[Biopython-dev] biopython on github

[Tiago Antão]

On Sat, Mar 21, 2009 at 5:33 AM, Michiel de Hoon <mjldehoon at yahoo.com> wrote:
> I haven't been following this topic closely, and as an "outsider" using git seems more complicated than using cvs or svn. And to be honest, I don't know if Biopython actually needs the branching and forking stuff. I think that this is more useful for bigger projects, where multiple developers may be working on interrelated parts of code at the same time. That hardly ever happens in Biopython, though.


I would actually take this argument and reverse it:
The reason why biopython has been a small project, and above all, slow
to develop and innovate is excessive centralization. Using a
distributed technology allows for people to try new ideas and to get
things moving (while still maintaining an official rock stable version
with maybe glacial policies).
Lets not kid ourselves: biopython lacks a lot of stuff that is
fundamental in modern computational biology. The current status quo is
essentially maintaining a frozen set of functionality (most new code
is really just code cleanup and optimization).

While I would be cautious with a distributed environment and would
agree that checks has to be put in place to assure that the official
product is rock solid, has documentation and is reasonably future
proof, I nonetheless warmly welcome this new development.

It is also good, for a change, to have an active discussion on the
list: Now this actually seems like proper, live community.

Tiago