Bug Reports against Recent Builds -- Report bugs here

sneakernet

« on: 04 / January / 2008, 20:21:17 »

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update: please use the bugtracker to submit new bugs (and/or feature requests), it is described in the wiki: Bug tracking and feature requests with Mantis - CHDK Wiki
of course you can also create a thread or update this thread here, but adding a full qualified ticket to the bugtracker will make sure it doesnt get lost or that people lose track or anything!

Hi,

I'm Tom Friend. At the time I'm writing this, I'm new here, as I'm sure you've noticed.

I did some searching to see if there is a central location to post bug reports. My apologies if this location exists and I didn't find it, but if it does not exist, I think having one location to report bugs in various builds is a good idea. I hope that you agree.

Why am I creating this topic now? Because I have a bug in a script that I've written (and yes, I'm sure it's a bug -- in several different versions, it hangs and reboots the camera (which alone is no proof), but now it also, with most tried variatons, overwrites the first part of the script on the memory card. I'm sure that all of you developers creating builds will agree that this is unlikely to be a script problem!)

I will repeat these details, as well as filling in the remaining details, in a separate post within this topic.

To maximize the effectiveness of this topic as a repository for bug reports, I recommend that bug reports follow a standard form (as much as I hate standard forms). I think that if everyone follows this format for reporting bugs, this could be an efficient and useful resource for the developers to receive feedback about bugs.

Furthermore, if the developers -- or those in contact with the developers -- have the time to enter a response to the bug report, this could be an excellent information repository for script writers who have encountered bugs -- or what they believe to be bugs -- to return to to find information on the status of reported bugs.

All of that said, I recommend the following format be followed for reporting bugs with scripts, script commands, script syntax, or any other discovered behavior that doesn't seem to work according to the documentation and sample code available on this Wiki.

When reporting bugs:

In the Subject Field, enter the Build Name (Author) and build version, the camera (or emulator) hosting the build, followed by a 20-30 character keyword summary of the problem -- these items will make it easier for the developers, and later, others looking for a solution, to find your message, and hopefully, a solution.
In the body of the message, include:

A brief explanation of what you believe is not working, and the symptoms that lead you to believe this. Try to be very clear, but concise, hopefully not book length. Try to stick to observed facts, and avoid speculation. If you are clear in your explanation, and accurate with your facts, the developer should have enough information to know what to look for. If he/she needs more information, you will surely be asked for it.
Enter the Camera Model and Camera Firmware Version (obtained as described in the CHDK faq).
Any other build/camera combinations that you tested, and the result of the test(s).
Very Important: Include the script that's causing problems. It's hard to debug a script that you don't have!
Please Note: If you have submitted a bug report in another location on the web site, create a new message here, with a Subject Line as described above, and then provide a link to the page containing your bug report.

Developers and/or those who have very specific knowledge about the state of the various builds: When updating the status of a bug, please provide as much of the of the following as possible:

Initial Status: [reproducible/nonreproducible], confirmed bug [Y/N], user error [Y/N], other information
Required additional information from bug reporter before the problem can be investigated further
If confirmed problem, will it be fixed, and best estimate of when, if any
If confirmed problem, is there a current workaround?
If the problem has already been fixed in a subsequent release, which release number (and greater)
If possible, provide a link to the location where a working version may be downloaded

Importand Note (and request): non-developers (those not releasing builds), please try to refrain from speculating what may be wrong. If you have absolute proof that you have a solution (e.g., you load the problem script and reproduce the problem, then make changes to the script which cause it to work); this would be a reasonable minimum level of proof of solution. Please, please, please, do not fill up the threads with speculation, without reproducing the problem yourself. Comments like, "That should work. I got xxxx feature working. You must be doing something wrong," only serve to waste a lot of time. If you haven't reproduced the exact problem described (or requested more details, and then reproduced the exact problem described, and then discovered a solution or workaround), please refrain from filling up threads with pages of speculation that other users must plod through to find the solution, if one exists.

This post should be considered preliminary, and feedback and recommended improvements are welcomed and encouraged.

Finally, thanks to the great minds who have produced this outstanding software and shared it with all of us. It's truly remarkable.

Tom Friend

« Last Edit: 16 / October / 2008, 03:26:19 by PhyrePhoX »

Logged

Tom Friend
-- -----------
Nikon Coolpix 990, Olympus C-8080WZ, Nikon D1, Canon S2 IS, Canon SD700

GrAnd

916
[A610, S3IS]

Re: Bug Reports against Recent Builds -- Report bugs here

« Reply #1 on: 05 / January / 2008, 03:31:32 »

I agree that standard forms of bug reporting could help to track bug and fixes. The better way is to have a PCR (Program Change Request) system (such as Bugzilla, for ex.). The assemblia (sources repository hosting) has tickets system, but it's requires you to be the team member to be able to open a ticket, so it's unsuitable.

Quote from: sneakernet on 04 / January / 2008, 20:21:17

Why am I creating this topic now? Because I have a bug in a script that I've written (and yes, I'm sure it's a bug -- in several different versions, it hangs and reboots the camera (which alone is no proof), but now it also, with most tried variatons, overwrites the first part of the script on the memory card. I'm sure that all of you developers creating builds will agree that this is unlikely to be a script problem!)

So, what the bug you've found is?

Logged

CHDK Developer.

sneakernet

Re: Bug Reports against Recent Builds -- Report bugs here

« Reply #2 on: 05 / January / 2008, 07:22:22 »

I agree that a formal bug reporting system would be better (and not a Program Change Request system; that is something different -- unless, of course, it has been adapted to be used for use as a bug reporting and tracking system, though native bug tracking systems, as they're designed for the purpose, are the best).

However, this site doesn't have a bug reporting system, and rather than wait until someone has the time to implement one, it seems to me that, in the absence of nothing at all, that my proposal would be much, much better than what exists now, which is nothing at all -- post something on a message board somewhere and search and hope.

My suggestion would at least put all the bug information in one location.

It will not work well, however, unless someone is willing to move my initial post up to the "Child Board" level; otherwise, it will be one long, confused and confusing thread.

Can you "promote" my first post to be a "Child Board" so that my proposal has the chance of working? Or give me the ability to do it?

If not, I think my efforts in suggesting a way for handling information about bugs -- which would be useful even if it ends up being temporary; who knows when someone will have the time to implement a full scale bug tracking system -- will end up being a mess, and may end up being useless.

Please consider it. The current alternative is continued chaos, which benefits nobody.

Thanks,

Tom

Logged

Tom Friend
-- -----------
Nikon Coolpix 990, Olympus C-8080WZ, Nikon D1, Canon S2 IS, Canon SD700

sneakernet

Bug - Build: Allbest #16 29-dec-07 - Camera: S2 IS - Script gets overwritten

« Reply #3 on: 05 / January / 2008, 07:54:17 »

Bug - Build: Allbest #16 29-dec-07 - Camera: S2 IS - Script gets overwritten

Problem Summary:

I was writing a script to get information about what is supported in the build, and to gather information from the camera. When the script reached a certain size -- more than 3K but less than 4K, the script began to crash the camera. I started looking for problems in my code, but didn't see anything obvious, so I moved the last subroutine up before the previous one, to see if length of script or some other factor related to the order of the code might be causing the problem.

Changing the order of the code caused the script to crash earlier, but in both cases, the script crashed when trying to execute the code near the end of the script. (I also tried putting some dummy code at the end, to extend the length of the script, but this failed also).

The camera crashes, and in several test versions, including the current one, the beginning of the script is overwritten in the camera, with garbage from memory.

Camera: S2 IS, firmware 1.00f

Other builds tried: Allbest build #10 13-Dec-07 -- Same results

Script that caused the problem:

(Please note that this script is not a final script, and that it has several modifications that were made only to try to isolate, solve or work around this problem. For example, I rem'd out print_screen logging in an attempt to see if the print screen logging routine, which writes to files, might be responsible for overwriting my script (it wasn't). However, the script below, in it's current form, does crash my camera, and the beginning does get overwritten in the camera when it is run.) It is well under 8K, but one thing I do not know is whether or not Allbest has a smaller size restriction for scripts than the 8K size generally published for recent CHDK builds.)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

rem Author - Tom Friend
rem script to check for the implementation of various features
rem in the build and camera (or emulation) that the script is run on

@title Feature Check

rem Dumps camera property values 0 - 255 (whether meaningful or not)
rem Only works if supported by the build, of course
@param c Property Values? (1=Yes)
@default c 0

rem Do not change the following line -- it is used by check_default routine
@default d 25

rem ****************************************************************
rem *** main routine
:main

gosub "print_header"

gosub "check_default"
print "@default:",e

gosub "check_extended_variables"
print "extended variables:",e

gosub "check_tick_count"
print "get_tick_count:",e

gosub "check_property_support"
print "property support:",e

sleep 2000

if c=1 then gosub "dump_props"

end
rem ****************************************************************

rem ********************
rem *** print_header ***
:print_header

rem print_screen 1
print "Feature Check"
print " v0.1 - by Tom Friend"
print " "
sleep 2000
print " 1 = implemented"
print " 0 = not implemented"
print " "
sleep 2000
return
rem *** end -- print_header ***

rem *********************
rem *** check_default ***
rem checks to see if @default is implemented
:check_default

if d=25 then e=1 else e=0
return
rem *** end - check_default ***

rem ********************************
rem *** check_extended_variables ***
:check_extended_variables
A=1
z=4
if (A=1) and (z=4) then e=1 else e=0
return
rem *** end - check_extended_variables ***

rem ************************
rem *** check_tick_count ***
rem *** checks for implementation of get_tick_count ***
rem *** Note: I don't know if this test is legitimate or sufficient.
rem *** However, I can't think of a more reliable test at the moment
:check_tick_count

i=0
j=0
i = get_tick_count
j = get_tick_count
if (i<>j) and (i>0) and (j>0) then e=1 else e=0
return
rem *** end - check_tick_count ***

rem ******************************
rem *** check_property_support ***
rem *** test: tries to get white balance (wb) property

:check_property_support

e = 1
i = 3000
get_prop 206 i

rem if get_prop worked, "i" should be changed
if i=3000 then e=0
return
rem *** end - check_property_support ***

rem ******************
rem *** dump_props ***
:dump_props

print " "
gosub "check_property_support"

if e=1 then gosub "dump_them" else gosub "no_props"
return

:no_props

print "Cannot dump properties."
print "Not supported in this
print " build and/or environment."
return

rem Just a simple dump by the numbers for now.
rem Dump them 4 at a time, with a pause.

:dump_them

print "Camera property dump:"
print " "

k = 0
for i=0 to 63
for j=0 to 3
get_prop k l
print " Property:",k," Value:",l
k=k+1
next j

sleep 1500
next i

return
rem *** end - dump_props ***

rem *** end of source file *************************************
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Logged

Tom Friend
-- -----------
Nikon Coolpix 990, Olympus C-8080WZ, Nikon D1, Canon S2 IS, Canon SD700

sneakernet

Re: Bug Reports against Recent Builds -- Report bugs here

« Reply #4 on: 05 / January / 2008, 08:14:40 »

To GrAnd (and all),

Perhaps you can see, now that I've posted my bug report, how this thread will get messy very quickly if everyone posts all bug reports and responses inside the same thread.

For this to work, bug reporting should be its own board, so that individual threads can be created to track individual bugs.

Again, I don't disagree that a "real" bug tracking system would be much better. However, that entails significantly more work, to the point that if it is implemented, it is probably not going to happen this week or this month, or maybe this year, and that doesn't help users and developers for any bugs found now.

Maybe individuals are able to reach you directly to report bugs, but that doesn't doesn't help all the other users who have encountered the bug, and wondering if it is a bug, if it's been reported, if there's a workaround, and if there is a fix forthcoming. A forum such as this, while imperfect, is certainly far better than having no system at all.

Considering the nature of these builds, which are Alpha and Beta by their nature, this interim solution, if implemented at the "Child Board" level, would seem to benefit everyone, at the expense of no one.

Logged

Tom Friend
-- -----------
Nikon Coolpix 990, Olympus C-8080WZ, Nikon D1, Canon S2 IS, Canon SD700

sneakernet

Re: Bug Reports against Recent Builds -- Report bugs here

« Reply #5 on: 07 / January / 2008, 00:31:11 »

No comments?

On my suggestions, or my bug?

Or you thinking about them?

Tom

« Last Edit: 07 / January / 2008, 15:34:36 by sneakernet »

Logged

Tom Friend
-- -----------
Nikon Coolpix 990, Olympus C-8080WZ, Nikon D1, Canon S2 IS, Canon SD700

GrAnd

916
[A610, S3IS]

Re: Bug Reports against Recent Builds -- Report bugs here

« Reply #6 on: 07 / January / 2008, 02:45:26 »

There are public holidays in Russia now( until Jan, 9), so do not expect quick responses.

Regarding the bug - I've had no chance to look into yet (the reason mentioned above

).
Regarding a bug reporting - I have no admin permissions to create a new board, so the appropriate request should be filled in the corresponding board. Or you know any free bug reporting system we can start to use?

« Last Edit: 07 / January / 2008, 02:56:13 by GrAnd »

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sneakernet

Re: Bug Reports against Recent Builds -- Report bugs here

« Reply #7 on: 07 / January / 2008, 15:12:38 »

Hi GrAnd,

Sorry about seeming to rush you. I thought there might be holidays going on, or something like that (because I have observed that you normally seem to be all over the forums and the entire web site!).

I wish I knew of a free bug reporting system, especially one that was lightweight and quick and simple to implement and use. I've only used commercial systems when working in medium to large sized companies, and even that was a long time ago. I'll search around a bit, but I'm not very hopeful of finding what we need. Maybe there's something on SourceForge or a site like that.

In the meantime, I will forward my suggestion/request to an admin. I just figured that you were an admin, since you are so involved, and have been for so long.

Thanks for the responses. I appreciate it greatly.

Tom

Logged

Tom Friend
-- -----------
Nikon Coolpix 990, Olympus C-8080WZ, Nikon D1, Canon S2 IS, Canon SD700

sneakernet

Important note regarding the reported bug with the script being overwritten

« Reply #8 on: 08 / January / 2008, 16:11:49 »

Important -- Please Note: I believe that I've found the bug. If I have found it, it is in my script, not in the build. I still need to confirm it, but I wanted to put a note here right away, so nobody else is spending time trying to find the problem.

I will post back here when I have confirmed that I have found it (or not).

Thanks,

Tom

Logged

Tom Friend
-- -----------
Nikon Coolpix 990, Olympus C-8080WZ, Nikon D1, Canon S2 IS, Canon SD700