[SciPy-dev] The future of SciPy and its development infrastructure

[Stéfan van der Walt]

Hi Josef

2009/2/23 <josef.pktd at gmail.com>
> I'm pretty happy with svn; it is relatively simple and has good
> integration and GUI tools on Windows. From all I read, git would be a
> big barrier for casual users (of git). From all the descriptions I've
> read, git is powerful for "command line junkies" who remember a large
> number of commands and options but not for occasional users of it. But
> I never installed git, because some time ago when I compared bazar,
> mercurial, git still didn't have much support on windows.

Git used to be hard to use, even casually, but that changed.  Most of
the basic commands are very similar to what they are in SVN.  Some are
even simpler, for example, it is much easier to merge under Git.  I
think many people fall into the trap of trying to do Revision Control
Acrobatics before having mastered the basics (and I count myself in
that group), but the link given (http://git.or.cz/course/svn.html)
shows that simple things remain simple.

Apart from the technical benefits, distributed revision control has a
profound impact upon the social structuring of a project.  Flat is
better than nested, even when it comes to code development :)

> My main problem with trac tickets are missing tests, not the actual
> applying of the patch or bugfixes.

I would like for contributers to take responsibility for their own
patches.  If we have a clearly designated set of criteria for
inclusion (i.e. tested, documented, peer reviewed), it becomes easier
to get code *into* SciPy, providing the scaffolding needed to develop
and mature code.

> I think low test coverage and weak
> testing "culture" is more of a problem than the revision control
> system. From what I have seen in the scipy code, it is true that, if
> it doesn't have a test, it is broken with high probability.

I agree, but I think that the two subjects go hand-in-hand.  In
essence, by making each user part of the development team, we give
them the mandate to develop or solicit unit tests for their own
patches.

Regards
Stéfan