Re: Bug reports and documentation updates (was Re: Subclassing NSPort (or NSSocketPort))
Re: Bug reports and documentation updates (was Re: Subclassing NSPort (or NSSocketPort))
- Subject: Re: Bug reports and documentation updates (was Re: Subclassing NSPort (or NSSocketPort))
- From: Wade Tregaskis <email@hidden>
- Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2003 14:23:21 +1000
Bugs don't get fixed if we don't know about them... and the number of
reports does help prioritize. I'm not sure I see the problem with
writing the report here, and then copying and pasting it into
bugreporter... if you have complaints about bug reporter, well... (and
I realize this is ironic) file a bug... :-)
I think I did, and it was marked as "Cannot Reproduce"!
With that in mind, why is it that Apple can't employee one or two
people to watch the lists, and automatically submit bug reports
and/or documentation updates?
It does happen, but not in any official capacity in many cases. I
watch for any documentation bugs that are mentioned on the list, and
file the bugs.
Wouldn't it just be better if someone could say to the relevant
developer "hey, use a dictionary here *points*", and get it fixed
instantly? Why send 3rd party developers and then Apple's developers
through these loops for such simple things?
For larger things, like non-trivial/difficult-to-reproduce bugs,
obviously most of the time is spent trying to pinpoint the bug. So a
more formal procedure can be taken without lowering 'efficiency'. Plus
if the bug reporter(s) engage in any feedback/conversation, having that
recorded somewhere is a good way to consolidate all the relevant info
on the problem.
I'm not saying Apple shouldn't have a uniform bug reporting facility.
My qualm is with the way the current one works, or - in my view -
doesn't. It seems to be a methodological issue, not a technical one.
It seems to be a waste of good money for a $100AU-an-hour developer
to spend that hour reporting a bug, when some evangelistic student
could do it for them at $20AU-an-hour (and who'd be reading the lists
anyway).
reading the lists alone isn't the same as getting first hand
information from the developer. It's unlikely that a reader alone can
get sufficient information in many cases. Plus, that prohibits Apple
contacting the developer for more information, verifying that it's
been fixed, suggesting a work around, etc.
This is a serious question, not a whinge*. I would expect it would
help out everyone - 3rd party and Apple developers alike - if someone
else could worry about the details and producing simple sample cases
and all that.
the sample cases could be specific to your situation. they can't
'know the details' of that.
Whenever I spend all day producing a sample application or detailed
instructions that succinctly demonstrate a problem, I always get back
"Cannot Reproduce". Whatever machines and software Apple are running,
it never seems to be what everyone else is.
<sour>*
We've all seen at least some of the 'popular' bugs - faulty hardware
(4x cd burners in current iBook's, G4 DVD-ROM's shipped with corrupt
firmware, etc), software which just doesn't work at all (10.1 PPP
anyone?), updates that break everything (iTunes
you-didn't-want-this-partition-did-you? updater, the latest screen
saver update, etc), etc etc. So far as I know, Apple still won't admit
most of these are problems - 'Cannot Reproduce' is the tag line, I
believe. In fact, of all those examples, only 1 has ever been
acknowledged - that I know of - and that's only because someone found
the exact line which was the problem in the iTunes installer script
(for those who missed it, some Unix newbie didn't know how to write a
shell script properly).
Why should I, as a 3rd party developer, waste hours of my time because
the Apple guys have some extraordinary infallible systems? If
someone's going to be screwed over by their unwillingness to lose face,
or simple inability to get their hands on the same hardware - or
whatever else - why shouldn't it be someone at Apple?
</sour>
Wade Tregaskis
-- Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
* = I reserve all rights to sourness with regards to serious hardware
flaws... there must be a pile of Mac's, monitors & mice in a warehouse
somewhere marked "serious lemons - reserved for Wade"...
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