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Date: Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:22:53 +0300
From: Adrian Bunk <bunk@kernel.org>
To: devzero@web.de
Cc: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, tilman@imap.cc
Subject: Re: 2.6.25-rc8: FTP transfer errors
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References: <236089132@web.de>
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On Sat, Apr 12, 2008 at 10:41:44AM +0200, devzero@web.de wrote:
> >Sure. It's not about bisection specifically, but about the time a
> >reporter is able to invest in addition to what went into the report
> >already. But bisection is is a good example, because it's the most
> >time-consuming of all the tasks routinely asked from bug reporters.
> 
> i think the problem with git-bisect is, that it just apears complicated and magic for an end-user. 
> this isn`t something a kernel-developer can explain to him in a sentence (i.e. how to use etc)
>...

When I ask a user to bisect, the standard boilerplate I give to the 
user is:

<--  snip  -->

# install git

# clone Linus' tree:
git clone \ 
git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git

# start bisecting:
cd linux-2.6
git bisect start
git bisect bad v2.6.21
git bisect good v2.6.20
cp /path/to/.config .

# start a round
make oldconfig
make
# install kernel, check whether it's good or bad, then:
git bisect [bad|good]
# start next round


After at about 10-15 reboots you'll have found the guilty commit
("...  is first bad commit").


More information on git bisecting:
  man git-bisect

<--  snip  -->

In my experience users are able to bisect with this boilerplate
(unless there are problems like e.g. other regressions hit 
during bisecting).

> regards
> roland
>...

cu
Adrian

-- 

       "Is there not promise of rain?" Ling Tan asked suddenly out
        of the darkness. There had been need of rain for many days.
       "Only a promise," Lao Er said.
                                       Pearl S. Buck - Dragon Seed