[zeromq-dev] C++ assertion failed with Java client

[AJ Lewis]

On Fri, Feb 03, 2012 at 12:58:10PM -0600, Chuck Remes wrote:
> On Feb 3, 2012, at 12:24 PM, AJ Lewis wrote:
> 
> > On Sat, Feb 04, 2012 at 04:57:13AM +1100, john skaller wrote:
> >> 
> >> On 04/02/2012, at 4:37 AM, AJ Lewis wrote:
> >>> 
> >>> Definitely - just concerned that this model continues.  Some of
> >>> the talk about taking all patches blindly and waiting for other
> >>> contributers to revert them makes me nervous. 
> > 
> > <snip>
> > 
> >> So I would stop feeling nervous about vetting of patches .. and
> >> start feeling nervous about the lack of test code :)
> > 
> > Heh - that is true.  The key here is that test code will catch when
> > changes break what was previously working - whether that's a bug or
> > a change in interface.  If we has such tests, changes to the tests
> > themselves should get greater scrutiny, especially if they're
> > accompanied by library code changes, since there's more likely to be
> > interface changes (or bugs being worked around!) in that case.
> > 
> > I'm a big fan of the concept of Test Driven Design - having
> > "contracts" that are enforced by the test subsystem goes a long way
> > to keeping things sane.  At least then you *know* that you're
> > breaking an interface rather than finding out after the fact!
> 
> The problem is trying to retrofit an existing codebase with tests. It
> is very difficult. I'd love to see a good C/C++ coder tackle it; I
> tried but it was beyond my capabilities.

Oh, certainly! It is very difficult if it wasn't part of the design from
the start. I've had this problem everywhere I've worked - there's always
some code or product that doesn't have a good integrated test system.
Unfortunately, I've not found a simple answer to getting that in place
either.  It seems to mostly require brute force. :(  That said, it's
definitely worth the time it takes to do it in the time saved in
detecting issues after it's in place!

IMO, it seems to me that a framework needs to be agreed upon (if it
hasn't been already - is the automake test framework good enough?) then
we need to start layering tests in that framework - especially around
the external API to begin with.

Regards,
-- 
AJ Lewis
Software Engineer
Quantum Corporation

Work:    651 688-4346

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