Bug shallowness in open-source, Macintosh software

TL;DR

This paper investigates whether bug shallowness in open-source Macintosh software is comparable to other platforms, concluding that bugs are equally shallow despite fewer Macintosh users being programmers.

Contribution

It provides evidence that bug shallowness remains consistent in open-source Macintosh software, countering assumptions about platform-specific difficulties.

Findings

Bugs are as shallow in Macintosh open-source software as in other platforms.

Open-source Macintosh users are capable of finding and fixing bugs effectively.

Bug shallowness does not significantly differ across platforms in open-source projects.

Abstract

Central to the power of open-source software is bug shallowness, the relative ease of finding and fixing bugs. The open-source movement began with Unix software, so many users were also programmers capable of finding and fixing bugs given the source code. But as the open-source movement reaches the Macintosh platform, bugs may not be shallow because few Macintosh users are programmers. Based on reports from open-source developers, I, however, conclude that that bugs are as shallow in open-source, Macintosh software as in any other open-source software.