Re: Build failure tooling improvements

[Michael Bäuerle <micha%NetBSD.org@localhost>]

Jonathan Perkin wrote:
> 
> It's been encouraging to see some of the proposals recently to improve 
> quality.  Something I've obviously been very passionate about for a long 
> time.
> 
> In the past I've done a lot of work, whether that's daily bulk builds 
> across multiple operating systems, the CI system, scan failure mails, 
> custom bulk builds, lots of additional checks, etc, but they haven't 
> always been well received or used as I'd hoped, which has obviously led 
> to some frustration on both sides.

Maybe there was too little positive feedback, but I have always
appreciated your work.

> So, how about a different approach.  What would you like me to work on?

Your bulk builds for non-NetBSD systems were very helpful.
I always looked at them after an update to one of my packages.
Therefore my first wish is to get them back.

> What features would you like to see, and would actively use?  What is 
> your ideal workflow?  What would it take for your workflow to include 
> cross-platform checks prior to commit?  What resources do you need to 
> help ensure each individual commit is as high-quality as possible?

I have limited time to work on pkgsrc. This means I want to avoid
things that are additional work. But any facility that automatically
detects and reports errors is welcome.

To check changes before commit (to pkgsrc), maybe bulk builds should
include wip: <https://releng.netbsd.org/bulktracker/build/1966/wip/>

To check options, I try to build every package three times before
commit (but only on NetBSD/amd64 with X11):
- With default options
- With all options disabled
- With all options enabled
Automatic builds for other platforms with non-default options (e.g. for
Wayland) would be helpful.

-- 
Regards,
Michael