[Python-Dev] [Python-checkins] r66863 - python/trunk/Modules/posixmodule.c

["Martin v. Löwis"]

> Presumably if the new tests cover functionality that somebody cares
> about, it would be valuable to make sure that maintenance bugfixes don't
> break this functionality in maintenance branches either?

Yes. At the same time, there is also a risk that the new tests just fail
because they are not correctly formulated. Users don't report that
against the trunk, because they are not running the trunk. Instead,
they download the next maintenance release, run the tests, see that it
fails, get frightened, and return to the prior release (which didn't
have any failing tests).

There is a certain prevention already that later maintenance fixes don't
break the earlier ones: those fixes typically get checked into the trunk
also, where the tests do exist. So the committer would find out even
before the patch gets to the maintenance branch.

All that said, I don't want to state a policy about whether new tests
should or should not get added to maintenance branches. I'd leave this
up to the committers, and just wanted to caution about this risk.

Regards,
Martin