[Biopython-dev] biopython on github

[Brad Chapman]

Hey all;
Good discussion on this; I touch on a few points from different
threads below.

Michiel:
> 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.

Tiago:
> I would actually take this argument and reverse it:
[...]
> 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).

I fall in between these two viewpoints. Git has more complications and,
unless we manage those, we risk introducing additional barriers to
contribution. Imagine looking at biopython on git hub and seeing 10
different branches for different users, many of which may be old and
out of date. This could lead to the impression that we are not
organized toward a single goal. If you are still interested, how
do you know which ones could use your help and what they are for?

The solution to this is documentation on the wiki. We rely too much on
the mailing list and expect people to keep up. Peter read my mind on
this:

Peter:
> We should probably all write something on the wiki page for our
> personal forks, describing what you're using it for, what at the main
> branches likely to be of interest etc.

I started a page over the weekend doing this:

http://biopython.org/wiki/Active_projects

It's a skeleton so add or subtract away. My idea for this is that it
is for longer projects that could use outside help. It's not reasonable
to spend time writing up things you'll be finishing in a week or so; for
that bugzilla does fine keeping interested parties up to date.

Another idea on this page is a specific wish list of libraries for
future work. This is a starting point for anyone who comes into
Biopython fresh and would like to take something on. Also, it encourages
people who have developed external libraries to deal with problems we
are interested in to consider folding them into Biopython.

Me:
> > There is a lot of good material in this thread for new potential
> > developers. Tiago, it would make sense to condense what you've
> > written and include it with the Contributing guide:

Tiago:
> Just a followup on this: I think it makes no sense to put much of the
> new content before there is an official step of moving to github.

We are serious about moving to Git and need to have the documentation in
place so others can learn it. You wrote up a lot of good stuff, and it
will be lost on the mailing list.

Brad