For the record: I have made my peace with Bruce Sherwood, the physics professor who administers the the vpython project. Anyone listening in on visual-python list can see that our recent interactions are quite cordial- as are the private interaction we have recently had. He and Ruth Chabay are hard at work meeting a deadline for a second addition of "Matters and Interaction"
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~rwchabay/mi/ which is seems to me is an innovative introductory physics textbook, and an innovative use of Python, via VPython, in education. That being said: The possibility that I will approach my contributions to vpython as a fork, rather "joining" the project seems strong. a) I am frustrated with the pace of feedback to my efforts to contribute, and in fact there is no one currently committed to the project very qualified to evaluate those efforts. b) I am upfront about my lack of C++ expertise, and shy from the responsibility of making contributions in an environment where the program is being used in a growing number of college curricula and where there is not the expertise to vet those contributions, however: - PyGeo exercises vpython extensively, and has developed a fairly extensive set of tests (of a kind). I am satisfied to consider my vpython-fork code as production quality to the extent those tests are passed. OTOH, those test are not designed explicitly to test vpython, and I can understand a decision that they are inadequate for this purpose. c) In going through the vpython code I am finding a lot of undocumented features, and a lot of easy extensions. There are, for example, a number of functions on vectors and vector methods that are already written and used internally. There are written and used internally because they are of the kind that are useful in 3d mathematics. The boost.python framework is there, allowing them to be exposed to Python trivially - one line of code. The availability of these functions and methods would add performance to PyGeo. Not sure I want to have to debate the point with anyone as to why they have not been exposed, and whether they should be. Would like to be in a "just do it" position. There are whole other structures - vector_arrays and scalar_arrays - that have been exposed to Python, but, are incomplete and therefore totally undocumented. Completing and extending them, I am feeling now, is within my capabilities. I would like to get on with it outside of committee type discussion. d) VPython_main is free to access my forked versions and make their own decisions on which changes I have made to incorporate, and which not. I think I prefer not to be in that direct loop or advocating for this change or that - as to VPython_main. Wonder if anyone here has any thoughts on this. Art _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
