How can I show that a given open-source project does not exist yet? - eviltoast

I work in research (uni) and am writing a framework for heat processes to optimize their costs. This goes both for private houses and industrial processes. The goal is to enable industry players to see that/when renewable energies and heat reuse with heat pumps are cheaper than fossil fuels. I do this using digital twins for components and on a system level.

My boss hesitates because he thinks this must already exist. I want to pursue that path with my research, so any insights there are welcome, too, but this is primarily about the open-source project.

I searched GitHub and came up empty, but that is only a subset of the search. Do you have any idea how I can find this, one way or another? It would also be great if I could show that it likely does not exist.

  • bremen15@feddit.orgOP
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    3 months ago

    Just so you know, my boss and I work in computer science, so your insights are well-received and understood.

    So, can you now elaborate on showing that it likely does not exist?

    • DarkNightoftheSoul@mander.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      edit-2
      3 months ago

      the best you can do is make the best effort you can think of. industry-relevant repositories, github was a good start, word-of-mouth with relevant industry partners and universities. if the alternative to your project exists but is that hard to find, id say your niche exists regardless.

    • DarkNightoftheSoul@mander.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      3 months ago

      oh, i missed the community name. i should be candid and admit that i am not an experienced dev, just a person who saw your post and had that opinion to share