Bryan Lawrence : the code is just the code

Bryan Lawrence

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the code is just the code

I've just spent a bit of time working through how we document the models which produce the climate predictions we hold at BADC. Then this lunch time I read this:

I came to understand that the way the word "model" is used in the climate sciences is confusing. An executable software package (a "program") is often called a "model" but this overvalues the code and undervalues the model. The code is an attempted embodiment of the model. The model is the science. The realization of the model ("running the code") is the prediction. The code itself is just an instrument.

It's hopeless to demand that we stop calling it a "model". It's just too ingrained. We should be aware, though, that this is sloppy thinking. The code is just code.

How true! I guess I had some of this in mind as we've developed our NumSim schema for describing simulations (which I may well describe here anon), but other similar activities are predicated on "self-documenting" codes.

We're about to start a major (EU funded) project which will, amongst other things, improve how we document simulations for future model intercomparisons, so it's quite apposite to read this now!

I think it's important not to get hung up about documenting the code per se, although we need to understand the distinction between codes. Many of my colleagues think these model description activities are about "reproducibility", me, I think it's about "understanding" (I think reproducibility is a hard ask).

Categories: climate badc

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This page last modified Thursday 11 September, 2008
DISCLAIMER: This is a personal blog. Nothing written here reflects an official opinion of my employer or any funding agency.