New and revised commands as semi-secret test commands in the WIP discourage users from trying them, providing feedback and reporting problems. Examples of such test commands which I can remember include TestEtoCommandUI, TestAudit3dmFiles and TestShowKnots. Since test commands do not autocomplete and do not show up on any lists a user has to remember the exact complete name of the command to try it. For example TestShowKnot only results in “Unknown command”. If the user is insistent on trying the new command they have to search through the forum for mention of it, which can take a while and may not be successful. So the user gives up and there is less feedback about the new command.
Several times I’ve tried a new WIP test command when reading about it. At that time it is easy to copy the name of the command from the post. Then a couple days later I remember the command and want to use it again but cannot remember the name - an example is TestCommandEtoUI. It took a while but I finally found a post which provided the command name. More difficult to locate is TestShowKnots. Prefixing the name with “T”,“New” or something other than “Test” could provide an obvious indicator the command is under development without making it difficult to find.
Just a reminder, the Test... commands are exactly that, commands made by McNeel programmers to internally test (and break) stuff - they not considered to be necessarily stable or internally tested enough to be ready for public WIP release. They might eventually disappear because no longer necessary, get changed or integrated into another command, become a setting rather than a command, etc. Some test commands might get posted here for users who have a specific issue so that McNeel can get feedback on whether it solves the problem.
@Mitch Several test commands in the V9 WIP are exceptions to your otherwise good description of what a test commands is. McNeel folks have been announcing some test commands to the V9 WIP as test commands. TestEtoCommandUI is a prime example. Yes, it may be renamed or the function integrated into another command before V9 is released. That is true for anything in a WIP. But in the meantime having it as a difficult to find test command significantly inhibits users trying it and providing the feedback which McNeel seeks. Hence my post.
Added: I am not asking or suggesting that all test commands should be readily available, only those which McNeel has announced and is seeking feedback about.