[MATRIX-SIG] Question: [Numeric/Numerical Recipes/Regression tests]

[Konrad Hinsen]

> This is a bit rambly, so let me get to my question: How does one
> know what has been carefully tested in Python and what has been
> given only a cursory look and declared correct?  If someone came
> to me and wanted to know about the reliability of some module,
> what would I say to them?

You could do some statistics on how frequently specific modules/functions
are used in published Python code, and there is lots of it.

But no matter what the answer, in my experience there is little
relation between the reliability of some code and its popularity. In
my field of work (simulations of biomolecules) it is an open secret
that you have to verify the programs you are using for your specific
application, even if (like most people) you use very popular programs.
In some fields people are simply used to work with buggy code, and
some even think that this is an inevitable situation.

So the bottom line is: unless some piece of code has a widely
accepted reputation for being good, assume that it's bad and test
it for yourself.
-- 
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Konrad Hinsen                          | E-Mail: hinsen@ibs.ibs.fr
Laboratoire de Dynamique Moleculaire   | Tel.: +33-4.76.88.99.28
Institut de Biologie Structurale       | Fax:  +33-4.76.88.54.94
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38027 Grenoble Cedex 1, France         | Nederlands/Francais
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