swiftlang/swift-package-manager

[SR-4329] SwiftPM should have a feature to "auto-minimize" a package (delta debugging)

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#5059 opened on Mar 24, 2017

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enhancementgood first issue

Description
Previous ID SR-4329
Radar None
Original Reporter @ddunbar
Type Bug
Status In Progress
Resolution
Votes 0
Component/s Package Manager
Labels Bug, StarterBug
Assignee None
Priority Medium

md5: 83f2d1d181b16d93390c4b88e07dd5ff

Issue Description:

SwiftPM should have a feature to automatically minimize a package to the smallest package to pass some test predicate (supplied by a shell script, for example).

This is invaluable tool for getting high quality / actionable bug reports for compiler crashes, build failures, etc. from developers who may not otherwise be able to share their source code.

Similar tools in this space are:
C-Reduce: https://embed.cs.utah.edu/creduce/
Delta: http://delta.tigris.org
Bugpoint: http://llvm.org/docs/Bugpoint.html
and we know from experience that these tools can be very powerful at efficiently reducing even very large test inputs to small test cases.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
swift
Domain
toolingdeveloper experience
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
4
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
over 1 week
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
SwiftSwiftPM architecturedelta debugging fundamentals
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
20
Research direction
Start by exploring the SwiftPM codebase to understand how packages are structured and built. Research existing delta debugging algorithms like C Reduce and Delta. Look for any test predicates in the repository. Consider implementing a basic reduction algorithm that iteratively removes components and tests.