# Juliaobserver.com đ a package browsing tool for julia
**URL:** https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685
**Category:** Community
**Tags:** announcement
**Created:** [January 25, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685 "2017-01-25T18:26:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@djsegal](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/djsegal)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/1 "2017-01-25T18:26:01Z")
I made a package browsing tool called [julia observer](https://juliaobserver.com).
* * *
My goal was to make a website like [ember observer](https://emberobserver.com/), but for Julia.
Let me know what you think and feel free to leave an issue on [github](https://github.com/djsegal/julia_observer).
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### Author:  [@cormullion](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/cormullion)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2017, 6:46pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/2 "2017-01-25T18:46:08Z")
Iâve been looking at this now and again for a few days. ''Tis really cool and well-made. Tim Holyâs lead is unassailable, I reckon. đ
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### Author:  [@ChrisRackauckas](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/ChrisRackauckas)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2017, 7:24pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/3 "2017-01-25T19:24:05Z")
> [@cormullion](#):
>
> Tim Holyâs lead is unassailable, I reckon. đ
Life goals. đ
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### Author:  [@kristoffer.carlsson](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/kristoffer.carlsson)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2017, 9:48pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/4 "2017-01-25T21:48:48Z")
Really cool stuff. \<20 char\>
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### Author:  [@ScottPJones](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/ScottPJones)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/5 "2017-01-25T22:16:00Z")
Nice! Could it also pick up unregistered Julia packages that are starred?
(it could at least look for packages that end in .jl, as that is the convention for Julia packages, even if they are not yet registered)
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### Author:  [@djsegal](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/djsegal)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2017, 12:25am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/6 "2017-01-26T00:25:06Z")
Iâm completely open to this, I just want to know the use case.
Would people really want access to unregistered packages?
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### Author:  [@ScottPJones](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/ScottPJones)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2017, 1:04am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/7 "2017-01-26T01:04:10Z")
For example, Iâve got 16 stars on my [https://github.com/ScottPJones/StringUtils.jl](https://github.com/ScottPJones/StringUtils.jl) package, which is unregistered.
There are a number of other useful packages out there that Iâve used, which are not registered.
We used for a long time @johnmyleswhiteâs [https://github.com/johnmyleswhite/Benchmarks.jl](https://github.com/johnmyleswhite/Benchmarks.jl) package, which has 48 stars (which would mean that it would be ranked around 105 out of almost 1300 Julia packages by Juliaobserver, if it had been included)
(it has now been superceded by the registered [GitHub - JuliaCI/BenchmarkTools.jl: A benchmarking framework for the Julia language](https://github.com/JuliaCI/BenchmarkTools.jl) package, but that has only gathered 39 stars so far).
Often packages are unregistered while they are still âWIPâ, but they can still be quite useful, if you can find them.
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### Author:  [@djsegal](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/djsegal)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2017, 1:11am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/8 "2017-01-26T01:11:56Z")
Sounds good. I think I have a way to fit this in.
Just post an issue on [github](https://github.com/djsegal/julia_observer/issues/new)
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### Author:  [@kristoffer.carlsson](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/kristoffer.carlsson)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2017, 7:46am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/9 "2017-01-26T07:46:02Z")
I think it makes sense to limit to METADATA packages. Or at least have a toggle to enable / disable non METADATA packages.
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### Author:  [@cormullion](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/cormullion)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2017, 9:37am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/10 "2017-01-26T09:37:38Z")
It would be interesting to see whether registered packages are the majority, or just the tip of the icebergâŚ
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### Author:  [@ScottPJones](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/ScottPJones)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2017, 1:27pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/11 "2017-01-26T13:27:27Z")
I think there are a lot of different metrics that can be used to rank Julia packages, both registered and unregistered, that would be nice to be able to see in Juliaobserver (Iâve been having a great time using it!).
It already has a few ways, by the # of stars, by newness, sorted alphabetically, and âhotnessâ (Iâm not sure what the criteria are yet for that one!).
Just because a package is registered, doesnât mean that it even works anymore with the current release (or with master), so one metric might be whether the package has been updated since the current release came out (or since the first RC of the current release came out), or if the current release is less than a couple months old, the previous release.
I do know there are quite a few useful unregistered packages out there, and Juliaobserver seems to be a wonderful tool for package discovery, so it would be good IMO if those were also included, no matter whether they are the majority or not.
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### Author:  [@djsegal](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/djsegal)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2017, 4:30pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/12 "2017-01-26T16:30:22Z")
How bout I make a toggle in the navbarâs dropdown?
Then store the boolean in a cookie thatâs used to show/hide unregistered packages
* * *
edit: maybe drop a line in [issue#5](https://github.com/djsegal/julia_observer/issues/5)
itâs up to you guys to determine if the cookie should start by showing/hiding them
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### Author:  [@Balinus](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Balinus)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2017, 6:25pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/13 "2017-01-26T18:25:21Z")
The tool is really useful for discovery. Thanks!
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### Author:  [@TravisA9](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/TravisA9)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2017, 9:48pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/14 "2017-01-26T21:48:56Z")
I seem to have run into a bug. I typed something into the search field and viewed the results⌠after wards I erased the search word and clicked on the âNEWâ button and the search word appeared again in the search field I tried the same with the other buttons and the same word keeps appearing preventing me from using the interface.
The only way i found to make it function properly is to select a category from the right side.
Good work, though.
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### Author:  [@djsegal](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/djsegal)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2017, 10:50pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/15 "2017-01-26T22:50:21Z")
@TravisA9, thanks for finding this!
Could you file it as an issue on [github](https://github.com/djsegal/julia_observer/issues/new)?
* * *
edit: also, i think itâs working as expected.
- when you search something, youâre making a server request (i.e. when you press enter)
- when you erase the search query, youâre doing it client-side (i.e. just on your laptop)
client side updates donât go to the server (unless you click enter).
when you click âNewâ, âTopâ, âA-Zâ, or âHotâ, youâre making another server request with w/e query was attached to the current page.
i agree that I could link the 2 forms, but I think thatâs just as confusing.
A better solution would be to inform the user that thereâs a query present and give them a way to remove it (for example, a big red X)
// sorry for the wall of text. i usually save this for github
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### Author:  [@Datseris](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Datseris)
#### Post date: [February 2, 2017, 10:10am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/17 "2017-02-02T10:10:20Z")
Oh my god this is so awesome!
Something that is not explained and I have a question about: How are the categories made?
Another edit: I am asking to understand on which category will my package be (DynamicalBilliards)
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### Author:  [@djsegal](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/djsegal)
#### Post date: [February 2, 2017, 8:55pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/18 "2017-02-02T20:55:19Z")
Fair question.
Right now they are made purely from organizations that have:
- published Julia repos
- Julia in their name
After we got some more users, I wanted to get community feedback on how best to generate and populate categories.
* * *
Sorry if this is an inadequate answer đ˘
Also, feel free to [post an issue](https://github.com/djsegal/julia_observer/issues/new) to get the ball rolling.
// edit: as @FemtoTrader pointed out, maybe topics are the way to solve this: [pkg topics](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/package-development-and-topics-on-github/1837)
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### Author:  [@Datseris](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Datseris)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2017, 8:26am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/19 "2017-02-03T08:26:32Z")
I concur!
The new system of topics that Github offers would aid greatly in categorizing packages.
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### Author:  [@djsegal](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/djsegal)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2017, 7:50am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/20 "2017-02-18T07:50:52Z")
Just a heads upâŚ
You can now view unregistered packages from github, as per [issue#5](https://github.com/djsegal/julia_observer/issues/5)
Please let me know what you think and donât forget to file any issues you find đ
* * *
#### to view unregistered packages,
- click dropdown in navbar
- select settings
- click checkbox with âInclude Unregistered Packagesâ next to it
- click âSave changesâ
tada, you can now view almost all 3000+ living Julia packages.
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### Author:  [@Tero\_Frondelius](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Tero_Frondelius)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2017, 1:34pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685/21 "2017-02-19T13:34:33Z")
Really cool site. Do you have access the amount of Downloads? I think it would be a nice information to share. Something like these Atom packages have, here one as an example: [linter-julia](https://atom.io/packages/linter-julia) See the cloud symbol with arrow down in the right upper corner.
[Next page](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/juliaobserver-com-a-package-browsing-tool-for-julia/1685.md?page=2)