[SciPy-dev] Online SciPy Journal

[Travis Oliphant]

Bill Baxter wrote:

>On 10/2/06, Travis Oliphant <oliphant.travis at ieee.org> wrote:
>  
>
>>Given the existence of other journals that are more "general-purpose,"
>>I'd really like to have a journal that focuses on code written for
>>Python.  Is that feasible?   I don't see why not.  I think that Python
>>makes an excellent language to express scientific algorithms in.   I
>>think it should be a requirement that the contribution have some
>>relevance to computing with Python.
>>    
>>
>
>Even if it is all Python for the time being, I think I would prefer a
>more generic sounding name, like "Journal of Scientific Computing in
>High Level Languages".  
>
I have mixed feelings here.  I, too, am concerned that a journal which 
expounds scientific computing with Python might be seen as too 
"Ziff-Davis" like (although it will certainly have a much different 
focus than their magazines).

On the other hand, there are already a lot of "general-purpose" journals 
for publishing algorithms in scientific computing.  We need a journal 
that documents the development of tools for an open source platform for 
conducting scientific computing.   Right now that platform for us is 
Python.  Should it change, then another journal gets started.  I think 
this is an example of where you lose benefit by trying to be too 
general.  I don't think the reputation of the journal will be altered 
(in the long run) by whether or not the word Python is in the name.  In 
fact, I'd like to emphasize the use of Python for scientific code 
development in place of other choices which are also available.

So, perhaps I'm not "ambitious" enough to create a publication that 
outlasts Python, but in my mind, the journal lives and dies by the use 
of Python in scientific computing.  There are just too many other 
journals that take the "all languages" welcome view point and provide 
you with papers that describe algorithms but are difficult to reproduce. 
  I think we should make it clear that this journal details how Python 
can be used for computing (and for explaining algorithms).

-Travis