Vviewpoints
DOI: 10.1145/1941487.1941502
Viewpoint
the Importance of
reviewing the Code
ContrIBUtors to JoUrnaLs, as well as researchers and politicians, are currently fo- cused on such subjects as open access, data mining,
and the growth of the Internet and information technologies together with
their associated problems and solutions. At the same time, there is one
extremely significant topic in scientific
research and computing that is rarely
addressed: the importance of the code.
Nowadays, the use of software is
essential in many different research
fields. It is possible to access a vast
amount of research data thanks to the
use of computers, software, and stor-
age facilities. If you work in the field
of geosciences—as I do—you probably
rely on the use of satellite data collect-
ed for use by governmental or intergov-
ernmental agencies that has under-
gone rigorous testing. Normally, there
is a peer-reviewed paper to which you
can refer and that you can cite when
you use the data. It is possible to create
your own scripts and code in order to
work with the data, study the results,
and formulate a hypothesis about the
cause(s) of a phenomenon. In some
cases, you might also use software
packages that have been developed
and released by others, such as spread-
sheets and statistical programs. You
might also use the functions that are
available in your commercially released
high-level programming language that
make your daily programming tasks
easier. When you have computed your
results you might use them to publish
a paper. Yet how often do reviewers or
editors ask about the software used
during research? You might receive a
large amount of criticism about the
statistics, methods, and data when you
submit papers for publication, but how
often do you receive comments about
the software—who cares about that?
