Backtracing, Invalidated Bugs and Quality

[Markus Hitter]

Am 20.08.2008 um 11:42 schrieb Null Ack:

> I'm not convinced that the strategy of asking users to install
> specialised debugging packages is the right way to go. I see a very
> low hit rate with this working in practice.

How about getting this even more automated? Apport would have three  
buttons:

  [ Abort ]       [ Submit Report only ]  [ Allow getting bug fixed ]

The third button would not only send the bug report, but replace (apt- 
get) the standard package with a symbol-equipped equivalent as well.  
Having a debug version of a package among standard packages hurts  
only neglible and most users won't even notice.

Voi-la, next crash time Apport will come along with a backtrace.


> 1. The Debug By Default Build.

Good idea, but the distro won't fit on the CD any longer. Don't know  
if this is an issue for developers.

> 2. The Hybrid Debug Build. Similar, but for technical reasons only
> some packages are debug builds.

Isn't this asking for heated discussions which debugging stuff to  
include?

> 3. Extending Investment at the Canonical Test Lab.
> There is sound and
> proven arguments I could help to present that demonstrate the cost to
> fix defects as they progress in the lifecycle, both in terms of
> monetary costs as well as costs to things like image, future sales and
> so forth

No machine can ever be as unforseeable as a human.

Tests would have to be written for every single case (the Wine  
project does this).

Do your arguments hold true if you don't sell anything but support  
and if the thingy to maintain is the about most complex piece of  
software in the world (a Linux distro)?

> 4. Extending The Ubuntu Entry Criteria.

This would hobble invention of new packages immediately. As seen with  
the recent Empathy discussion, new packages don't go straight from  
the developer's alpha release into the distribution CD anyways.


my $ o.o2

MarKus

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Dipl. Ing. Markus Hitter
http://www.jump-ing.de/