[Python-Dev] Breaking Test Cases on Purpose

[Greg Stein]

On Thu, Aug 03, 2000 at 07:44:28PM +0300, Moshe Zadka wrote:
> Suppose I'm fixing a bug in the library. I want peer review for my fix,
> but I need none for my new "would have caught" test cases. Is it
> considered alright to check-in right away the test case, breaking the test
> suite, and to upload a patch to SF to fix it? Or should the patch include
> the new test cases?

If you're fixing a bug, then check in *both* pieces and call explicitly for
a peer reviewer (plus the people watching -checkins). If you don't quite fix
the bug, then a second checkin can smooth things out.

Let's not get too caught up in "process", to the exclusion of being
productive about bug fixing.

> The XP answer would be "hey, you have to checkin the breaking test case
> right away", and I'm inclined to agree.
> 
> I really want to break the standard library, just because I'm a sadist --
> but seriously, we need tests that break more often, so bugs will be easier
> to fix.

I really want to see less process and discussion, and more code.

Cheers,
-g

-- 
Greg Stein, http://www.lyra.org/