[Python-Dev] Fix or drop AIX buildbot? (original) (raw)

David Edelsohn dje.gcc at gmail.com
Mon Apr 3 10:00:33 EDT 2017

I would prefer that AIX not be dropped from support and from the buildbots.

I have fixed the Git problem. I thought that it had been working.

The testsuite failures on AIX are issues with the AIX kernel and C Library, often corner cases. I don't want to get into arguments about the POSIX standard. Some of the issues are actual conformance issues and some are different interpretations of the standard. Addressing the problems in AIX is a slow process. If the failing testcases are too annoying, I would recommend to skip the testcases.

Despite the testsuite failures, Python builds and runs on AIX for the vast majority of users and applications. I don't see the benefit in dropping support for a platform that functions because it doesn't fully pass the testsuite.

Thanks, David

On Mon, Apr 3, 2017 at 6:56 AM, Victor Stinner <victor.stinner at gmail.com> wrote:

Hi,

We have a "PPC64 AIX 3.x" buildbot slave which fails on cloning the GitHub repository: "SSL certificate problem: unable to get local issuer certificate". It started to fail around Feb 11, 2017 (Build #294), probably when buildbots moved to GitHub, after CPython moved to GitHub. First build which failed: http://buildbot.python.org/all/builders/PPC64%20AIX%203.x/builds/294 Moreover, some tests are failing since at least 2 years on AIX. Some examples: * testlocale.teststrcollwithdiacritic() * testsocket.testIPv4toString() * teststrptime Last build which ran unit tests: http://buildbot.python.org/all/builders/PPC64%20AIX%203.x/builds/293/steps/test/logs/stdio For me, the principle of a CI is to detect regressions. But the AIX buildbot is always failing because of known bugs. There are 3 options: * Find a maintainer who quickly fix all known bugs. Unlike * Skip tests known to fail on AIX. I know that many core developers dislike this option, "hiding" bugs. * Drop the buildbot My favorite option is to drop the buildbot, since I'm tired of these red buildbot slaves. I added David Edelsohn to this email, he owns the buildbot, and I know that he wants to get the best AIX support in Python. The question is also which kind of support level do we provide per platform? Full support, "best effort" or no support? * Full support requires active maintainers, a CI with tests which pass, etc. * "Best effort": fix bugs when someone complains and someone (else?) provides a fix * No support: reject proposed patches to add a partial support for a platform. Victor

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