In this case the recommendation to write QuickCheck tests should be
removed from the library submission procedure. I don't want to do
wasted work again!
On Sat, May 31, 2008 at 1:16 PM, Ian Lynagh
So just to check, this proposal is to add Data.Tree.Zipper to containers and the QC tests to the testsuite, right?
As I've explained before[1], I don't think that QuickCheck tests are a good way to test libraries: They tend to test the same inputs (e.g. []) or equivalent inputs (e.g. "insert 2 [3]" and "insert 3 [4]") many times, meaning it takes much longer to get the same level of testing as a few well-chosen unit tests. When you multiply this by all the libraries the testsuite is meant to test, this is a significant amount of time.
I also don't think that adding the tests but not running them automatically is a good idea, as they will most likely just bitrot.
Adding a unit test for the bug you found is certainly a good idea, though!
[1] http://www.haskell.org/pipermail/libraries/2008-April/009594.html
Thanks Ian