Presented at Eurucamp 2013, Berlin (http://2013.eurucamp.org/). It contains the seed ideas for the Alpha.rb project: http://alpharb.com
Juanjo Bazán @xuanxuRuby & Science
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Ruby & Science?
Ruby & Science?FACT:RUBY IS NOT WIDELY USEDIN RESEARCH PROJECTS
Ruby ∩ Science ≃ ∅ ?Why?not suitable for scientific uses?
Can Ruby fill the needs of scientists?What people in academia need?
Research nowadays:DosomethingCollectdataManipulatedataInterpretresults
FACT:It doesn’t matter the scientific discipline,
FACT:It doesn’t matter the scientific discipline,It doesn’t matter the research field,
FACT:It doesn’t matter the scientific discipline,it doesn’t matter the research field,(almost) every research project needs code.
enter Ruby
RubySlow
RubySlowLack of scientific libraries
RubySlowLack of scientific librariesSmall academic user base
RubySlowLack of scientific libraries=> Not suitable for science?Small academic user base
core research, simulations, modeling, calculations ...R, automatization tasks, graphs, formatting data ...Research Project’s codeWHAT?
Wide spectrum of very different tasksResearch Project’s codeWHAT?Speed is not a factor
Not programmersResearch Project’s codeWHO?Experienced enough to tweak an existent solutionHelp wanted
What help are theygetting?
PythonSciPy, NumPy
JavaLots of libraries, easy to find
ExcelReally!
How can we help?
Ruby
RubyGeneral purpose langIncrease developer happinessPowerful & beautiful syntax
Ruby ResearcherGeneral purpose langIncrease developer happinessPowerful & beautiful syntaxNot programmersExperience tweakingexistent solutionsWide range ofdifferent code tasks
RubyLack of scientific librariesSmall academic user baseSlow Speed not a factor
RubySlowLack of scientific librariesSmall academic user baseSpeed not a factorLet’s push here!
SciRubyGoal: SciPy/NumPy for Ruby: SciRuby/NMatrixpre-alpha/alpha stateActive developmentSciRuby.com github.com/SciRuby/scirubyHelp wanted
Let’s push Ruby intoAcademiaGoals:- Make Ruby known to/used by researchers- Create an ecosystem of scientific ruby libs
Let’s push Ruby intoAcademiaGoals:- Create an ecosystem of scientific ruby libs- Make Ruby known to/used by researchers
Let’s participate
Direct action
Direct action1. Choose a discipline you like
Direct action1. Choose a discipline you like2. Find your closest university department
Direct action1. Choose a discipline you like2. Find your closest university department3. Offer help & code
Why?What’s in it for you?
Why?More Ruby uses => Good for Rubysts & Ruby
Why?OpenSource: Same motivations
Why?Helping Science
Why?Doing Science
Why?OS rewards are good,helping science rewards are great
Why?Learning about interesting issues & problems
Why?Easyresult/effort
Why?
Ruby & SciencecommunitiesSharing information is the normOpenness is a valueReputation based systemsMembers are welcoming and willing to help
Can we make Ruby theprogramming language ofScience?
Probably NoMaybe?Can we make Ruby theprogramming language ofScience?
Can we make Ruby theprogramming language ofScience?Probably NoMaybe?Who cares?
Let’s make Rubythe favoriteprogramming languageof scientists!
Thank you!Danke!Juanjo Bazán @xuanxu
Questions?Juanjo Bazán @xuanxu [email protected]photo credits:http://www.flickr.com/photos/aai/6936657289http://www.flickr.com/photos/3dking/148507938/http://www.flickr.com/photos/morton1905/8638721846http://www.flickr.com/photos/shanegorski/2449377038http://www.flickr.com/photos/x-ray_delta_one/5865762878