bertha: Project skeleton for scientific software
Michael Riesch1, Tien Dat Nguyen1, Christian Jirauschek1
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Plos One
|March 24, 2020
Summary
Developing sustainable scientific software packages is crucial but often hindered by resource limitations. This project presents a reusable skeleton to integrate best software engineering practices, reducing development effort and improving package reliability.
Area of Science:
- Scientific Computing
- Software Engineering
Background:
- Reliable software packages (e.g., mathematical libraries, data analysis tools) are fundamental to scientific progress.
- Development of sustainable scientific software is often resource-intensive, leading to underfunding and lack of recognition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a project skeleton designed to streamline the creation of sustainable scientific software packages.
- To ensure the adoption of best software engineering practices from the outset of a project.
- To provide a reference for improving existing software projects.
Main Methods:
- Development of a standardized project skeleton.
- Integration of established software engineering principles.
- Provision of guidelines for maintainability and usability.
Main Results:
- A foundational project structure that promotes code quality and long-term viability.
- Reduced development overhead for scientific software creation.
- Enhanced reliability and ease-of-use for scientific software tools.
Conclusions:
- The proposed project skeleton facilitates the development of high-quality, sustainable scientific software.
- Adopting this structure can mitigate challenges related to funding and recognition in scientific software development.
- This initiative supports the broader scientific community by improving access to robust computational tools.
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