[APBeta] Better Bug Hunting tips

[Paul Rodman]

On Jun 1, 2008, at 09:00 , Michael Portuesi wrote:

> Hello fellow AP beta users,
>
> If this is your first time beta-testing software, here's an article  
> on how to write good bug reports.
>
> http://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/how-to-write-good-bug-report/
>
> It's not specific to AstroPlanner, yet most of the tips and  
> suggestions are still applicable.  It provides a little bit of  
> insight about how professional QA engineers (the people who do  
> software testing and quality assurance for a living) approach their  
> work.
>
> Quoting from the article:
>
> Why good Bug report?
> If your bug report is effective, chances are higher that it will get  
> fixed. So fixing a bug depends on how effectively you report it.  
> Reporting a bug is nothing but a skill and I will tell you how to  
> achieve this skill.

I should add that I have added automated bug submission features to  
V2. If an exception occurs, and you have a live Internet connection,  
you can send the exception report directly to me (or my bug tracking  
system). If you want to report other bugs, please use the Report a  
Bug... feature in the Help menu of AstroPlanner. Similarly, if you  
want to request a new feature, there's a Request a Feature... item as  
well.

The above features automatically record your name, address, OS  
platform and version, etc., as well as your bug/feature info. My bug  
system then intercepts these and sets up a report in the system. This  
makes it much easier for me, rather than having to do it manually  
based on an e-mail report (which I'm happy to do, but sometimes it  
takes a while to complete). Of course, if AP is crashing before you  
can use the bug reporting features, then it's back to good ol' e-mail.

The main problems I have to deal with with bug reports are not enough  
information ("the app crashes while I'm using it"), and unclear  
information ("the graphic thingy isn't showing the correct information  
about where the object is in the sky"). Give me all the information  
you think might be necessary. If in doubt about what to call  
something, look in the (V1.6.1) user manual and find out what I call  
it (i.e. use "rise/transit/set graphic" rather than "graphic thingy"),  
or describe where it is ("the graphical representation of the object  
position through the night that appears just above the list of  
objects").

If you are reporting more than one bug, or requesting more than one  
feature, please use separate reports or e-mail messages, otherwise  
some stuff might get lost.

Now back to slope-off Sunday.

Paul R.