My Python annoyances

[Terry Reedy]

"Ben Collver" <collver at peak.org> wrote in message 
news:OvadnZpRt8hbq6bbnZ2dnUVZ_ternZ2d at scnresearch.com...
| Hi Terry,
|
| I understand and agree that the number was the same bit pattern.

OK

|  I don't remember being asked to challenge this.

You don't need an invitation to disagree with another person's tracker 
comment.  I assumed you knew this and took non-response as acquiesence. 
That (closing no response by item submitter) is a fairly typical pattern , 
by the way.  I wish it were otherwise.

|  I must have missed the status change notification.

The SF item-change emails indicate the changes, but you have to look.

| I do wonder whether the diagnosis is accurate: is the sparc64 port
| actually using an unsigned int where the i386 port is using a signed int?

I have no idea.  I was essentially acting on GG's behalf since I know him 
to be techically competent and stronly suspected (correctly, it turns out) 
that could not put the close button himself.

| Either way, I don't see how it reflects on the validity of the report.

A bug is a discrepancy between promise and performance

| I reported that the resulting numbers were different.

I understand CRC checks to produce bit patterns rather than 'numbers'.

|  To me that seems a trap for the unwary.

That is a different issue.  If, for instance, you think the docs could and 
should be improved to make people more wary, reopen the item, change the 
appropriate field to 'documentation' and please give a suggested addition 
or change.

| All I saw was a comment on what might cause my problem,

I understood (correctly, as it turns out) GG as saying 'invalid'.

| and then I saw that the problem report was closed.

Think of GG and I as a team acting as one.  I had nothing to add and other 
bug reports to attend to.

| Now I am told that I didn't even file a real bug report.

Invalid reports are more common than I wish.  We try to be polite and 
accurate in rejecting them.  Once a seemingly competant judgement is made 
in this direction, the ball is in the submitter's court, so to speak.

|  don't know whether to take that as "this is a
| trivial problem not worth reporting" or "this is a poorly filed bug 
report".

Your choice.  See above.

| I am an honest person, honestly!

I can see that there was some non-understanding both ways, which is why I 
have tried to clarify things.

Terry Jan Reedy