Octave Code Sprint Goal Finalized

[Rik]

The first Octave Code Sprint is taking shape.  For more details, also watch
http://www.gnu.org/software/octave/sprint.html.

When : July 16th, 2011 (a Saturday) at 10:00 a.m EST (UTC-5)
Where: #octave IRC channel
Who  : *Anyone* with a passable knowledge of the Octave language.  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.

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. The goal for Octave sprint #1 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 July 12th is to resolve testing issues for 191
functions (382/2).  A list of the files which need resolution can be found
here <http://wiki.octave.org/wiki.pl?CodeSprintFiles>.  Not all files will
necessarily need tests.  In some cases there may be no tests possible or
they may be covered by another file's tests (see wavread.m/wavrite.m for an
example).  In this case the files need only be marked as being tested by
adding a comment to that effect and the code snippet '%!assert (1)'