[Python-Dev] Fix or drop AIX buildbot?

[David Edelsohn]

I would prefer that AIX not be dropped from support and from the buildbots.

I have fixed the Git problem.  I thought that it had been working.

The testsuite failures on AIX are issues with the AIX kernel and C
Library, often corner cases.  I don't want to get into arguments about
the POSIX standard.  Some of the issues are actual conformance issues
and some are different interpretations of the standard.  Addressing
the problems in AIX is a slow process. If the failing testcases are
too annoying, I would recommend to skip the testcases.

Despite the testsuite failures, Python builds and runs on AIX for the
vast majority of users and applications.  I don't see the benefit in
dropping support for a platform that functions because it doesn't
fully pass the testsuite.

Thanks, David


On Mon, Apr 3, 2017 at 6:56 AM, Victor Stinner <victor.stinner at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> We have a "PPC64 AIX 3.x" buildbot slave which fails on cloning the
> GitHub repository: "SSL certificate problem: unable to get local
> issuer certificate".  It started to fail around Feb 11, 2017 (Build
> #294), probably when buildbots moved to GitHub, after CPython moved to
> GitHub.
>
> First build which failed:
> http://buildbot.python.org/all/builders/PPC64%20AIX%203.x/builds/294
>
> Moreover, some tests are failing since at least 2 years on AIX. Some examples:
>
> * test_locale.test_strcoll_with_diacritic()
> * test_socket.testIPv4toString()
> * test_strptime
>
> Last build which ran unit tests:
> http://buildbot.python.org/all/builders/PPC64%20AIX%203.x/builds/293/steps/test/logs/stdio
>
> For me, the principle of a CI is to detect *regressions*. But the AIX
> buildbot is always failing because of known bugs. There are 3 options:
>
> * Find a maintainer who quickly fix all known bugs. Unlike
> * Skip tests known to fail on AIX. I know that many core developers
> dislike this option, "hiding" bugs.
> * Drop the buildbot
>
> My favorite option is to drop the buildbot, since I'm tired of these
> red buildbot slaves.
>
> I added David Edelsohn to this email, he owns the buildbot, and I know
> that he wants to get the best AIX support in Python.
>
> The question is also which kind of support level do we provide per
> platform? Full support, "best effort" or no support?
>
> * Full support requires active maintainers, a CI with tests which pass, etc.
> * "Best effort": fix bugs when someone complains and someone (else?)
> provides a fix
> * No support: reject proposed patches to add a partial support for a platform.
>
> Victor