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Comparison · Infra & APIs

CHNOSZ vs texor

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

CHNOSZ vs texor: at a glance

FeatureCHNOSZtexor
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesgeochemistry, thermodynamics, phase-diagrams, r-packagelatex, r-markdown, document-conversion, sweave
Last editorial update3h ago2h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is CHNOSZ?

A geochemistry thermodynamics engine that changed its units and its database schema in one release.

CHNOSZ computes thermodynamic properties and phase diagrams for geochemical systems, backed by OBIGT, its bundled thermodynamic database. It releases roughly once a year with a short highlights note pointing at a full changelog elsewhere. Since the 2.0.0 reset, work has been curation and communication: new species in OBIGT, a FAQ vignette, a rewritten introduction, and more readable diagram labels.

Read the full CHNOSZ trajectory →

What is texor?

The LaTeX-to-R-Markdown converter that stopped transcribing articles and started making them executable.

texor converts legacy R Journal articles from LaTeX into R Markdown, wrestling with the parts that never translate cleanly: numbering, cross-references, algorithm environments, and macros nobody outside the R Journal uses. Since 1.5.0 it can also emit figures as code chunks and tables as CSV read back through kable(), and target bookdown, litedown or biocstyle. The 2025 releases are repair work — pandoc keeps changing underneath it.

Read the full texor trajectory →

CHNOSZ vs texor: editorial side-by-side

C
CHNOSZ
INFRA · APIS
0.0

A geochemistry thermodynamics engine that changed its units and its database schema in one release.

◆ Current state

CHNOSZ computes thermodynamic properties and phase diagrams for geochemical systems, backed by OBIGT, its bundled thermodynamic database. It releases roughly once a year with a short highlights note pointing at a full changelog elsewhere. Since the 2.0.0 reset, work has been curation and communication: new species in OBIGT, a FAQ vignette, a rewritten introduction, and more readable diagram labels.

◆ Where it's heading

2.0.0 was the structural break — Joules replacing calories as the default output of subcrt(), a required E_units column, a new model column, and the removal of a legacy scaling convention for heat-capacity coefficients. Everything since has built on that settled foundation rather than disturbing it. The direction of the last two releases is toward coverage of specific mineral systems, rare earths and uranyl among them, and toward making the package approachable, which suggests a maintainer courting new users rather than reworking the engine.

◆ Prediction

The next release most likely continues OBIGT curation for particular element systems plus vignette work; the highlights format gives no signal of engine-level changes pending.

T
texor
INFRA · APIS
0.0

The LaTeX-to-R-Markdown converter that stopped transcribing articles and started making them executable.

◆ Current state

texor converts legacy R Journal articles from LaTeX into R Markdown, wrestling with the parts that never translate cleanly: numbering, cross-references, algorithm environments, and macros nobody outside the R Journal uses. Since 1.5.0 it can also emit figures as code chunks and tables as CSV read back through kable(), and target bookdown, litedown or biocstyle. The 2025 releases are repair work — pandoc keeps changing underneath it.

◆ Where it's heading

Two expansions define the arc. 1.4.0 took on Sweave as a source format, opening the pre-Rmd back catalogue of literate R documents. 1.5.0 changed what comes out the other end, offering executable code chunks and data files where earlier versions produced flat markup. Both moves point the same way: toward converted articles that still compute rather than merely resemble the original. Everything since has been keeping that machinery working against pandoc's release cadence.

◆ Prediction

The last two releases were both triggered by upstream pandoc changes breaking numbering or Lua filters, so the next release is most likely more of the same; new output styles remain the plausible feature direction given how recently that list was extended.

Alternatives to CHNOSZ and texor

Other Infra & APIs 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 CHNOSZ or texor.

See all CHNOSZ alternatives → · See all texor alternatives →

Recent activity from CHNOSZ and texor

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

  1. 1y agoCHNOSZOBIGT gains rare earth and uranyl species; intro vignette rewritten
  2. 1y agotexorBroken figure and table numbering repaired after pandoc updates
  3. 1y agotexorDESCRIPTION path, cleanup ordering, and a pandoc filter patch
  4. 1y agotexorExecutable figure chunks, CSV-backed tables, and new vignette styles
  5. 2y agotexorSweave becomes a supported source format
  6. 2y agoCHNOSZMosaic diagrams accept grouped basis species as variables
  7. 2y agotexorBookdown-style equation references and LaTeX macro workarounds
  8. 3y agotexorNumbering for code blocks and wide tables, plus seven more macros
  9. 3y agoCHNOSZJoules become the default and the OBIGT schema is rebuilt

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between CHNOSZ and texor?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. CHNOSZ and texor are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, 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 CHNOSZ better than texor?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. CHNOSZ and texor are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to CHNOSZ?

Top CHNOSZ alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "CHNOSZ alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/chnosz for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to texor?

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