Minimal information for reusable scientific software

One of the biggest challenges for developers of scientific software is understanding how best to make the software reusable. A particular problem is that the concept of reusability combines many different concerns, including whether the software can be reused, how it can be reused, and by whom. This paper looks at the concept of software reusability from the perspective of the software engineer and the researcher. It proposes a multi-level framework for improving the reusability of scientific software, which minimises the information and effort required such that it is easier for scientific software developers, who are often researchers, to provide appropriate levels of information to support reuse.