[ESIP-all] BESSIG: Testing scientific code, Wed 9/18, 4:00 PM

[Anne Wilson]

Hi ESIP,

While today is not a good today to be in Boulder, next Wednesday will 
be!  Presumably life in Boulder will be back to normal by then, AND 
we're having a BESSIG meeting!

"Code without tests is bad code."  [Feathers]

That's a strong statement, but it does bring home the vital role of 
testing in writing software.  If you're in Boulder next Wednesday, come 
on by our Boulder Earth and Space Science Informatics Group meeting to hear:

"Strategies, motivations, and influencing adoption of testing for 
scientific code"

by Ian Truslove, Erik Jasiak, (NSIDC)

Computation and programming are increasingly inescapable in modern Earth 
Sciences, but scientists and researchers receive little or no formal 
software engineering or programming training.  At the same time, 
research into the reproducibility of other academic papers exposing 
disappointingly low rates of repeatability and high-profile retractions 
due to computational or data errors increase the onus on researchers to 
write repeatable, reliable, even reusable programs; in other words, 
"write better code".

The complete abstract and other information is at the web site: 
http://lasp.colorado.edu/galaxy/display/BESSIG/2013/09/12/BESSIG+Meeting+Wed%2C+Sep+18%2C+4+-+6+PM

Anne

[FEATHERS] Feathers, Michael C., _Working Effectively with Legacy Code_, 
Prentice Hall_, 2005, p. xvi.