[Python-Dev] Developer looking to help fix bugs

["Martin v. Löwis"]

Mike Mangino wrote:
> As such, I am
> interested fixing and triaging bugs in the sourceforge tracker. 

That offer is very welcome!

> Earlier today I added a comment to http://www.python.org/sf/982679 to
> tell the user how to fix the problem they were having (it was a bug in
> their code, not python) How do I have somebody close that request? 

I suggest you maintain a list of bug reports and patches for which
you have a proposed action. Post that list to python-dev say, weekly,
and somebody will pick it up.

In the specific case, I just closed it.

> I look forward to helping out in whatever way I can. I have experience
> in C, Java, databases and many other languages in addition to an MBA
> with focus on Finance. My guess is that the C will be most helpful, but
> who knows. 

Personally, I believe patch reviews might help most at this point:
take some of the old patches, and evaluate them. Find out whether they
do what they say they do, and whether they do it correctly. If they
fix a bug, determine whether what they change really is a bug, and
whether the fix won't break existing code. Also check whether a test
case accompanies the fix. If the patch adds a new feature, determine
whether the feature is desirable, and whether it comes with
documentation and test cases. Put your analysis as a comment in
the patch.

If the submitter is unresponsive, determine whether the patch is
worthwhile fixing yourself. If not, add a message indicating that
you recommend to reject the patch.

If you have a list of patches that you have reviewed and for which
you recommend approval or rejection, post them to python-dev. If
I'm the one to execute your proposals, I will check a few reviews
in detail in order to establish trust in your analysis, and later
bulk-apply changes if your analysis is plausible.

The same would hold for bug reports, except that in cases where
a fix is needed, you will have to add a patch to the patches
tracker, which would only add to the backlog of unreviewed
patches. Of course, if the bug is serious, you might still do
so, and post a list of bugs along with the list of your patches
(always link bug and patch in comment messages also).

> If anyone is in the Chicago area, I would love to buy you a beer and
> pick your brain.

Thanks for the offer - I'm on a different continent, unfortunately.

Regards,
Martin