Astrophysics Source Code Library


The Astrophysics Source Code Library is an online registry of scientist-written software used in astronomy or astrophysics research. The primary objective of the ASCL is to make the software used in research available for examination to improve the transparency of research.
Entries in the ASCL are indexed by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System and Web of Science's Data Citation Index and because each code is assigned a unique ascl ID, software can be cited in a journal paper even when there is no citable paper describing the code. Web of Science and ADS indexing makes research software more discoverable. Additionally, ADS can link some papers which use codes to the code entries, which makes it easier to examine the computational methods used. ADS also tracks citations for software, which can help research software authors for whom citations are an important measure.
Entries in the ASCL include the name, description, author of the code, ascl ID, and either a link to a download site for the software or an attached archive file for the software so the code can be downloaded directly from the ASCL. A link to a paper describing or using the software is usually included as well to demonstrate that the software has been used in refereed research.

History

Advisory Committee

Peter Teuben, University of Maryland, Chair

Bruce Berriman, California Institute of Technology

Jessica Mink, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Robert J. Nemiroff, Michigan Technological University

Rein Warmels, European Southern Observatory

Lior Shamir, Lawrence Technological University

Keith Shortridge, Australian Astronomical Observatory

John Wallin, Middle Tennessee State University
Previous Advisory Committee Members

Mark Taylor, University of Bristol, UK

Thomas Robitaille, Freelance

Robert J. Hanisch, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Editors

Editor: Alice Allen

Associate Editor: Kim DuPrie

Designer/Developer: Judy Schmidt