I like to ask researchers whether they think the release of code should be encouraged, if not required, for technical papers. My argument (stolen from somewhere) is, “would you allow someone to publish an analysis of Hamlet but not allow anyone to see Hamlet itself?” The main argument for publishing the code (beyond helping the world as a whole) is that people can check your work, which I hear is a part of this science stuff in “computer science.”

Often they’re against it. The two reasons I hear are “my code sucks” and “we’ve patented the technique.” I can also imagine, “I don’t want those commercial fatcats stealing my code,” to which I say, “put some ridiculous license on it, then.” If the reason is, “I want to publish to enhance my resume and reputation, but I also want to keep it all secret because I’m going to make money off it,” then choose A or B, you can’t have both (or shouldn’t, in my Utopian fantasy world).