[comp.lang.misc] bad code suite?

jejones@mcrware.UUCP (James Jones) (04/15/88)

One reads about various organizations that develop a compiler verification
suite so that one can determine whether a compiler correctly supports the
constructs of the source language, but I wonder if anyone has ever created
a *bad* code suite, to test error recovery, quality of diagnostics, or whether
the compiler lets obscure (but invalid) constructs pass without comment?

If you know of archives of bad code (gee, that sounds like a straight line :-),
send me email, and if people express interest I will at least report on
whether anyone ever heard of such a thing's being developed.

		James Jones

eugene@pioneer.arpa (Eugene N. Miya) (04/15/88)

The Pascal Validation Suite has a class of programs for handling some
errors, but it is a zero-th (0th) approximation.

I made a similar query a few months back about testing optimization
(how do you know what it does? -type of question).  The answer is
generally, we don't.  No such animals exist, but I did find an
interesting piece of testing software which I have to sign
non-disclosure to view.

I don't think a fixed suite of programs could test the things you want.
And I now know the head of 3090 compiler testing at IBM and they don't
have such a thing (yet).  All I can say, is that if you write or know
anybody writing such a thing, encourage them to put it in the public domain.

From the Rock of Ages Home for Retired Hackers:

--eugene miya, NASA Ames Research Center, eugene@ames-aurora.ARPA
  "You trust the `reply' command with all those different mailers out there?"
  "Send mail, avoid follow-ups.  If enough, I'll summarize."
  {uunet,hplabs,hao,ihnp4,decwrl,allegra,tektronix}!ames!aurora!eugene

pardo@june.cs.washington.edu (David Keppel) (04/16/88)

[ bad code suite? -- error recovery, etc ]

Yes there is such, I don't have it but can give you some references.
Unfortunately, you didn't give an e-mail addr & my site barfs on
domained uucp.  Send me your address.

	;-D on  ( longjmp(); return(); )  Pardo

    ..!ucbvax!uw-beaver!uw-june!pardo	pardo@june.cs.washington.edu