The check that could not fail
Context There is one cheap way to ask python-semantic-release whether it will write your changelog. It answers would have written your changelog to CHANGELOG.md . It answers that for a setup that writes nothing. Mine wrote nothing for thirty releases. A few weeks ago I wrote Green CI ≠ working software . The argument there was that a green badge proves the job exited 0 and nothing more, so you…
The story "The check that could not fail" recounts the author's experience of discovering flawed checks in their development pipeline that provided false assurances about the success of various processes, such as changelog updates, testing, monitoring, and security compliance. Each flawed check appeared to be functioning correctly, offering a silent, false sense of security.
The author emphasizes the importance of understanding the potential failure scenarios that could trigger a warning from a check, as a lack of this understanding indicates that the check is ineffective rather than reliable. The resolution lies in critically evaluating each check, understanding its scope and failure conditions, and ensuring that it truly reflects the desired outcomes or failures.
In the author's case, addressing these issues resolved the underlying problems by ensuring checks were correctly configured, monitored, and providing meaningful feedback.
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