ruby and science
DESCRIPTION
Slides for my talk at Berlin Eurucamp 2013, about the use of Ruby in scientific enviroments and how to foster it. It contains the seed idea for the Alpha Research Station project: http://alpharb.comTRANSCRIPT
Juanjo Bazán @xuanxu
Ruby & Science
Ruby & Science?
Ruby & Science?FACT:
RUBY IS NOT WIDELY USED IN RESEARCH PROJECTS
Ruby ∩ Science ≃ ∅ ?
Why?not suitable for scientific uses?
Can Ruby fill the needs of scientists?
What people in academia need?
Research nowadays:Do
somethingCollect
data
Manipulatedata
Interpret results
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
RubySlow
Lack of scientific libraries
RubySlow
Lack of scientific libraries
Small academic user base
RubySlow
Lack 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 tasks
Research Project’s codeWHAT?
Speed is not a factor
Not programmers
Research Project’s codeWHO?
Experienced enough to tweak an existent solution
Help wanted
What help are they getting?
PythonSciPy, NumPy
JavaLots of libraries, easy to find
ExcelReally!
How can we help?
Ruby
Ruby
General purpose lang
Increase developer happiness
Powerful & beautiful syntax
Ruby Researcher
General purpose lang
Increase developer happiness
Powerful & beautiful syntax
Not programmers
Experience tweaking existent solutions
Wide range of different code tasks
RubySlow
Lack of scientific libraries
Small academic user base
Ruby
Lack of scientific libraries
Small academic user base
Slow Speed not a factor
RubySlow
Lack of scientific libraries
Small academic user base
Speed not a factor
Let’s push here!
SciRuby
Goal: SciPy/NumPy for Ruby: SciRuby/NMatrix
pre-alpha/alpha state
Active development
SciRuby.com github.com/SciRuby/sciruby
Help wanted
Let’s push Ruby into Academia
Goals:
- Make Ruby known to/used by researchers
- Create an ecosystem of scientific ruby libs
Let’s push Ruby into Academia
Goals:
- Create an ecosystem of scientific ruby libs
- Make Ruby known to/used by researchers
Let’s participate
Direct action
Direct action
1. Choose a discipline you like
Direct action
1. Choose a discipline you like
2. Find your closest university department
Direct action
1. Choose a discipline you like
2. Find your closest university department
3. 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 & Science communities
Sharing information is the norm
Openness is a value
Reputation based systems
Members are welcoming and willing to help
Can we make Ruby the programming language of
Science?
Probably No
Maybe?
Can we make Ruby the programming language of
Science?
Can we make Ruby the programming language of
Science?Probably No
Maybe?Who cares?
Let’s make Ruby the favorite
programming language of 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