Developer looking to help fix bugs
Hello, My name is Mike Mangino. I am an IT weenie in Chicago Illinois, USA who has used python in various projects for several years. I have recently finished school (again) and am looking for a project I can work on to learn. My huge ambition is to eventually port python to the palm pilot with a reasonable graphical interface. I have learned my lesson in the past about jumping into ambitious projects too quickly. As such, I am interested fixing and triaging bugs in the sourceforge tracker. 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? In the future, if I fix one of the issues, is there somebody I should email to make changes? 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. If you want to discuss asset pricing, I can probably help with that as well. If anyone is in the Chicago area, I would love to buy you a beer and pick your brain. Mike Mangino
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
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.
Help reviewing patch #914575 (difflib patch to add HTML side by side difference) (https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&atid=305470&aid=914575&group_id=5470) would be appreciated. I am in the process of writing the docs and tests but the user interface to the new functionality could use another person's perspective.
If anyone is in the Chicago area, I would love to buy you a beer and pick your brain.
I'm just north of you by 90 miles in Milwaukee but don't like beer :-( Regards, Dan Gass
On Mon, Jul 12, 2004, Mike Mangino wrote:
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? In the future, if I fix one of the issues, is there somebody I should email to make changes?
BTW, have you read http://www.python.org/dev/dev_intro.html Was it helpful? If not, what was missing? -- Aahz (aahz@pythoncraft.com) <*> http://www.pythoncraft.com/ "Typing is cheap. Thinking is expensive." --Roy Smith, c.l.py
Aahz wrote:
On Mon, Jul 12, 2004, Mike Mangino wrote:
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? In the future, if I fix one of the issues, is there somebody I should email to make changes?
BTW, have you read http://www.python.org/dev/dev_intro.html
Was it helpful? If not, what was missing?
More prominent placement of the link to the developer pages on the python.org home page would be my suggestion. I *still* go looking for a link to the developer pages in the sidebar, and then go "D'oh" and look at the menu at the top of the page instead. For instance, I think making the Developer pages the first link in the 'Community' section in the side bar would make them much easier to find. (The actual developer pages I quite like - it was finding them in the first place that I found more difficult than it should have been) Regards, Nick. -- Nick Coghlan | Brisbane, Australia Email: ncoghlan@email.com | Mobile: +61 409 573 268
Nick Coghlan wrote:
For instance, I think making the Developer pages the first link in the 'Community' section in the side bar would make them much easier to find. (The actual developer pages I quite like - it was finding them in the first place that I found more difficult than it should have been)
Ah, my bad. The 'Python Project' title takes you to the developer pages. For some reason, I'd only ever checked the three Source Forge links that appear there. Cheers, Nick. -- Nick Coghlan | Brisbane, Australia Email: ncoghlan@email.com | Mobile: +61 409 573 268
participants (5)
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"Martin v. Löwis" -
Aahz -
Dan Gass -
Mike Mangino -
Nick Coghlan