On Wednesday, April 25, 2012, Matthew Brett wrote: > Hi, > > On Wed, Apr 25, 2012 at 2:35 PM, Travis Oliphant > <tra...@continuum.io<javascript:;>> > wrote: > >> > >> Do you agree that Numpy has not been very successful in recruiting and > >> maintaining new developers compared to its large user-base? > >> > >> Compared to - say - Sympy? > >> > >> Why do you think this is? > > > > I think it's mostly because it's infrastructure that is a means to an > end. I certainly wasn't excited to have to work on NumPy originally, when > my main interest was SciPy. I've come to love the interesting plateau > that NumPy lives on. But, I think it mostly does the job it is supposed > to do. The fact that it is in C is also not very sexy. It is also > rather complicated with a lot of inter-related parts. > > > > I think NumPy could do much, much more --- but getting there is going to > be a challenge of execution and education. > > > > You can get to know the code base. It just takes some time and > patience. You also have to be comfortable with compilers and building > software just to tweak the code. > > > > > >> > >> Would you consider asking that question directly on list and asking > >> for the most honest possible answers? > > > > I'm always interested in honest answers and welcome any sincere > perspective. > > Of course, there are potential explanations: > > 1) Numpy is too low-level for most people > 2) The C code is too complicated > 3) It's fine already, more or less > > are some obvious ones. I would say there are the easy answers. But of > course, the easy answer may not be the right answer. It may not be > easy to get right answer [1]. As you can see from Alan Isaac's reply > on this thread, even asking the question can be taken as being in bad > faith. In that situation, I think you'll find it hard to get sincere > replies.
As with anything, the phrasing of a question makes a world of a difference with regards to replies. Ask any pollster. When phrased correctly, I would not have any doubt about the sincerely of replies, and I would not worry about previewed hostility -- when phrased correctly. As the questioner, the onus is upon you to gauge the community and adjust the question appropriately. I think the fact that we engage in these discussions show that we value and care about each others perceptions and opinions with regards to numpy. Cheers! Ben Root
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