What are the differences between an open-source software project and a scientific software information product? [076]

While open-source software projects and scientific software information products are both publicly accessible, they differ in significant ways.

An open-source software project evolves over time. The open-source software project and results thereof may not be cited by – and/or used to support interpretive conclusions of – other published information products, such as manuscripts or data releases. Application deployments of such open-source software projects should include disclaimers in the user interface to indicate their provisional status.

A scientific software information product is the formal USGS release of a specific version of an open-source software project and does not change after release. The scientific software information product and results thereof may be cited by – and/or used to support interpretive conclusions of – other published information products, such as manuscripts or data releases.