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Last active April 17, 2018 21:30
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computable-papers.md

Introduction

The scientific paper format was invented in the context of printed media.

This is an exploration of a format for scientific papers optimized to be distributed over computer networks.

Problem

The printed media imposes the following constraints:

  1. paper can't compute
  2. paper can't respond/interact back (e.g. changing data and responding back)
  3. paper can't simulate/reproduce (e.g. changing input data and seeing results)
  4. paper can't interoperate (e.g. sorting interfaces and different implementations)
  5. paper can't compose (e.g. exposing APIs to put papers together)
  6. paper can't hyper link
  7. paper can't centralize discussions (e.g. comments)

Requirements

  1. backwards compatible: a paper written in this manner can be submitted to a normal conference
  2. archivable/packageable: a paper written in this manner can be archived independetely (e.g. how to interpret the paper is based on archivable and reproduce formats, e.g. html/js), e.g. it can be sent by email in a single file
  3. offline: a paper written in this manner can be read offline, like paper or pdfs can
  4. secure: a paper written in this manner should be as secure as PDFs and paper (e.g. maybe no network access?)

Shape

  1. Web Package as a packaging format
  2. HTML/CSS/JS
  3. Images
  4. Cross iframe communication as a mechanism to expose APIs

Sequencing

  1. Write papers on software algorithms, e.g. sorting
  2. Start composing them with each other
  3. Maybe there is a latex to this converter?
  4. done?

Background

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