Where have all the reviewers gone? [LWN.net]

Where have all the reviewers gone?

Posted Sep 14, 2006 7:54 UTC (Thu) by tjasper (subscriber, #4310)
In reply to: Where have all the reviewers gone? by dark
Parent article: Where have all the reviewers gone?

I think this is a valid point. Whilst the quality of code review before the code gets accepted is raised by good reviews, if the code gets out and is still buggy, then users with enough of an itch will patch it so it works for them.

So maybe the balance has to lie somewhere between perfect code which has been reviewed to death so that there are no bugs left!!! and obviously buggy code which would bite users too much. I think the community needs to recognise that stifling new code because no-one can review it deprives the community of it's best weapon - all the users who find bugs and help fix them. Sure, overly buggy code scares users away, but there is a balance - which is probably different for every project......

Hmmmm.....

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Where have all the reviewers gone?

Posted Sep 14, 2006 8:04 UTC (Thu) by tjasper (subscriber, #4310) [Link]

Consider further that Linus himself has stated that some of his very early code was ugly IIRC! So it does it have to be perfect every time? It was Linus' release early, release often approach which excited people as they saw new stuff appearing quickly.

The new kernel development model does the same, and it may pay for bigger projects to look for ways to get new code out there being used by people who find bugs through use rather than review before the code is released.

Also, the Coverity checker seems to be doing a good job of improving code quality without the backlash from the authors (hard to insult a program!! :o) ). Long may that continue.