Dear MonetDB-users and -developers,
bug reports and especially test script play a crucial role with maintaining and improving the stability and correct functioning of MonetDB.
However, adding test scripts "a posteriori" as we did recently during the two "MonetDB-Bug-Days" (a third one is still to come before the end of this year!) is a very tedious and time-consuming task, especially since who ever is adding a test script first needs to get familiar with the details of the very bug report.
Since both the user who submits a bug report and the developer(s) who take(s) care of fixing a bug are by definition very familiar with the details of a bug report, it seems more than obvious that they should share the task of adding a test script to the CVS repository while dealing with the respective bug, i.e., *before* closing the bug report.
Ideally, the user/submitter provides the query or script that triggers the bug as well as the expected/correct output with his/her bug report. In case the user/submitter has CVS check-in privileges, he/she could add the test script to the CVS repository him-/herself. Otherwise, the developer/assignee should add the user's test script to the CVS repository. The test script helps both the developer/assignee and the user/submitter to monitor the status of the bug by running "Mtest[.py]" (cf., http://monetdb.cwi.nl/monet/src/testing/README) or by checking the TestWeb (http://monetdb.cwi.nl/Development/TestWeb/).
To coordinate this procedure, I made a first draft for a "MonetDB Bug Etiquette", which you find attached to this mail.
I'd be very pleased, if you could comment on this.
Thank you all very much for your contribution to make MonetDB even better than it already is!
Kind regards,
Stefan