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-- AndyGlew - 02 Jun 2003

This question is inspired by bugs I have reported with TreePlugin, the 0.310 alpha version of January 2003

  1. TWiki version: (TWiki version: 01 Feb 2003)
  • Perl version: 5.6.1
  • Web server & version: Apache
  • Server OS: SunOS?? + Linux
  • Web browser & version: Internet Explorer 6.0
  • Client OS: Windows XP

But is more general:

Q: how should issues and bugs in add-ons and plugins be reported?

They could be reported via discussion in the Codev and Plugin web. That seems to be the defacto standard.

But I think this is not-so-good. I have been reporting some such issues to the Support web. Let me describe why here.

  • The Support web already has a bit of bug reporting infrastructure. The Plugin web does not.
    • It is good, for example, to be able to run queries looking for all outstanding bugs against a plugin.

  • CONversely: one might argue that the Support web is only for core twiki bug reports and questions. But, to a naive user, it is not always obvious if the bug report is against the core or against a plugin.

  • It is important for bug reports to be as easy to make as possible. If the bug-finder has to figure out how to report the bug, it creates an obstacle that results in fewer bugs being reported.

  • It is often not obvious if an issue is a bug, or a user misunderstanding. Most bug reports start out this way:
    • How do I do X? I've tried X1 and X2, and they don't seem to work. What am I doing wrong?
    • Oh, X1 and X2 should work. Report a bug.
  • It is a principle of bug tracking systems: any bug report should be convertible to a support requesty, and vice versa. Placing them in the same database makes this easier.
    • Also, it is similarly convenient to run queries to find the features that generate the must bugs and/or support requests: i.e. the most confusing features.

The same issue applies to Codev features, in core TWiki development.

At the momement, my preferred approach is to report an issue or ask a question into the Support web; I only put things right away into the Codev and Plugins webs if it is obvious from the start that they are enhancements.

But that's just me, copying habits and philosophies learned with other issue tracking systems. I think they are the right habits, but, if the TWiki community thinks otherwise, and can enunciate the local policies, I'll try to follow them. (Or, equally likely, make fewer and less detailed bug and issue reports.)

Answer

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Topic revision: r3 - 2004-10-02 - PeterThoeny
 
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