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Are there any proven methods for keeping a computer science lab notebook? What sort of stuff goes into a CS lab notebook, and what notation is used? Are there any reliable ELN methods, preferably integrating with Git?

I want to keep a lab notebook that helps me keep a running narrative of my research as well as my programming, in the same way you would keep a natural science lab notebook. It would be handy to be able to write down what I'm doing as I'm programming, then when a bug mysteriously appears in the software, I can see the last time the software was working, see where the bug started, then read the running narrative in between to help figure out what is causing it.

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What's a “lab notebook”? I'm unfamiliar with this terminology. Is this something you write as a researcher? Or as a student? Is that lab as in doing experiments, or as in a class? Is this something you need to do for some legal purpose (say, related to patent claims), or for a teaching institution, or for yourself? – Gilles Jul 21 '12 at 18:45
I'm probably going to need more explanation in my question. I used to be a chemistry major, and I really miss lab books for doing research and solving problems. – Nick Anderegg Jul 21 '12 at 18:52
I'm working on a research project, and I really feel lost when it comes to keeping track of everything. There isn't one single source that I can look to for a rundown on my project. But, paper seems to not mess well with CS. – Nick Anderegg Jul 21 '12 at 18:55
I appreciate the question, but I don't think it fits this site: it's more about self-organisation in the context of research than about computer science. That is, if there are no issues specific to a CS lab; I don't see any. We have asked the mods of Academia whether your question fits better there. If the answer is positive, I guess we'll migrate it over to them. Tools specific to programming are probably ontopic on programming-related SE sites. – Raphael Jul 21 '12 at 19:14
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migrated from cs.stackexchange.com Jul 21 '12 at 19:33

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I don't do CS specifically, but I do research in computational/mathematical Epidemiology, which similarly lacks a clear format for a "lab notebook" and where the electronic tools designed for something like chemistry and biology doesn't necessarily suit.

Honestly, I've tried a number of systems. A private Wiki, a variety of other electronic systems, etc. And when it came down to it, I went back to a traditional paper notebook.

I've ended up with a bound paper notebook where I keep notes about experiments and simulations being run, thoughts on direction for the project, and the occasional printout of results taped inside. This has, for me, worked far better than electronic systems.

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I might have to try this out. I really hate taping things in to a notebook, so I'll probably just keep anything printed in a separate folder and refer to them as Attachment 1, etc. I like to keep track of my thought process, and I was considering using Wordpress with a live blogging plugin, but I think I'll have to resort to paper. I like drawing diagrams, and Wordpress doesn't really support that. – Nick Anderegg Jul 22 '12 at 17:17
@NickAnderegg TiddlyWiki may be interesting for both of you. It resides in a single HTML file and can easily be carried around on a thumbdrive (or hosted on a webserver, obviously). Thus, it may be closer to a classic notebook than a hosted Wiki. – Raphael Aug 5 '12 at 11:09

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