[Bioperl-l] question about the nature of bioperl

[nkuipers]

I mean no offense to anyone, especially being new to this mailing list, but I 
am starting to wonder just what people expect from this project.  Is this 
supposed to be a do-it-all bioinformatics kit or a set of basic tools that 
people are free to use, fleshing it out with their own code as per their 
specific application?  It just seems to me that, if not already, the project 
is on its way to being what is referred to as a "bloated monster" in computer 
science classes.  Everyone has their "bug" catches, specific formats, and 
there are multiple versions flying around with varying degrees of 
documentation and testedness.  Whoa horse.  Stop.  Trying to account for every 
single format or user-defined case is in my opinion folly and impossible, 
especially given the nature of bioinformatics.  Define a broad but simple 
suite that is flexible to specifics and leave the rest to the users.  That's 
what Perl was made for by definition: TIMTOWTDI.  This was (is?) probably the 
idea with bioperl also, but in browsing the hierarchy diagrams and reading the 
emails, it sounds like a big confused mess that several(?) people are trying 
so hard to keep in order but the task is too big.  Simplify simplify.  I think 
there comes a point where too many "bugs" (real or not) means more than 
debugging.  Easier said than done I know.  Heh.  Pay me no mind.

Best regards,

Nathanael Kuipers