Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

   Sharing code is not 
   always the answer
Why let the perfect be the enemy of the good?

Sharing code is not the full answer, especially in case of Monte-Carlo simulations in physics, because that kind of algorithm is hard to test: What is the testing oracle? What is the specification?

But sharing code is part of the answer.

Setting up a culture where it is unacceptable to submit a paper without open-sourcing the code and suitable testing (for simple edge ases), and suitable scripts that make reproducing the software simulations easy, is good scientific 'hygiene'. See for example [1, 2] for efforts towards reproducible software submissions in computer science.

Reproduciblility is the very essence of the scientific method.

[1] http://evaluate.inf.usi.ch/artifacts

[2] http://www.artifact-eval.org/



Consider applying for YC's Summer 2026 batch! Applications are open till May 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: