arXiv:1301.7064astro-ph.IM
How to Scale a Code in the Human Dimension
Early discovery. Linked by one identifiable commenter. This paper is outside the main ranking; a mention is not an endorsement.
Abstract
As scientists' needs for computational techniques and tools grow, they cease to be supportable by software developed in isolation. In many cases, these needs are being met by communities of practice, where software is developed by domain scientists to reach pragmatic goals and satisfy distinct and enumerable scientific goals. We present techniques that have been successful in growing and engaging communities of practice, specifically in the yt and Enzo communities.
As discussed in the linked article, it's mostly because of code quality but with a healthy dose of percieved threat to job security. Unfortunately the academic citation economy isn't very nurturing of community codes, so a lot of work gets repeated when secretive research groups…
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