SGI Freeware 1999 August

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Text File | 1998-10-28 | 12.5 KB | 331 lines

PPPPEEEERRRRLLLLBBBBUUUUGGGG((((1111)))) 22223333////OOOOcccctttt////99998888 ((((ppppeeeerrrrllll 5555....000000005555,,,, ppppaaaattttcccchhhh 00002222)))) PPPPEEEERRRRLLLLBBBBUUUUGGGG((((1111)))) NNNNAAAAMMMMEEEE perlbug - how to submit bug reports on Perl SSSSYYYYNNNNOOOOPPPPSSSSIIIISSSS ppppeeeerrrrllllbbbbuuuugggg [ ----vvvv ] [ ----aaaa _a_d_d_r_e_s_s ] [ ----ssss _s_u_b_j_e_c_t ] [ ----bbbb _b_o_d_y | ----ffff _i_n_p_u_t_f_i_l_e ] [ ----FFFF _o_u_t_p_u_t_f_i_l_e ] [ ----rrrr _r_e_t_u_r_n_a_d_d_r_e_s_s ] [ ----eeee _e_d_i_t_o_r ] [ ----cccc _a_d_m_i_n_a_d_d_r_e_s_s | ----CCCC ] [ ----SSSS ] [ ----tttt ] [ ----dddd ] [ ----hhhh ] ppppeeeerrrrllllbbbbuuuugggg [ ----vvvv ] [ ----rrrr _r_e_t_u_r_n_a_d_d_r_e_s_s ] [ ----ooookkkk | ----ooookkkkaaaayyyy | ----nnnnooookkkk | ----nnnnooookkkkaaaayyyy ] DDDDEEEESSSSCCCCRRRRIIIIPPPPTTTTIIIIOOOONNNN A program to help generate bug reports about perl or the modules that come with it, and mail them. If you have found a bug with a non-standard port (one that was not part of the _s_t_a_n_d_a_r_d _d_i_s_t_r_i_b_u_t_i_o_n), a binary distribution, or a non-standard module (such as Tk, CGI, etc), then please see the documentation that came with that distribution to determine the correct place to report bugs. perlbug is designed to be used interactively. Normally no arguments will be needed. Simply run it, and follow the prompts. If you are unable to run ppppeeeerrrrllllbbbbuuuugggg (most likely because you don't have a working setup to send mail that perlbug recognizes), you may have to compose your own report, and email it to ppppeeeerrrrllllbbbbuuuugggg@@@@ppppeeeerrrrllll....ccccoooommmm. You might find the ----dddd option useful to get summary information in that case. In any case, when reporting a bug, please make sure you have run through this checklist: What version of perl you are running? Type perl -v at the command line to find out. Are you running the latest released version of perl? Look at http://www.perl.com/ to find out. If it is not the latest released version, get that one and see whether your bug has been fixed. Note that bug reports about old versions of perl, especially those prior to the 5.0 release, are likely to fall upon deaf ears. You are on your own if you continue to use perl1 .. perl4. Are you sure what you have is a bug? A significant number of the bug reports we get turn out to be documented features in perl. Make sure the behavior you are witnessing doesn't fall under that category, by glancing through the documentation that comes with perl (we'll admit this is no mean task, given Page 1 (printed 10/23/98) PPPPEEEERRRRLLLLBBBBUUUUGGGG((((1111)))) 22223333////OOOOcccctttt////99998888 ((((ppppeeeerrrrllll 5555....000000005555,,,, ppppaaaattttcccchhhh 00002222)))) PPPPEEEERRRRLLLLBBBBUUUUGGGG((((1111)))) the sheer volume of it all, but at least have a look at the sections that _s_e_e_m relevant). Be aware of the familiar traps that perl programmers of various hues fall into. See the _p_e_r_l_t_r_a_p manpage. Try to study the problem under the perl debugger, if necessary. See the _p_e_r_l_d_e_b_u_g manpage. Do you have a proper test case? The easier it is to reproduce your bug, the more likely it will be fixed, because if no one can duplicate the problem, no one can fix it. A good test case has most of these attributes: fewest possible number of lines; few dependencies on external commands, modules, or libraries; runs on most platforms unimpeded; and is self-documenting. A good test case is almost always a good candidate to be on the perl test suite. If you have the time, consider making your test case so that it will readily fit into the standard test suite. Can you describe the bug in plain English? The easier it is to understand a reproducible bug, the more likely it will be fixed. Anything you can provide by way of insight into the problem helps a great deal. In other words, try to analyse the problem to the extent you feel qualified and report your discoveries. Can you fix the bug yourself? A bug report which _i_n_c_l_u_d_e_s _a _p_a_t_c_h _t_o _f_i_x _i_t will almost definitely be fixed. Use the diff program to generate your patches (diff is being maintained by the GNU folks as part of the ddddiiiiffffffffuuuuttttiiiillllssss package, so you should be able to get it from any of the GNU software repositories). If you do submit a patch, the cool-dude counter at perlbug@perl.com will register you as a savior of the world. Your patch may be returned with requests for changes, or requests for more detailed explanations about your fix. Here are some clues for creating quality patches: Use the ----cccc or ----uuuu switches to the diff program (to create a so-called context or unified diff). Make sure the patch is not reversed (the first argument to diff is typically the original file, the second argument your changed file). Make sure you test your patch by applying it with the patch program before you send it on its way. Try to follow the same style as the code you are trying to patch. Make sure your patch really does work (make test, if the thing you're patching supports it). Page 2 (printed 10/23/98) PPPPEEEERRRRLLLLBBBBUUUUGGGG((((1111)))) 22223333////OOOOcccctttt////99998888 ((((ppppeeeerrrrllll 5555....000000005555,,,, ppppaaaattttcccchhhh 00002222)))) PPPPEEEERRRRLLLLBBBBUUUUGGGG((((1111)))) Can you use perlbug to submit the report? ppppeeeerrrrllllbbbbuuuugggg will, amongst other things, ensure your report includes crucial information about your version of perl. If perlbug is unable to mail your report after you have typed it in, you may have to compose the message yourself, add the output produced by perlbug -d and email it to ppppeeeerrrrllllbbbbuuuugggg@@@@ppppeeeerrrrllll....ccccoooommmm. If, for some reason, you cannot run perlbug at all on your system, be sure to include the entire output produced by running perl -V (note the uppercase V). Having done your bit, please be prepared to wait, to be told the bug is in your code, or even to get no reply at all. The perl maintainers are busy folks, so if your problem is a small one or if it is difficult to understand or already known, they may not respond with a personal reply. If it is important to you that your bug be fixed, do monitor the Changes file in any development releases since the time you submitted the bug, and encourage the maintainers with kind words (but never any flames!). Feel free to resend your bug report if the next released version of perl comes out and your bug is still present. OOOOPPPPTTTTIIIIOOOONNNNSSSS ----aaaa Address to send the report to. Defaults to `perlbug@perl.com'. ----bbbb Body of the report. If not included on the command line, or in a file with ----ffff, you will get a chance to edit the message. ----CCCC Don't send copy to administrator. ----cccc Address to send copy of report to. Defaults to the address of the local perl administrator (recorded when perl was built). ----dddd Data mode (the default if you redirect or pipe output). This prints out your configuration data, without mailing anything. You can use this with ----vvvv to get more complete data. ----eeee Editor to use. ----ffff File containing the body of the report. Use this to quickly send a prepared message. ----FFFF File to output the results to instead of sending as an email. Useful particularly when running perlbug on a machine with no direct internet connection. Page 3 (printed 10/23/98) PPPPEEEERRRRLLLLBBBBUUUUGGGG((((1111)))) 22223333////OOOOcccctttt////99998888 ((((ppppeeeerrrrllll 5555....000000005555,,,, ppppaaaattttcccchhhh 00002222)))) PPPPEEEERRRRLLLLBBBBUUUUGGGG((((1111)))) ----hhhh Prints a brief summary of the options. ----ooookkkk Report successful build on this system to perl porters. Forces ----SSSS and ----CCCC. Forces and supplies values for ----ssss and ----bbbb. Only prompts for a return address if it cannot guess it (for use with mmmmaaaakkkkeeee). Honors return address specified with ----rrrr. You can use this with ----vvvv to get more complete data. Only makes a report if this system is less than 60 days old. ----ooookkkkaaaayyyy As ----ooookkkk except it will report on older systems. ----nnnnooookkkk Report unsuccessful build on this system. Forces ----CCCC. Forces and supplies a value for ----ssss, then requires you to edit the report and say what went wrong. Alternatively, a prepared report may be supplied using ----ffff. Only prompts for a return address if it cannot guess it (for use with mmmmaaaakkkkeeee). Honors return address specified with ----rrrr. You can use this with ----vvvv to get more complete data. Only makes a report if this system is less than 60 days old. ----nnnnooookkkkaaaayyyy As ----nnnnooookkkk except it will report on older systems. ----rrrr Your return address. The program will ask you to confirm its default if you don't use this option. ----SSSS Send without asking for confirmation. ----ssss Subject to include with the message. You will be prompted if you don't supply one on the command line. ----tttt Test mode. The target address defaults to `perlbug-test@perl.com'. ----vvvv Include verbose configuration data in the report. AAAAUUUUTTTTHHHHOOOORRRRSSSS Kenneth Albanowski (<kjahds@kjahds.com>), subsequently _d_o_ctored by Gurusamy Sarathy (<gsar@umich.edu>), Tom Christiansen (<tchrist@perl.com>), Nathan Torkington (<gnat@frii.com>), Charles F. Randall (<cfr@pobox.com>), Mike Guy (<mjtg@cam.a.uk>), Dominic Dunlop (<domo@computer.org>) and Hugo van der Sanden (<hv@crypt0.demon.co.uk>). SSSSEEEEEEEE AAAALLLLSSSSOOOO _p_e_r_l(1), _p_e_r_l_d_e_b_u_g(1), _p_e_r_l_t_r_a_p(1), _d_i_f_f(1), _p_a_t_c_h(1) Page 4 (printed 10/23/98) PPPPEEEERRRRLLLLBBBBUUUUGGGG((((1111)))) 22223333////OOOOcccctttt////99998888 ((((ppppeeeerrrrllll 5555....000000005555,,,, ppppaaaattttcccchhhh 00002222)))) PPPPEEEERRRRLLLLBBBBUUUUGGGG((((1111)))) BBBBUUUUGGGGSSSS None known (guess what must have been used to report them?) Page 5 (printed 10/23/98)