1 @c -*- coding: utf-8; mode: texinfo; -*-
5 This chapter deals with defects, feature requests, and
6 miscellaneous development tasks.
9 * Introduction to issues::
11 * Bug Squad checklists::
12 * Issue classification::
13 * Adding issues to the tracker::
14 * Summary of project status::
15 * Finding the cause of a regression::
19 @node Introduction to issues
20 @section Introduction to issues
22 @warning{Unless otherwise specified, all the tasks in this chapter
23 are @qq{simple} tasks: they can be done by a normal user with
24 nothing more than a web browser, email, and lilypond.}
26 @qq{Issues} isn't just a politically-correct term for @qq{bug}.
27 We use the same tracker for feature requests and code TODOs, so
28 the term @qq{bug} wouldn't be accurate. Despite the difference
29 between @qq{issue} and @qq{bug}, we call our team of contributors
30 who organize issues the @emph{Bug Squad}.
32 The Bug Squad is mainly composed of non-programmers -- their job
33 is to @emph{organize} issues, not solve them. Their duties
34 include removing false bug reports, ensuring that any real bug
35 report contains enough information for developers, and checking
36 that a developer's fix actually resolves the problem.
38 New volunteers for the Bug Squad should contact the
39 @ref{Meisters, Bug Meister}.
43 @section Bug Squad setup
45 We highly recommend that you configure your email to use effective
46 sorting; this can reduce your workload @emph{immensely}. The
47 email folders names were chosen specifically to make them work if
48 you sort your folders alphabetically.
53 Skim through every section of this chapter, @ref{Issues}. Read in
54 detail any sections called @qq{Bug Squad...}, or any page linked
55 from @ref{Bug Squad checklists}.
58 If you do not have one already, create a gmail account and send
59 the email address to the @ref{Meisters, Bug Meister}.
62 Subscribe your gmail account to @code{bug-lilypond}.
65 Configure your google code account:
70 Sign in to google code by clicking in the top-right corner of:
73 @uref{http://code.google.com/p/lilypond/issues/list}
77 Go to your @qq{Profile}, and select @qq{Settings}.
80 Scroll down to @qq{Issue change notification}, and make sure that
81 you have @emph{selected} @qq{If I starred the issue}.
86 Configure your email client:
91 Any email sent with your gmail address in the @code{To:} or
92 @code{CC:} fields should go to a @code{bug-answers} folder.
95 Any other email either from, or CC'd to,
98 lilypond@@googlecode.com
102 should go into a separate @code{bug-ignore} folder. Alternately,
103 you may automatically delete these emails.
105 You will @strong{not read} these emails as part of your Bug Squad
106 duties. If you are curious, go ahead and read them later, but it
107 does @strong{not} count as Bug Squad work.
110 Any other email sent to (or CC'd to):
117 should go into a separate @code{bug-current} folder.
124 @node Bug Squad checklists
125 @section Bug Squad checklists
127 When you do Bug Squad work, start at the top of this page and work
128 your way down. Stop when you've done 15 minutes.
130 Please use the email sorting described in @ref{Bug Squad setup}.
131 This means that (as Bug Squad members) you will only ever respond
132 to emails sent or CC'd to the @code{bug-lilypond} mailing list.
135 @subsubheading Emails to you personally
137 You are not expected to work on Bug Squad matters outside of your
138 15 minutes, but sometimes a confused user will send a bug report
139 (or an update to a report) to you personally. If that happens,
140 please forward such emails to the @code{bug-lilypond} list so that
141 the currently-active Bug Squad member(s) can handle the message.
144 @subsubheading Daily schedule
149 Tuesday: James Bailey
151 Thursday: Phil Holmes
152 Friday: Urs Liska, Patrick
157 @subsubheading Emails to @code{bug-answers}
159 Some of these emails will be comments on issues that you added to
163 If they are asking for more information, give the additional
167 If the email says that the issue was classified in some other
168 manner, read the rationale given and take that into account for
169 the next issue you add.
172 Otherwise, move them to your @code{bug-ignore} folder.
176 Some of these emails will be discussions about Bug Squad work;
180 @subsubheading Emails to @code{bug-current}
182 Dealing with these emails is your main task. Your job is to get
183 rid of these emails in the first method which is applicable:
187 If the email has already been handled by a Bug Squad member (i.e.
188 check to see who else has replied to it), delete it.
191 If the email is a question about how to use LilyPond, reply with
195 For questions about how to use LilyPond, please read our
196 documentation available from:
197 @uref{http://lilypond.org/website/manuals.html}
198 or ask the lilypond-user mailing list.
202 If a bug report is not in the form of a Tiny example, direct the
203 user to resubmit the report with this response:
206 I'm sorry, but due to our limited resources for handling bugs, we
207 can only accept reports in the form of Tiny examples. Please see
208 step 2 in our bug reporting guidelines:
209 @uref{http://lilypond.org/website/bug-reports.html}
214 If anything is unclear, ask the user for more information.
216 How does the graphical output differ from what the user expected?
217 What version of lilypond was used (if not given) and operating
218 system (if this is a suspected cause of the problem)? In short,
219 if you cannot understand what the problem is, ask the user to
220 explain more. It is the user's responsibility to explain the
221 problem, not your responsibility to understand it.
224 If the behavior is expected, the user should be told to read the
228 I believe that this is the expected behaviour -- please read our
229 documentation about this topic. If you think that it really is a
230 mistake, please explain in more detail. If you think that the
231 docs are unclear, please suggest an improvement as described by
232 @qq{Simple tasks -- Documentation} on:
233 @uref{http://lilypond.org/website/help-us.html}
237 If the issue already exists in the tracker, send an email to that
241 This issue has already been reported; you can follow the
242 discussion and be notified about fixes here:
246 (copy+paste the google code issue URL)
249 Accept the report as described in
250 @ref{Adding issues to the tracker}.
254 All emails should be CC'd to the @code{bug-lilypond} list so that
255 other Bug Squad members know that you have processed the email.
257 @warning{There is no option for @qq{ignore the bug report} -- if
258 you cannot find a reason to reject the report, you must accept
263 @c Try omitting this from Bug Squad duties
265 @subheading Updates / discussion about issues
267 We try to keep discussions about issues on the tracker, but
268 sometimes it spills over onto email. If discussion has ended with
269 no patch / resolution and at least @strong{3 days} have passed,
275 Summarize the recent discussion on the tracker, and add a link to
276 the original discussion.
279 Add the comment @qq{there was some technical discussion which I
280 could not understand}, and include a link to the original
283 We do not expect Bug Squad members to be programmers, or even to
284 be moderately-skilled users. Your job is to keep track of issue
285 reports; it is @emph{perfectly acceptable} to not understand
286 discussions between advanced users and/or developers.
292 @subheading Regular maintenance
294 After @strong{every release} (both stable and unstable):
299 Regression test comparison: if anything has changed suspiciously,
300 ask if it was deliberate. The official comparison is online, at:
302 @c NOTE: leave this here. In this case, it's worth duplicating
305 @uref{http://lilypond.org/test/}
308 More information is available from in
309 @ref{Precompiled regression tests}.
313 Issues to verify: try to reproduce the bug with the latest
314 version; if you cannot reproduce the bug, mark the item
315 @qq{Verified} (i.e. @qq{the fix has been verified to work}).
318 @uref{http://code.google.com/p/lilypond/issues/list?can=7}
321 A few (approximately 10%) of these fixed issues relate to the
322 build system or fundamental architecture changes; there is no way
323 for you to verify these. Leave those issues alone; somebody else
330 @c try omitting from daily tasks for now. -gp
332 Once every @strong{two weeks} or so:
337 Check for any incorrectly-classified items in the tracker. This
338 generally just means looking at the grid to see any items without
342 Check for any items with @code{label:patch}. If it's been more
343 than a week since the last action on the issue, send an email to
344 -devel to remind them about it. If the patch was withdrawn for
345 more work, then remove the @code{patch} label.
348 @uref{http://code.google.com/p/lilypond/issues/list?can=2&q=label:patch}
354 @subheading Irregular maintenance
356 @warning{These tasks are a lot of work; gathering more volunteers
357 to help is definitely recommended. However, the Bug Squad should
358 handle the organization and training of new volunteers.}
360 Once every year or two:
365 Checking all regtests: although we have a system for checking the
366 regtests between two versions, occasionally a bug will slip
367 through the cracks. It is therefore good to manually examine all
368 the regtests (compare the images to the text description). More
369 information is available from in @ref{Regression tests}.
373 Checking all issues: we try to mark each Issue @q{fixed} when we
374 fix it, but occasionally one or two issues will slip through the
375 cracks. It is therefore good to check all Issues. If you see the
376 same (broken) output as the initial report, then simply post a
377 @qq{Problem still exists in 2.x.y} message to the issue.
384 @node Issue classification
385 @section Issue classification
387 The Bug Squad should classify issues according to the guidelines
388 given by developers. Every issue should have a Status, Type, and
389 Priority; the other fields are optional.
391 @subheading Status (mandatory)
398 New: the item was added by a non-member, despite numerous warnings
399 not to do this. Should be reviewed by a member of the Bug Squad.
402 Accepted: the Bug Squad added it, or reviewed the item.
405 Started: a contributor is working on a fix. Owner should change
406 to be this contributor.
416 Invalid: issue should not have been added in the current state.
419 Duplicate: issue already exists in the tracker.
422 Fixed: a contributor claims to have fixed the bug. The Bug
423 Squad should check the fix with the next official binary release
424 (not by compiling the source from git). Owner should be set to
428 Verified: Bug Squad has confirmed that the issue is closed. This
429 means that nobody should ever need look at the report again -- if
430 there is any information in the issue that should be kept, open a
431 new issue for that info.
436 @subheading Owner (optional)
438 Newly-added issues should have @emph{no owner}. When a
439 contributor indicates that he has Started or Fixed an item, he
440 should become the owner.
443 @subheading Type (mandatory)
445 The issue's Type should be the first relevant item in this list.
450 Type-Collision: overlapping notation.
453 Type-Defect: a problem in the core program. (the @code{lilypond}
454 binary, scm files, fonts, etc).
457 Type-Documentation: inaccurate, missing, confusing, or desired
458 additional info. Must be fixable by editing a texinfo, ly, or scm
462 Type-Build: problem or desired features in the build system. This
463 includes the makefiles, stepmake, python scripts, and GUB.
466 Type-Scripts: problem or desired feature in the non-build-system
467 scripts. Mostly used for convert-ly, lilypond-book, etc.
469 Type-Enhancement: a feature request for the core program. The
470 distinction between enhancement and defect isn't extremely clear;
471 when in doubt, mark it as enhancement.
474 Type-Other: anything else.
479 @subheading Priority (mandatory)
481 Currently, only Critical items will block a stable release.
486 Priority-Critical: lilypond segfaults, or a regression occurred
487 within the last two stable versions. (i.e. when developing 2.13,
488 any regression against 2.12 or 2.10 counts)
491 Priority-High: highly embarrassing items, and any regression
492 against a version earlier than two stable versions (i.e. when
493 developing 2.13, any regression against 2.8 or earlier). This
494 level is also used for issues which produce no output and fail to
495 give the user a clue about what's wrong.
498 Priority-Medium: normal priority.
501 Priority-Low: less important than normal.
504 Priority-Postponed: no fix planned. Generally used for things
505 like Ancient notation, which nobody wants to touch.
509 The difference between Priority-Medium and Priority-Low is not
510 well-defined, both in this policy and in practice. The only
511 answer we can give at the moment is @qq{look at existing items in
512 of the same type, and try to guess whether the priority is closer
513 to the Medium items or Low items}. We're aware of the ambiguity,
514 and won't complain if somebody picks a @q{wrong} value for
518 @subheading Opsys (optional)
520 Issues that only affect specific operating systems.
523 @subheading Other items (optional)
530 Regression: it used to @strong{deliberately} work in an earlier
531 stable release. If the earlier output was accidental (i.e. we
532 didn't try to stop a collision, but it just so happened that two
533 grobs didn't collide), then breaking it does not count as a
537 Patch: a patch to fix an issue is attached.
540 Frog: the fix is believed to be suitable for a new contributor
541 (does not require a great deal of knowledge about LilyPond). The
542 issue should also have an estimated time in a comment.
545 Maintainability: hinders development of LilyPond. For example,
546 improvements to the build system, or @qq{helper} python scripts.
549 Bounty: somebody is willing to pay for the fix. Only add this tag
550 if somebody has offered an exact figure in US dollars or euros.
553 Warning: graphical output is fine, but lilypond prints a
554 false/misleading warning message. Alternately, a warning should
555 be printed (such as a bar line error), but was not. Also applies
556 to warnings when compiling the source code or generating
560 Security: might potentially be used.
563 Performance: might potentially be used.
567 If you particularly want to add an label not in the list, go
568 ahead, but this is not recommended.
571 @node Adding issues to the tracker
572 @section Adding issues to the tracker
574 @warning{This should only be done by the Bug Squad or experienced
575 developers. Normal users should not do this; instead, they should
576 follow the guidelines for @rweb{Bug reports}.}
578 In order to assign labels to issues, Bug Squad members should log
579 in to their google account before adding an item.
581 @subsubheading Normal issues
586 Check if the issue falls into any previous category given on the
587 relevant checklists in @ref{Bug Squad checklists}. If in doubt,
588 add a new issue for a report. We would prefer to have some
589 incorrectly-added issues rather than lose information that should
593 Add the issue and classify it according to the guidelines in
594 @ref{Issue classification}. In particular, the item should have
595 @code{Status}, @code{Type-}, and @code{Priority-} labels.
597 Include output with the first applicable method:
602 If the issue has a notation example which fits in one system,
603 generate a small @file{bug@/.preview@/.png} file with:
606 lilypond -dpreview bug.ly
610 If the issue has an example which requires more than one system
611 (i.e. a spacing bug), generate a @file{bug@/.png} file with:
614 lilypond --png bug.ly
618 If the issue requires multi-page output, then generate a
619 @file{bug@/.pdf} file with the normal:
622 lilypond --png bug.ly
628 After adding the issue, please send a response email to the same
629 group(s) that the initial patch was sent to. If the initial email
630 was sent to multiple mailing lists (such as both @code{user} and
631 @code{bugs}), then reply to all those mailing lists as well. The
632 email should contain a link to the issue you just added.
637 @subsubheading Patch reminders
639 @warning{This is not a Bug Squad responsibility; we have a
640 separate person handling this task.}
642 There is a special category of issues: reminders of an existing
643 patch. These should be added if a patch has been sent to a
644 lilypond mailing list (generally @code{lilypond-devel}, but they
645 sometimes appear on @code{bug-lilypond} as well) and has had no
646 discussion for at least @strong{3 days}. Do not add issues for
647 patches under active discussion.
649 Before adding a patch-reminder issue, do a quick check to see if
650 it was pushed without sending any email. This can be checked for
651 searching for relevant terms (from the patch subject or commit
652 message) on the webgit page:
655 @uref{http://git.savannah.gnu.org/gitweb/?p=lilypond.git}
658 After adding the issue, please send a response email to the same
659 group(s) that the initial patch was sent to. If the initial email
660 was sent to multiple mailing lists (such as both @code{bugs} and
661 @code{devel}), then reply to all those mailing lists as well. The
662 email should contain a link to the issue you just added.
666 @node Summary of project status
667 @section Summary of project status
669 The best overview of our current status is given by the grid view:
672 @uref{http://code.google.com/p/lilypond/issues/list?mode=grid&y=Priority&x=Type&cells=ids}
675 Also of interest might be the issues hindering future development:
678 @uref{http://code.google.com/p/lilypond/issues/list?can=2&q=label:Maintainability&mode=grid&y=Priority&x=Type&cells=ids}
681 Finally, issues tagged with @code{Frog} indicates a task suitable
682 for a relatively new contributor. The time given is a quick
683 (inaccurate) estimate of the time required for somebody who is
684 familiar with material in this manual, but does not know anything
685 else about LilyPond development.
688 @uref{http://code.google.com/p/lilypond/issues/list?can=2&q=label:Frog&mode=grid&y=Priority&x=Type&cells=ids}
692 @node Finding the cause of a regression
693 @section Finding the cause of a regression
695 @warning{This is not a @qq{simple} task; it requires a fair amount
696 of technical knowledge.}
698 Git has special functionality to help tracking down the exact
699 commit which causes a problem. See the git manual page for
700 @code{git bisect}. This is a job that non-programmers can do,
701 although it requires familiarity with git, ability to compile
702 LilyPond, and generally a fair amount of technical knowledge. An
703 in-depth explanation of this process will not be given here.
705 Even if you are not familiar with git or are not able to compile
706 LilyPond you can still help to narrow down the cause of a
707 regression simply by downloading the binary releases of different
708 LilyPond versions and testing them for the regression. Knowing
709 which version of LilyPond first exhibited the regression is
710 helpful to a developer as it shortens the @code{git bisect}
711 procedure described above.
713 Once a problematic commit is identified, the programmers' job is
714 much easier. In fact, for most regression bugs, the majority of
715 the time is spent simply finding the problematic commit.
717 More information is in @ref{Regression tests}.