# Summary of #hplusroadmap IRC Log (Nov 24, 2013)

* Tukotih_ mentioned that ShareLatex is "really nice" - referring to the collaborative LaTeX editor platform for scientific document creation.

* Discussion about git-backed services included mentions of Gitit and Ikiwiki as alternatives to GitHub, with debate about what people mean when they say "GitHub for X" (git-backed services vs startups with GitHub-like growth).

* Cubehero was highlighted as a GitHub alternative that handles STL files better for 3D modeling, though kanzure criticized its focus on OpenSCAD and the general problem of CAD tools coupling GUI toolkits with custom languages.

* A technical discussion about CAD programming revealed concerns about separation of concerns, with kanzure arguing that OpenSCAD unnecessarily couples a GUI toolkit with a custom language rather than providing bindings to existing languages.

* The group discussed python-brlcad bindings (https://github.com/kanzure/python-brlcad), with kanzure noting that while the bindings work, they require an additional simplified modeling layer due to the large number of symbols generated by ctypesgen.

* Participants shared and requested scientific papers using paperbot, a tool for retrieving academic papers, with some discussion about its functionality and limitations.

* OpenTrons lab automation platform was briefly discussed, with criticism of its CSV-based programming approach rather than using a standard programming language.