axis scaling, twilight colormaps, and dark-theme icons - and 3.0.1 was similarly small. The 3.0.0 cut that reset the Qt binding and Python floor still defines what the line is doing.
What is tinkr?
Markdown round-tripping through XML, where every release is another thing it learned not to mangle.
tinkr parses Markdown into XML, lets callers manipulate it with XPath, and writes it back out — the yarn R6 class is the whole interface. Its development is defined by a single hard problem: surviving the round trip without corrupting syntax the XML representation does not natively model. Maintenance is shared between two active contributors and release cadence is roughly annual.
silx vs tinkr: editorial side-by-side
silx
5.0ANALYTICS
silx settles into maintenance a release after its PySide6 migration
◆ Current state
silx is in the quiet phase after a generational release. 3.1.1 is a single fix to FitWidget loading a fit function from file. The release before it, 3.1.0, was the first real feature work since the migration - asinh axis scaling, twilight colormaps, and dark-theme icons - and 3.0.1 was similarly small. The 3.0.0 cut that reset the Qt binding and Python floor still defines what the line is doing.
◆ Where it's heading
The cadence has slowed markedly since April, and the content has shifted from structural change to plotting and colormap refinement. That is the expected shape after a binding migration: downstream beamline code needs a stable target, so the project trades feature velocity for a quiet surface. The gap between 3.0.1 in May and 3.1.0 in August is the clearest signal of the deliberate slowdown.
◆ Prediction
Expect further point releases servicing the plotting and fitting widgets rather than another structural change, with feature work continuing to arrive in the 3.1.x minors rather than patches.
tinkr
0.0ANALYTICS
Markdown round-tripping through XML, where every release is another thing it learned not to mangle.
◆ Current state
tinkr parses Markdown into XML, lets callers manipulate it with XPath, and writes it back out — the yarn R6 class is the whole interface. Its development is defined by a single hard problem: surviving the round trip without corrupting syntax the XML representation does not natively model. Maintenance is shared between two active contributors and release cadence is roughly annual.
◆ Where it's heading
Each release extends the set of constructs that get protected across the round trip — curly braces, escaped brackets, inline math, dollar signs used as currency, French-style dollars, fenced divs, frontmatter. The 0.3.0 notes also add get_protected(), append_md(), and prepend_md(), which is the first sign of building a manipulation API on top of the protection machinery rather than only widening it.
◆ Prediction
Expect the protection list to keep growing toward full Quarto syntax coverage, which the first release named as the long-term goal and which fenced divs and frontmatter both move toward.
Alternatives to silx and tinkr
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 tinkr.
Plotly
Plotly is turning its cloud into a metered compute platform with an enterprise on-ramp.
aniread
aniread stops asking you to know which tracker wrote the file
Rho
Rho's release machinery finally produced a stable build — and it shipped no new product.
Usermaven
Usermaven closed the loop: data comes in from anywhere, and now it goes back out.
OpenCTI
OpenCTI spends a release unblocking queues and hardening upserts
Recent activity from silx and tinkr
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 4h agosilxFitWidget fix for loading a fit function from file
- 9d agosilx3.1.0: asinh axis scaling, twilight colormaps, dark-theme icons
- 3mo agosilx3.0.1: silx view fails to disable HDF5 file locking
- 3mo agosilx3.0.0: PySide6 becomes the default Qt binding, Python 3.10 required ⚡
- 3mo agosilx3.0.0rc1: release candidate for the PySide6 migration
- 1y agotinkrFrontmatter, fenced divs, and content-insertion methods
- 1y agosilx2.2.2: plot axes limits, OpenGL axes and libhdf5 1.14 fixes
- 3y agotinkrProtects curly braces, escaped brackets, and link anchors
- 4y agotinkrFirst release: the extensible yarn R6 class ⚡
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between silx and tinkr?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. silx is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 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 tinkr?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. silx is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 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 tinkr?
Top tinkr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "tinkr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/tinkr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.