Question to OAR

[Mark Johannes]

All,

Perhaps this lends to a new focus group such as a testing committee
essentially those that have a stake in a certain hardware / target
platform.  Snapshots would occur as currently, but adding a "freeze
point" at certain intervals to allow the testing committee to report
their results (in a timely manner).  Just some thoughts.

Mark Johannes
Vice President, Technology
OAR Corporation

-----Original Message-----
From: Joel Sherrill [mailto:joel.sherrill at OARcorp.com] 
Sent: Monday, November 17, 2003 3:27 PM
To: Dieter Schaefer
Cc: rtems-users at rtems.com
Subject: Re: Question to OAR

Dieter Schaefer wrote:

> On 11 Nov 2003 at 18:22, Dieter Schaefer wrote:
> 
> 
>>Hello,
>>
>>did the combination
>>  powerpc-rtems/eth_comm 
>>build Ok on your site under CygWin? 
>>(rtems-4.6.0pre5 and associated tool-chain for CygWin)
>>If yes, could you pls tell me your CygWin version and Operating 
>>System?
>>If not, could you try to get it to work?
>>
>>
>>Thanks
>>Dieter Schaefer
>>
>>
>>
> 
> 
> unfortunately, I got no answer to my question. 
> My conclusion is that this combination was never tested.
> 
> Digging into that problem myself, I found the following: 
> * target=m68k-rtems, rtemsbsp=mcf5206elite
> * target=arm-rtems, rtemsbsp=edb7312 + vegaplus
> builds Ok, including tests 
> * powerpc-rtems, rtemsbsp=eth_comm + mbx8xx
> fails to build.
> Now, guess why ... If you need a hint, don't hesitate to ask ...
> Of course, It's fixed now.
> 
> My recommendation is to establish some kind of "quality assurance" 
> procedure. Also add a list to every release/snapshot which explains 
> what has been tested and what not.
> Like target=a, bsp=b has been successfully tested on real hardware 
> target=x, bsp=y have been build without errors, however not tested 
> on real hardware, etc.

In general terms, OAR does not have most of the hardware represented in
the RTEMS source tree.  We do automated build tests on all
configurations  using GNU/Linux as the host.  Some targets are tested.

Solaris and Cygwin are only spot checked by OAR.  I saw your post
but was out of town for two weeks so wasn't in a position to even ask
someone to check it.

Thomas, Ralf, and I had a discussion that having some mechanism on the
web site for people to record that they tested host X -> BSP Y with
RTEMS version Z on date Q would be very useful.  I agree but that
script infrastructure does not appear automatically.  If someone wants
to provide a simple form and CGI script to collect this information
and append it to an ASCII file and another form/CGI script to perform
simple searches (e.g. grep) that would be a nice submission.

> I think, that could save people some time and possibly avoid chasing 
> a phantom.

Apparently you know the solution.  This is open source and that means
sometimes solving problems on your own.  Please share your solution and
it will be included in the main source if that's the issue.

If you want prompt responses to specific questions, that's what support
contracts provide.  Sorry, there is a limit to free and expecting
quick responses is not within that limit.

Not being harsh -- just being realistic.  Bill paying activities
and requests get the highest attention. :)

> Best regards
> Dieter Schaefer


-- 
Joel Sherrill, Ph.D.             Director of Research & Development
joel at OARcorp.com                 On-Line Applications Research
Ask me about RTEMS: a free RTOS  Huntsville AL 35805
Support Available                (256) 722-9985