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Comparison · Analytics
nmar vs silx
A side-by-side editorial comparison of nmar and silx — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
nmar vs silx: at a glance
What is nmar?
NMAR landed on CRAN with two nonresponse estimators behind one interface, then started tuning it.
Three releases in seven weeks, starting from nothing. The initial CRAN release implements empirical likelihood (Qin, Leung and Shao 2002) and both parametric and nonparametric exponential tilting (Riddles, Kim and Im 2016) for estimating means under nonignorable nonresponse, all reachable through a single nmar() call with formula syntax and direct support for survey.design objects. Since then the work has been operational: a configurable bootstrap backend and stricter input validation.
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.
nmar vs silx: editorial side-by-side
nmar
0.0ANALYTICS
NMAR landed on CRAN with two nonresponse estimators behind one interface, then started tuning it.
◆ Current state
Three releases in seven weeks, starting from nothing. The initial CRAN release implements empirical likelihood (Qin, Leung and Shao 2002) and both parametric and nonparametric exponential tilting (Riddles, Kim and Im 2016) for estimating means under nonignorable nonresponse, all reachable through a single nmar() call with formula syntax and direct support for survey.design objects. Since then the work has been operational: a configurable bootstrap backend and stricter input validation.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is positioning itself as the general interface to nonignorable-nonresponse estimation rather than a reference implementation of one paper — shared architecture across engines, one formula API, and integration with the survey package so weights and stratification come for free. The follow-up releases suggest the next constraint is compute: bootstrap variance estimation is the expensive part, and it now dispatches to future.apply when a parallel plan exists.
◆ Prediction
Expect further engines under the same nmar() interface or wider bootstrap support, since the architecture was explicitly refactored to share structure across estimators.
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 nmar 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 nmar or silx.
Omni
Omni ships weekly, and almost every week the headline item is an AI feature.
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.
Recent activity from nmar and silx
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 5h 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
- 6mo agonmarBootstrap backend now parallel-aware and configurable
- 7mo agonmarCRAN submission fixes and DOI references
- 8mo agonmarNMAR 0.1.0 ⚡
- 1y agosilx2.2.2: plot axes limits, OpenGL axes and libhdf5 1.14 fixes
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between nmar 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 nmar 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 nmar?
Top nmar alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "nmar alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/nmar 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.