45 bugs in the FreeBASIC compiler?

General discussion for topics related to the FreeBASIC project or its community.
AGS
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45 bugs in the FreeBASIC compiler?

Post by AGS »

According to

http://sourceforge.net/tracker2/?limit= ... &limitz=10

(it's a link to the FreeBASIC bugtracker at sourceforge.net) there are 45 bugs in the FreeBASIC compiler. When you check the FBC bugtracker more often it becomes apparent that the number of bugs has been 44 (give or take an extra bug) for quite some time. It's a bit odd for an active project to have an 'open' bug count that does not change during a longer period of time.

The reason for this steady number of bugs has to do with the bugreports posted in 2008. Only 6 of the bugreports (with status 'open') have been posted in 2009, the rest of the bugreports with status 'open' have been posted in 2008. And there is even an 'open' bugreport dating as far back as 2007.

A bug reported in februrari 2008 should be resolved by februari 2009. I would even go as far as saying that any bug found in 2008 should be fixed by februari 2009. If bugs do not get fixed within a year then what good is it to file a bugreport?

So I'm thinking: are these 2008 bugreports 'false' (are these reports not bugreports at all), do these bugreports concern bugs that are not considered bugs or.... ?

If the 2008 bugreports with status 'open' are considered 'false' then they can be removed from the list of 'open' bugs by setting their status to 'fixed' or 'deleted'. That way the list of bugs would reflect FBC bugreality a lot better.

If these 2008 bugreports are not considered false then the bugs reported in 2008 that are still being listed with status 'open' could be

- fixed
- turned into feature requests or
- ? (suggestions anyone)

I'm sure many forummembers would love to dive into the FB sources and find a solution for these longstanding bugs.
marcov
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Re: 45 bugs in the FreeBASIC compiler?

Post by marcov »

AGS wrote: A bug reported in februrari 2008 should be resolved by februari 2009.
I would even go as far as saying that any bug found in 2008 should be fixed by februari 2009. If bugs do not get fixed within a year then what good is it to file a bugreport?
I fully agree. Hereby I summon all bug reporters to submit a patch with their bugreport, so that the matter can be resolved quickly.
John Spikowski
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Post by John Spikowski »

I fully agree. Hereby I summon all bug reporters to submit a patch with their bugreport, so that the matter can be resolved quickly.
marcov,

A great suggestion but if that becomes a requirement to report bugs, you just discouraged users of FreeBASIC to not report bugs if they don't have the skill level to fix them. IMHO

John
KristopherWindsor
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Post by KristopherWindsor »

Bugs aren't resolved in the order that they are posted; that allows any length of time before the bugs are resolved.
marcov
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Post by marcov »

John Spikowski wrote: A great suggestion but if that becomes a requirement to report bugs, you just discouraged users of FreeBASIC to not report bugs if they don't have the skill level to fix them. IMHO
I hoped it was clear that it was a bit ironic. Anyway, I was too quick, and took ACS post as pressure on the devels to fix bugs (which IMHO is not constructive)

However one could also consider AGS' post as a call to better participation of users in bug triaging, something that I agree wholeheartedly with.
TheMG
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Post by TheMG »

While marcov was being sarcastic; I think it would be good if we could push ahead with the documentation project so that it would be far easier for anyone with the required skill to familiarise themselves with the sources.
Sisophon2001
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Re: 45 bugs in the FreeBASIC compiler?

Post by Sisophon2001 »

marcov wrote:
AGS wrote: A bug reported in februrari 2008 should be resolved by februari 2009.
I would even go as far as saying that any bug found in 2008 should be fixed by februari 2009. If bugs do not get fixed within a year then what good is it to file a bugreport?
I fully agree. Hereby I summon all bug reporters to submit a patch with their bugreport, so that the matter can be resolved quickly.
Even bug reports with fixes have not been acted on. There is only one active developer, and he can not do everything.

Garvan
marinedalek
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Post by marinedalek »

In that case, I think sorting out the compiler documentation seems a good idea - I'd love to help but it's hard to get a good view of what the compiler's actually trying to do just by scrolling through source files, especially when every source file uses functions and procedures in other files.
John Spikowski
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Post by John Spikowski »

One idea might be to find a open bug or needed 1.0 goal that interests you and ask Matthew (counting_pine) to mentor your effort. Having someone that has worked with the code could be just enough to allow you to make progress needed with your contribution.

If an extra effort is made to document your work, it could help as a foundation for a future developer guide.

There are many talented programmers that are members of this forum and a concerted effort to work together on a common direction would keep the FreeBASIC project alive and thriving.
Gerome
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Post by Gerome »

I'd happy to see how mr Spickowsky will react facing this reaction :
http://www.fbsl.net/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?p=7535#7535
Hope you'll assume your responsabilities man.
John Spikowski
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Post by John Spikowski »

Gerome,

Matthew (counting_pine) asked that FBSL issues and comments be taken off line.

Please respect the wishes of the forum administrator and refrain from venting here.

John
McLovin
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Post by McLovin »

Interesting... let's do the count of how many programming languages Mr. John has "united" (I mean "alienated") .... HotBasic, PowerBASIC, FreeBasic, BCX, and now FBSL. Have I missed any? For someone so eager to create a mega-programming portal, that's one hell of a bad start.

I guess he got sick of Π$/- off photographers http://www.panotools.org/debunk and decided to Πss off programmers instead.

John, you just need to relax more and let your sites build over time. You can't expect to have a thriving community in 10 days just because you offer web space, mailing list, rss, etc....

You have a lot to offer if you channel your enthusiasm correctly.

My 2 cents.
John Spikowski
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Post by John Spikowski »

Thanks for the hints and advice.

As the old saying goes. "You can't help someone that isn't willing to help themselves."

Believe it or not, my only interest is to keep the Basic language alive and why I give my time and resources towards that effort.


John
Gerome
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Post by Gerome »

McLovin,
McLovin wrote:Interesting... let's do the count of how many programming languages Mr. John has "united" (I mean "alienated") .... HotBasic, PowerBASIC, FreeBasic, BCX, and now FBSL. Have I missed any? For someone so eager to create a mega-programming portal, that's one hell of a bad start.

I guess he got sick of Π$/- off photographers http://www.panotools.org/debunk and decided to Πss off programmers instead.

John, you just need to relax more and let your sites build over time. You can't expect to have a thriving community in 10 days just because you offer web space, mailing list, rss, etc....

You have a lot to offer if you channel your enthusiasm correctly.

My 2 cents.
100% agree with you!
I'm onto my FBSL project since year 2001 and had never been so terribly shocked until those last days, days when this dear John decided to flam my project with terrible accusations that are totally false, that's why he also decide to burry the flames he had lit, but I kept copy.
Finally I'm happy to see that the truth always win! :)
John Spikowski
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Post by John Spikowski »

Can you work this out with the BCX project members? They don't seem to agree with your view of where FBSL came from. I'm out of the loop and could really care less about your closed source Basic.
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