This is the mail archive of the
gcc@gcc.gnu.org
mailing list for the GCC project.
Re: What is a regression?
- From: skaller <skaller at users dot sourceforge dot net>
- To: Jason Merrill <jason at redhat dot com>
- Cc: GCC <gcc at gcc dot gnu dot org>, Mark Mitchell <mark at codesourcery dot com>
- Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:37:59 +1000
- Subject: Re: What is a regression?
- References: <471CFD3A.4060407@redhat.com>
On Mon, 2007-10-22 at 15:42 -0400, Jason Merrill wrote:
> I think that the release process for recent releases has given undue
> priority to bugs marked as regressions. I agree that it's important for
> things that worked in the previous release to keep working in the new
> release. But the regression tag is used for much more trivial things.
>
> For instance, Bug 32252 is an ice-on-valid bug in a new C++ feature,
> variadic templates. But since 4.2 gave a syntax error instead of an
> ICE, this gets marked as a regression.
>
> This seems wrong to me. We should only use the regression tag for
> things that worked properly in the previous release and fail in the new
> release.
But Jason, the compiler worked properly in rejecting invalid syntax.
Now you're suggesting it fails to do so. This suggests a real regression
and a real bug: the new feature should have an enabling flag
that couldn't have been set before it was implemented, and without
that flag should create the same error in the current version.
Not arguing against your point in general but this particular
case appears to be mishandled and the regression genuine.
BTW: did WG21 already pass this proposal?
--
John Skaller <skaller at users dot sf dot net>
Felix, successor to C++: http://felix.sf.net