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I'm writing a scientific article in which I used Python for simulations. How is the Python language properly referenced? Are there any articles in journals available I could link to?

This is also relevant for theses and dissertations in fields where Python is not commonly known.

Edit: See here for the answer: https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5482/how-do-i-reference-the-python-programming-language-in-a-thesis-or-a-paper

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Eekhoorn
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    What's to reference? You could reference the docs, perhaps, or the numpy/scipy modules, but I don't think referencing a programming language makes any sense. – Eric Nov 24 '12 at 16:25
  • The idea was to give the reader an idea about the language. It's common to reference tools you use if they are special. I use a tool named CellProfiler a lot and thus I reference it. For this tool, they tell you which articles they would like to have referenced, but not so for Python. – Eekhoorn Nov 24 '12 at 16:29
  • Gentlemen, this question is important for me. Could you at least move it to Academia.SX? Thank you! – Eekhoorn Nov 24 '12 at 16:32
  • Python is very common knowledge, whereas other tools might not be. I doubt that (1) your audience have never heard of it and (2) this is a serious barrier to understanding what you're writing about. Even if that's the case, the topic in question is probably more specific than "the entire programming language" (e.g. if its dynamicness matters, just say that). (As for moving: At least I only get a limited set of sites to move to, and academica is not among it.) –  Nov 24 '12 at 16:46
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    Python is not common knowledge amongst the older generation of engineering professors and professionals. I have the exact same question as zenbomb, and it is relevant to proper communication in professional literature. – Jason Nov 26 '12 at 20:29
  • See the APA recommendations - i.e. "Do not cite standard office software (e.g. Word, Excel) or programming languages. Provide references only for specialized software. Ludwig, T. (2002). PsychInquiry [computer software]. New York: Worth." https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/ – d-cubed Feb 16 '14 at 20:31

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Well, in principle you could cite the language reference, but to tell the truth it'd be a bit weird to cite the programming language in use as a bibliographical reference. That's just a tool for your thesis or article, not a scientific body of work, and as such is not part of the foundations of your research - therefore there's no need to cite it IMHO. Unless your research happens to be in the general field of programming languages and Python in particular.

Óscar López
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