[Biopython-dev] Fwd: Abstract

[Peter Cock]

>> The point is that most people in the audience are not Biopython users (yet),
>> so for them a general introduction is more suitable.
>
> Actually this issue is of a major concern to me... Do you (or anybody)
> has a feel of what audience will be there? I think it is important to
> tune the message to the audience. I actually was speculating that
> people would know about biopython. But if that is not the case, as you
> imply, then maybe a something that makes biopython more competitive
> for people which might be deciding which system (language and
> libraries) might be the best approach...

Perhaps I should have given you a broader introduction to BOSC itself.
 There will probably be talks from BioPerl, BioJava and BioRuby in the
same session, and I would expect almost all the audience to be
familiar with at least one of these projects.  However, they may or
may not use python, and I would expect that the majority will not be
Biopython users.  At least, that was my impression last year at BOSC
2007.  Reading over the talk titles/abstracts from last year should
give you a feel for the sort of people there presenting work outside
the Bio* projects.  In terms of general impressions, I felt most of
the attendees actually did some hands on coding.

So yes, as Michiel says, perhaps the current text isn't general
enough.  This is a regular opportunity to try raise awareness of the
project, although I personally wouldn't give a "hard sell", we should
try to give a general overview of Biopython's capabilities.

Peter