Comments on: Shallow bugs versus reported bugs http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2009/10/25/shallow-bugs-reported-bugs/ The blog of John D. Cook Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:39:36 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: John http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2009/10/25/shallow-bugs-reported-bugs/comment-page-1/#comment-26496 John Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:46:53 +0000 http://www.johndcook.com/blog/?p=2164#comment-26496 That's terrific when you can find open software with lots of users. LaTeX is one of the best software applications I use. Many people use it, many people have studied the source code, many people contribute to discussion forums etc. LaTeX is solid as a rock. But I doubt users fix their own bugs very often. Certainly it happens sometimes, especially with software development tools. And when it does happen, people talk about it, so we get an exaggerated impression of how often this happens. I wonder how many people have tried to fix bugs in open software and made things worse by editing code they don't fully understand. When that happens, they don't blog about it. That’s terrific when you can find open software with lots of users. LaTeX is one of the best software applications I use. Many people use it, many people have studied the source code, many people contribute to discussion forums etc. LaTeX is solid as a rock.

But I doubt users fix their own bugs very often. Certainly it happens sometimes, especially with software development tools. And when it does happen, people talk about it, so we get an exaggerated impression of how often this happens. I wonder how many people have tried to fix bugs in open software and made things worse by editing code they don’t fully understand. When that happens, they don’t blog about it.

]]> By: Angel http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2009/10/25/shallow-bugs-reported-bugs/comment-page-1/#comment-26495 Angel Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:17:46 +0000 http://www.johndcook.com/blog/?p=2164#comment-26495 But in some fields, like development, open source products are both: open and the ones with most users. Take for example programming: PHP it's the defacto programming language, I don't like, try to don't use it, but it's a fact that is the most common programming language, sames goes for a database, MySQL it's widely more used that SQL Server or Oracle counterparts. And Firefox it's growing in userbase (it's still not #1 but it's going that way). The problem with "with enough users, all bugs will be reported" it's that it doesn't gives user a chance to fix their bugs, I don't mean the user itself but there are features en comercial, closed source products, with years (I can say decades now) that aren't implemented, and that the open source equivalent already has it. But in some fields, like development, open source products are both: open and the ones with most users.

Take for example programming: PHP it’s the defacto programming language, I don’t like, try to don’t use it, but it’s a fact that is the most common programming language, sames goes for a database, MySQL it’s widely more used that SQL Server or Oracle counterparts. And Firefox it’s growing in userbase (it’s still not #1 but it’s going that way).

The problem with “with enough users, all bugs will be reported” it’s that it doesn’t gives user a chance to fix their bugs, I don’t mean the user itself but there are features en comercial, closed source products, with years (I can say decades now) that aren’t implemented, and that the open source equivalent already has it.

]]> By: Ken http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2009/10/25/shallow-bugs-reported-bugs/comment-page-1/#comment-26486 Ken Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:40:11 +0000 http://www.johndcook.com/blog/?p=2164#comment-26486 Find yes, fix no. I was thinking about your post about the success of some open source projects and R was mentioned. R has worked as open source as it is relatively simple. One of the problems with open source is that it is always going to be difficult to build complex software, the sort of thing that requires a solid foundation. If this isn't done correctly from the start it is almost impossible to build software that works properly. Find yes, fix no. I was thinking about your post about the success of some open source projects and R was mentioned. R has worked as open source as it is relatively simple. One of the problems with open source is that it is always going to be difficult to build complex software, the sort of thing that requires a solid foundation. If this isn’t done correctly from the start it is almost impossible to build software that works properly.

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