---
# System prepended metadata

title: 'PlasmaPy Community Meeting | Tuesday 2021 May 25 at 18:00 UT'
tags: [community, ' minutes']

---

---
tags: community, minutes
---

# PlasmaPy Community Meeting | Tuesday 2021 May 25 at 18:00 UT

[![hackmd-github-sync-badge](https://hackmd.io/Z1fGZ0_fQX6d78Kin3sAug/badge)](https://hackmd.io/Z1fGZ0_fQX6d78Kin3sAug)


### Video Conference Information
* [Jitsi video conference link](https://meet.jit.si/plasmapy) with [call-in information](https://meet.jit.si/static/dialInInfo.html?room=plasmapy) 
* Instant messaging: [Matrix](https://app.element.io/#/room/#plasmapy:openastronomy.org) and [Gitter](https://gitter.im/PlasmaPy/Lobby)
* [GitHub Minutes Repository](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/plasmapy-project/tree/master/minutes)
    * ["Community" Sub-directory](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/plasmapy-project/tree/master/minutes/_community)
* [PlasmaPy on GitHub](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/plasmapy) ([pull requests](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/plasmapy/pulls), [issues](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/plasmapy/issues))
* [PlasmaPy Enhancement Proposals on GitHub](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/PlasmaPy-PLEPs) 
* [PlasmaPy Google Calendar](https://calendar.google.com/calendar?cid=bzVsb3ZkcW0zaWxsam00ZTlrMDd2cmw5bWdAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ)

## Agenda (please feel free to edit or add items)

1. Introductions
2. 10-15 minutes for [roadmap](https://hackmd.io/@plasmapy)
3. solicit "Project Issues"
4. PlasmaPy Newsletter posted (3/21)
5. PlasmaPy presence at 2021 SULI summer school (changed to June 23 from 3–5 pm Eastern)
    1. Units & particles & formulary
    2. E×B notebook
    3. Proton radiography (confirmed by Peter)
6. Start planning for PlasmaPy events during hack week
7. Dominik: Need to finally start collaborating more with OMFIT
9. Create `plasmapy-sphinx` and `plasmapy-test` repos in PlasmaPy organization?
    * D: one for the new automodapi and one for the test helpers?
10. [PR 1145](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/PlasmaPy/pull/1145): Lite-Functions Ep. 1
    * update
    * does `thermal_speed_coefficients` clutter namespace & docuemntation
    * should `thermal_speed` and `thermal_speed_lite` keep same (similar) signatures
11. [PR 1151](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/PlasmaPy/pull/1151) & [1152](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/PlasmaPy/pull/1152)
    * only one is need...the PRs basically do the same thing
    * do we need a `environment.yml` (seems like extra maintenance if not necessary)
    * if yes, is there a way to reduce maintence of it
12. Dominik: haven't reworked CI in a few weeks and my hands are tingling already
    * move coverage ru
14. 
15. ...
16. Issues
    1. ...
    2. ...
17. Pull requests in progress 
    1. [Greeter bot for new contributors (#1095)](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/PlasmaPy/pull/1095)
    2. [Lite-Functions Ep. 1 | Jump to Hyperspace (#1145)](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/PlasmaPy/pull/1145)
    3. [Set up ReST substitutions for docs (#1147)](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/PlasmaPy/pull/1147)
    4. [Begin a project glossary (#1149)](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/PlasmaPy/pull/1149)
        - Still need to figure out why terms aren't linking
    5. [Change code & docs to reflect a default branch named main (#1150)](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/PlasmaPy/pull/1150)
    6. [Added notebook to environment.yml (#1151)](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/PlasmaPy/pull/1151)
    7. [Minor edit code development guidelines (#1152)](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/PlasmaPy/pull/1152)
18. Pull requests **MERGED**
    1. [Rename integer charge to charge number (#1136)](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/PlasmaPy/pull/1136)
    2. [Changes to particles from neoclassics (#1130)](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/PlasmaPy/pull/1130)
    3. [Improve consistency of ReST formatting in documentation (#1073)](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/PlasmaPy/pull/1073)
    4. [Remove deprecated `Particle.particle` (#1146)](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/PlasmaPy/pull/1146)
    5. [Refactor `plasmapy_sphinx` (#1144)](https://github.com/PlasmaPy/PlasmaPy/pull/1144)
    
## Attendees

* Erik
* Dominik
* Nick
* Tiger

## Action Items

***Person***
* ...

## Minutes

* PR 1151 & 1152: do we need an `environment.yml`
    > Improptu convo between Erik and Dominik
    > * lookin at 'em right now, might catch before meeting. Also hi Erik  Hey bud! ok sounds good.
    > * would prefer to have the yml file for conda env support tbh, rather keep it 
    > * I thought you could still use requirements.txt for conda...I don't do conda so I don't know the in and outs.  Hence my question on this
    > * If we keep it, I wonder if there are things we can do to ease maintance...it's just a 3rd place to maintain requirements
    > * trudat; still, I can probably handle it
    > * I'm curious if you can refernece a requirements txt in the yml to ease maintence 
    * Dominik would like to keep it for ease of setting up conda env
    * It is a 3rd (4th) place we need to maintian requiremnts...others being `setup.cfg`, `pyproject.tml`, and all the `requirments` `txt` files
    * Is there a way to ease maintanence
    * maybe <https://stackoverflow.com/a/59056234>
* FYI, `functools.cache`/`functools.lru_cahce` does not work with `numba`
    * https://github.com/numba/numba/issues/4062

### SULI/Hack week

* Plan with Arturo
* have a PlasmaPy "presence" at SULI school for undergrads
* Peter available for proton radiography (in second part)
* first half: particles, formulary, ExB notebook
* right before hack week
* but might get people to use plasmapy
    * Would want to completely rewrite ExB notebook
* UC Irvine person plans to pop in on Friday to discuss hack week
    * could maybe help out with that?
* proton radiography as second half
    * for hack week, applying that is one thing; having stuff to work on (good first issues) is another

### Working with OMFIT

* Whilst working on neoclassics, started looking through OMFIT for ICs 
    * We should look into their documentation
    * We might be documenting functionality
        * `FluxSurface` class, as an example
        * Coordinate transformations
    * At very least, we should learn more about what's in there
    * Had looked at namelist of classes in their docs
* High time we should start looking into collaboration possibilities
* OMFIT modules docs <https://gafusion.github.io/OMFIT-source/modules.html>
    * [NEO_GACODE](https://gafusion.github.io/OMFIT-source/modules/mod_NEO_GACODE.html#mod-neo-gacode)
    * [TGYRO_GACODE](https://gafusion.github.io/OMFIT-source/modules/mod_TGYRO_GACODE.html#mod-tgyro-gacode)
* need to pay attention at omfit hour at hack week
* [OMFIT tutorial series video #1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrB9l2zExZg)
* [OMFIT user request form](https://form.omfit.io/)

### Classical transport

* Peter doing lots of great work
    * Dominik needs to talk with to get on the same page for page structure
    * Peter has surgery in ~2 weeks

### Packaging

* Nick has plasmapy-test in private repo
    * naming might be confusing (as tests for plasmapy)
    * plasmapy-test-helpers
    * plasmapy-switzerland
    * need a more explicit name
    * for now plasmapy-test-helpers!
* Erik wants plasmapy-sphinx rather than plasmapy-doc
    * will break off the current functionality into that
 * no rush, though!


### Lite functions

* was done, except for tests
* Peter brought up that `thermal_speed_coefficients` cluttered up the namespace
    * Should try to keep signatures of `thermal_speed` and `thermal_speed_lite` similar
    * Indexing slows things down
    * Maybe use `functools.cache`
    * Numba does not work with `cache` 🙀
    * But there's an object mode, for normal python
    * But increased clutter seems worth it, at least for time being
    * Maybe expose functions like this only to module and not subpackage?
    * But let's just live with the clutter **for now**
    * Erik also managed to simplify `@preserve_signature` so it's compatible with two layers of numba jit

### Pain points

* Right now, we're not testing conda stuff, only through PyPI
    * Should add conda stuff back 
* Tests are split between fast tests and slow tests (sim or proton radiography so we don't have to run those on every run)
* Going to tinker with caching for PyPI
    * So envs install faster
    * So we don't overuse PyPI resources needlessly
* Implementing image testing for plots
    * Looking at how SunPy does it
    * Initial setup that's working okay-ish for them
    * They're still working out the kinks, it seems
    * Would prefer to come back to this in a month
    * Figure tests difficulty: fonts.  Different versions of fonts, going to have differences between what's on GitHub

## Environment.yml

* Dominik needs to look at https://stackoverflow.com/questions/35245401/combining-conda-environment-yml-with-pip-requirements-txt/59056234#59056234