Comments on: How to Investigate Intermittent Problems http://www.satisfice.com/blog/archives/34 The Consulting Software Tester Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:57:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: chris http://www.satisfice.com/blog/archives/34/comment-page-1#comment-197669 chris Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:47:53 +0000 http://12.165.213.55/blog/?p=34#comment-197669 The essence of intermittent bugs are of chaotic nature - where multiple (at least three) factors come into play. So there is no direct \cause\ for such bugs versus regular bugs. It is impossible for over 99% people to accept that there is no direct cause for the chaotic world. The famous three-body problem is a good start to understand the essence of intermittency. It is NEVER possible to simplify a true intermittent bug into a regular bug <em>[James' Reply: The whole notion of "cause" is artificial. You could as well say that anything that happens has an infinite number of causes. You're right, the world is chaotic. But I guess we could say that one reason a bug can be intermittent is because of a set of causes that are uncorrelated and unknown. But when I'm investigating a bug, some of its causes may be temporarily correlated or uncorrelated. There is no "true intermittence" because there is no way to be sure about the nature of the causes, and no way to prove that the causal structure won't change. In other words, give me an example of an intermittent bug, and I can give you one new fact that, if true, would reveal it to be not intermittent (or vice versa). Therefore, you might say "there is no way to be sure that a regular bug isn't secretly an intermittent bug, and no way to know that an intermittent bug isn't secretly a regular bug." Hence I call something an intermittent bug if, at the time I'm investigating it, it is intermittent. But I don't need to say it's "truly intermittent."]</em> The essence of intermittent bugs are of chaotic nature - where multiple (at least three) factors come into play. So there is no direct \cause\ for such bugs versus regular bugs. It is impossible for over 99% people to accept that there is no direct cause for the chaotic world. The famous three-body problem is a good start to understand the essence of intermittency.

It is NEVER possible to simplify a true intermittent bug into a regular bug

[James' Reply: The whole notion of "cause" is artificial. You could as well say that anything that happens has an infinite number of causes. You're right, the world is chaotic. But I guess we could say that one reason a bug can be intermittent is because of a set of causes that are uncorrelated and unknown.

But when I'm investigating a bug, some of its causes may be temporarily correlated or uncorrelated. There is no "true intermittence" because there is no way to be sure about the nature of the causes, and no way to prove that the causal structure won't change.

In other words, give me an example of an intermittent bug, and I can give you one new fact that, if true, would reveal it to be not intermittent (or vice versa). Therefore, you might say "there is no way to be sure that a regular bug isn't secretly an intermittent bug, and no way to know that an intermittent bug isn't secretly a regular bug." Hence I call something an intermittent bug if, at the time I'm investigating it, it is intermittent. But I don't need to say it's "truly intermittent."]

]]> By: Trevor Hopkinson http://www.satisfice.com/blog/archives/34/comment-page-1#comment-159325 Trevor Hopkinson Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:28:13 +0000 http://12.165.213.55/blog/?p=34#comment-159325 But how to handle these intermuittent faults Appearance on test results reports - how to handle an 80% test pass rate what to do with bug reports raising - clearing - raising again Is it really a bug? - Any ideas welcome Trevor <em> [James' Reply: What's the problem? What is an 80% pass rate? Why is the bug report being raised and cleared?]</em> But how to handle these intermuittent faults

Appearance on test results reports - how to handle an 80% test pass rate
what to do with bug reports raising - clearing - raising again
Is it really a bug? -

Any ideas welcome

Trevor

[James' Reply: What's the problem? What is an 80% pass rate? Why is the bug report being raised and cleared?]

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