3 later thoughts

1

Mucking around a lot with iPython notebook, using it together with pandas and ggplot to do rough-and-ready data exploration.

Folding

I'd really love folding support across markdown sections.

Hierarchy

In fact, I'd like better awareness of Markdown sections in general. It can be very easy for notebooks to get quite long. Being able to fold sections, or see a table of contents would help immensely.

Real-time collaboration

I've used Google Docs a lot for real-time collaboration. For that task, it's great. It's a fantastic way to run a remote meeting, brainstorm an idea, or coordinate a wedding.

I'd love to be able to do the same thing, but with iPython notebook.

One of the things that gets in the way is that the iPython notebook is an arbitrary code execution framework.

Experiments

Lots of the time I'm just exploring data, and that's cool. That needs to happen.

But sometimes I end up in the weeds and only later realize that I have a specific question I'm trying to answer.

If I have a question I'm trying to answer, a hypothesis that I'm trying to falsify, then I should write it down (see Hammock-driven development). Better yet, when I've managed to falsify it (or failed to do so), then I should write that down and somehow link it to the question or hypothesis.

Wouldn't it be great if the notebook itself somehow supported or encouraged this?

Tangents

Often when working on a document, I deliberately go on a tangent. Half the time I end up deleting the cells involved once it's done.

What I'd like to be able to do is keep the tangent, but flag it as a sidebar, or an appendix, or even another notebook.

2 earlier thoughts