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Comparison · Analytics
glyfun vs silx
A side-by-side editorial comparison of glyfun and silx — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
glyfun vs silx: at a glance
What is glyfun?
glyfun is three releases old and has spent all of them chasing glyexp's container change.
glyfun is the newest glycoverse package, carved out to hold the enrichment analysis functions that glystats deprecated. Its entire visible history is the 0.1.x series, and all three releases are container plumbing: detected_universe() learning to accept GlycoproteomicSE, then the vignette and documentation following. There is no independent feature work in the record yet.
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.
glyfun vs silx: editorial side-by-side
glyfun
0.0ANALYTICS
glyfun is three releases old and has spent all of them chasing glyexp's container change.
◆ Current state
glyfun is the newest glycoverse package, carved out to hold the enrichment analysis functions that glystats deprecated. Its entire visible history is the 0.1.x series, and all three releases are container plumbing: detected_universe() learning to accept GlycoproteomicSE, then the vignette and documentation following. There is no independent feature work in the record yet.
◆ Where it's heading
This is a package being born into a migration rather than one navigating it. Because glystats removed its gly_enrich_*() functions outright and glysmith already routes enrichment through glyfun, the functional surface is inherited rather than designed here. The near-term arc is catching up to the rest of the stack; the interesting question is what glyfun adds once it is no longer just the relocation target.
◆ Prediction
Expect the first release with genuinely new enrichment capability rather than migration plumbing, most likely broadening the gene-set sources glystats never covered.
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.
Alternatives to glyfun 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 glyfun or silx.
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
Grafana Mimir
Mimir's feed is a weekly Helm bot, with the 3.2 candidate the only real release in months
Recent activity from glyfun and silx
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 3h agosilxFitWidget fix for loading a fit function from file
- 9d agosilx3.1.0: asinh axis scaling, twilight colormaps, dark-theme icons
- 1mo agoglyfunDocs move to GlycoproteomicSE inputs
- 1mo agoglyfunVignette runs against both container types
- 1mo agoglyfundetected_universe() accepts GlycoproteomicSE objects
- 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 agosilx2.2.2: plot axes limits, OpenGL axes and libhdf5 1.14 fixes
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between glyfun and silx?
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 glyfun better than silx?
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 glyfun?
Top glyfun alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "glyfun alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/glyfun 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.