Code Sprints

When:: September 3, 2011 (a Saturday) at 10:00 a.m EST (UTC-5)
Where:: Octave IRC channel. See IRC instructions.
Who:: Anyone with a passable knowledge of the Octave or Matlab languages. This particular sprint does not require C++, Fortran, Texinfo, or any other esoteric skills. Expect to see Octave founder John W. Eaton online as well as others from the Octave maintainers list who rarely show up in other forums.
What:: A code sprint is a goal-focused gathering of computer programmers to hack code in a collaborative environment.

Goal

The purpose of a code sprint is to get people together to quickly tackle a project that would be far too large, or take far too much time, for individuals working alone. Following the success of our first sprint the goal for Octave sprint #2 is

Reduce the number of untested functions by 1/2

The rationale for this goal is straightforward. The usual programming cycle for new features is "code, test, fix everything broken by the new feature". Currently, Octave does not have a complete baseline set of tests. This means introducing new features, or quickly patching a reported bug, often has unforeseen effects which break other parts of Octave. Our long-term goal is to reach 100% test coverage for all Octave functions so that the new feature development loop can proceed much faster.

The finalized goal as of August 15, 2011 is to resolve testing issues for 137 functions (274/2). A list of the files which need resolution can be found here Sprint File List