Re: Re: How you can help

[Richard Riley <rileyrgdev@googlemail.com>]

Sebastian Rose <sebastian_rose@gmx.de> writes:

> Bernt Hansen <bernt@norang.ca> writes:
>> Running a minimal emacs should suppress custom config files:
>>          emacs -q -l yourtest.el
>
> Added this one to the Clippboard section on new org-tests/index.org in
> Worg.git. (this section will be temporary...)

Something like the above should only be a link (at most) to the emacs
manual. Reproducing standard info is bad in the long run in case things
in the base product (emacs) change for example.

>
>> Some kind of regression testing framework would be awesome.  Org-mode is
>> large enough that this is almost a necessity to keep things stable and
>> bug-free.
>
> It's big and feature-RICH.

The nature of OSS means that the community using the product keep it
stable and bug free. I dont think the efforts to produce meaningful
regression tests would be beneficial in an ever morphing product like
org-mode. Clearly my humble opinion on that one :-;


>
>> Maybe something can be put together from the git testing framework and
>> use of emacs -batch to process test org files and verify the output is
>> as expected (with diff or some other tool).
>
>
> Hey, diff is a good idea!!
>
> I didn't take the verification of the output into account yet :-)
>
> I just pushed a change of Worgs start page, and added a directory
> 'org-tests'. I've placed an index.org there, which now is just a
> collection of ideas (I'm on my day job, so I can't really work on it
> now).
>
> Don't know how often the git repo is published.
> Bernt and Ben, are you 'worgers' allready?
>
> Do you think it makes sense to add snippets and ideas to the new page in
> Worg? I think while the list great to exchange ideas, it's good to have
> a place, where all those ideas are destilled to one-liners.

I must say I am dubious about this. It means, for the tests to be
meaningful, that the output must be  a fixed format in base org. I doubt
this will ever be the case. The presentation will fluctuate while the
core information (dates, schedules periods etc) will remain pretty much
constant.

The majority of bugs that I see are often down to people misusing or
using things in the base which are not fully explored. No amount of
regression testing can cover things like that unless the regression
tests include everyones customisations.

Do I think regression testing is important? Yes - in certain
environments. But every time Carsten, you, myself or anyone else fires
up org-mode we are already doing just that.


-- 
Inventor:  A person who makes an ingenious arrangement of wheels, levers and springs, and believes it civilization.  ~Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary