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Compiler/CC2560: Compiler Known Bugs for Compiler Validation

Part Number: CC2560

Tool/software: TI C/C++ Compiler

Hi team,

a customer needs to validate our compiler and has a couple of questions concerning known bugs:

"I have been entrusted with the task of validating the TI compiler that we currently use with CCS 8 (ti-cgt-msp430_18.1.4.LTS). According to our guidelines we have to validate the tools used for our product development. Especially for the used compilers it is necessary to consult the corresponding bugtracking databases. I came across this information in the TI Wiki: http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/Compiler_Defects_Database#

There, reference is made to an SDO web portal (Rational Clearquest). There I find the public query MSP430 Compiler Known Issues:

However, I am not 100% sure how to interpret the search results.
Example 1: CODEGEN-4329 lists both the smaller version number MSP430_18.1.0.LTS and the larger version number MSP430_18.12.0.LTS:

Can I assume that the version I used, msp430_18.1.4.LTS
a) does not contain the bug because it is not listed, or
b) also contains the bug because it is between the listed versions?

2) In the MSP430 Compiler Known Issues query list, version MSP430_18.1.4.LTS is found only once, in CODEGEN-6070. Does this mean that this version has only one open bug?

My CCS8 installation also provides MSP430_18.1.3.LTS. This one is not mentioned at all in the query MSP430 Compiler Known Issues. Does this mean that this version doesn't have a single open bug at all? Really?"

  • Franz Schellhase said:
    I came across this information in the TI Wiki: http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/Compiler_Defects_Database#

    I just changed that article to note it is no longer up-to-date.  I apologize for overlooking it.

    At present, we do not have a public way to search through bugs reported against the compiler.  The closest solution is to look through the lists of bug reports that accompany each compiler release.  This can be found in the files Open_defects.html and Closed_defects.html in the root directory of the compiler installation.  They are also available directly from the download page for the MSP430 compiler.

    Franz Schellhase said:
    Example 1: CODEGEN-4329 lists both the smaller version number MSP430_18.1.0.LTS and the larger version number MSP430_18.12.0.LTS

    The answer requires some background in how compiler version numbers work.  A group of related compiler releases all share the same first two numbers, such as 18.1 or 18.12.  These numbers are when that group of releases began.  18.1 means January 2018, and 18.12 means December 2018.  The first of a group of releases always has 0 for the third number; then it goes up by 1 for each subsequent release.  

    So, with regard to CODEGEN-4329, it first appears in 18.1.0.LTS and 18.12.0.LTS.  It is present in all subsequent releases 18.1.x.LTS and 18.12.x.LTS.  At present, it remains an open issue.

    Franz Schellhase said:
    In the MSP430 Compiler Known Issues query list, version MSP430_18.1.4.LTS is found only once, in CODEGEN-6070. Does this mean that this version has only one open bug?

    No.  That version has 71 open issues.

    Franz Schellhase said:
    My CCS8 installation also provides MSP430_18.1.3.LTS. This one is not mentioned at all in the query MSP430 Compiler Known Issues. Does this mean that this version doesn't have a single open bug at all? Really?"

    No.  That version has has 70 open issues.

    Thanks and regards,

    -George

  • Thanks, George. Your explanations let me understand the concept. As far as I understand, there is only one way for me to check if issues for my compiler (assuming 18.1.3) came up later: read the Open_defects.html for higher compiler versions (e.g. 18.1.4) and search for relevant entries not contained in the lower (18.1.3) Open_defects.html. Example issue would be CODEGEN-5403 and CODEGEN-5187 which both relate even to18.1.3 but were not known yet when 18.1.3 was released however were known later when 18.1.4 was released. Correct?

    One last question: What do the different severity values "Minor, Major", ... or other(?) mean exactly? Some issues are qualified as Major since they caused the compiler to abort for example. From the developers point of view such issue would be harmless (he can't generate wrong code). It is interesting for me to know if I can use your classification for my classification.

    Best regards

    Stefan

  • Stefan Schoenbacher said:
    As far as I understand, there is only one way for me to check if issues for my compiler (assuming 18.1.3) came up later: read the Open_defects.html for higher compiler versions (e.g. 18.1.4) and search for relevant entries not contained in the lower (18.1.3) Open_defects.html. Example issue would be CODEGEN-5403 and CODEGEN-5187 which both relate even to18.1.3 but were not known yet when 18.1.3 was released however were known later when 18.1.4 was released. Correct?

    Correct.

    Stefan Schoenbacher said:
    What do the different severity values "Minor, Major", ... or other(?) mean exactly?

    These classifications are not applied in a rigorous well defined manner.  It is just a rough approximation of how much of a problem we think this is in the field.  

    Thanks and regards,

    -George

  • Thanks + Best regards

    Stefan