Detecting when plugins throw errors with WP_DEBUG===true

[jeffpaul]

@mikeschinkel commented on Wed Jun 13 2018

For reference see the mention in Slack.

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@jeffpaul commented on Wed Jun 13 2018

Copying in the details from Slack for those who don't (or choose not to) have access:
Thursday, June 7th
mikeschinkel [5:20 PM]
Here is a thread about showcasing WP_DEBUG issues I started on #meta. They pointed me back to #tide as a solution and suggested I propose it here, although it sounds like maybe you are already planning something like this?

In a nutshell it would be great if a plugin could be marked as having been developed with WP_DEBUG or not by virtual of it not throwing warnings and errors when WP_DEBUG==true.

Having a nice big red "X" would be great incentive to get plugin developers to learn about WP_DEBUG and to start using it. Too many don't because too many plugins don't; it's a vicious cycle. (edited)

mikeschinkel
Lately one of my biggest issues is trying to work with plugins where setting WP_DEBUG generates a stream of errors. Seems to me this should be a minimum requirement for entry into the WordPress plugin repository.

One way to address it would be give a way for the community to report issues with a plugin when WP_DEBUG is not set and then give plugin developers 10 days to response after which the plugins would be temporarily delisted until the issue is resolved.

Is there any will among the wp.org team to consider addressing this?
Posted in #meta Jun 7th

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@hellofromtonya commented on Thu Jun 14 2018

Hmm, @mikeschinkel is right. Catching the PHP thrown warnings and notices while in WP_DEBUG mode is an indicator of quality.

The questions then become:

1. How can each be detected?
2. How can each then be quantified and measured?

Exercising the code will reveal the notices/warnings when the control flows through the code where the problem lives.

Therefore, the challenge comes in running all the control paths. We all have that challenge in designing our test suites.

Hmm, interesting challenge for us to solve.

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@jeffpaul commented on Tue Aug 28 2018

Per bugscrub today, we're moving this to Future Release.

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@jrfnl commented on Tue Sep 04 2018

Loosely related to: #138