>>>>> Michal Wallace <[email protected]> writes:
> Do you have some bugs or wishlist items that relatively junior
> developers could take on?
Hi Michal!
Yes, there are a few areas that could use help right away. So, there are
several major sections within Ledger:
The math code. This is pretty bullet-proof by now, and bugs here are
rare. Some of this code reaches all the way back to 1.x.
Commodity handling. A lot of the code here is brand new (since the switch
to Boost.Graph), and there are many bugs associated with it in the
tracker. I would love for newcomers to help here most. Also, this code
isn't _terribly_ complex.
Report filtering (filters.cc). Many user's bugs end up being incorrect
interactions between report filters. This is tough code to learn, but
having someone learn it would not only fix a lot of bugs, but open up the
possibility of new kinds of reports.
Output formatters: balance reports, register reports, CSV, Emacs, XML,
etc. There are always little bugs here and there.
Value/query/format expressions. Pretty stable stuff here. Everything
relies on value expressions so heavily, that bugs here have a way of
breaking everything.
Infrastructure. Still a few bugs in these areas, although not too bad.
I'd recommend focusing on a major feature area, and then fixing things in
infrastructure as-needed.
Commodity handling and report filters: that's where I think the best efforts
could be made right now.
As for how to proceed, I'd recommend this: Pick an area of the code, and start
writing tests to exercise that area. For example, forecasting. While writing
tests to prove forecasting, I'm certain you will turn up several issues in the
time intervals calculator, and the report logic. Then learn as much as you
need to know to fix that test. Repeat.
I'm happy to answer any questions about how the code is designed, and also
tricks to make it easier to track down problems. There are lots of facilities
in Ledger (like --debug), which ordinary users never need to use, but
developers would find themselves using regularly.
John
