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PERLBUG |
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!!!PERLBUG |
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NAME |
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SYNOPSIS |
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DESCRIPTION |
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OPTIONS |
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AUTHORS |
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SEE ALSO |
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BUGS |
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---- |
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!!NAME |
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perlbug - how to submit bug reports on Perl |
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!!SYNOPSIS |
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__perlbug__ [[ __-v__ ] [[ __-a__ ''address'' ] [[ |
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__-s__ ''subject'' ] [[ __-b__ ''body'' __-f__ |
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''inputfile'' ] [[ __-F__ ''outputfile'' ] [[ |
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__-r__ ''returnaddress'' ] [[ __-e__ ''editor'' ] |
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[[ __-c__ ''adminaddress'' __-C__ ] [[ __-S__ ] [[ |
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__-t__ ] [[ __-d__ ] [[ __-A__ ] [[ __-h__ |
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] |
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__perlbug__ [[ __-v__ ] [[ __-r__ |
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''returnaddress'' ] [[ __-A__ ] [[ __-ok -okay -nok |
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-nokay__ ] |
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!!DESCRIPTION |
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A program to help generate bug reports about perl or the |
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modules that come with it, and mail them. |
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If you have found a bug with a non-standard port (one that |
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was not part of the ''standard distribution''), a binary |
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distribution, or a non-standard module (such as Tk, |
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CGI , etc), then please see the documentation |
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that came with that distribution to determine the correct |
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place to report bugs. |
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perlbug is designed to be used interactively. |
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Normally no arguments will be needed. Simply run it, and |
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follow the prompts. |
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If you are unable to run __perlbug__ (most likely because |
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you don't have a working setup to send mail that perlbug |
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recognizes), you may have to compose your own report, and |
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email it to __perlbug@perl.org__. You might find the |
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__-d__ option useful to get summary information in that |
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case. |
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In any case, when reporting a bug, please make sure you have |
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run through this checklist: |
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What version of Perl you are running? |
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Type perl -v at the command line to find |
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out. |
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Are you running the latest released version of |
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perl? |
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Look at http://www.perl.com/ to find out. If it is not the |
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latest released version, get that one and see whether your |
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bug has been fixed. Note that bug reports about old versions |
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of Perl, especially those prior to the 5.0 release, are |
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likely to fall upon deaf ears. You are on your own if you |
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continue to use perl1 .. perl4. |
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Are you sure what you have is a bug? |
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A significant number of the bug reports we get turn out to |
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be documented features in Perl. Make sure the behavior you |
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are witnessing doesn't fall under that category, by glancing |
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through the documentation that comes with Perl (we'll admit |
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this is no mean task, given the sheer volume of it all, but |
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at least have a look at the sections that ''seem'' |
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relevant). |
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Be aware of the familiar traps that perl programmers of |
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various hues fall into. See perltrap. |
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Check in perldiag to see what any Perl error message(s) |
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mean. If message isn't in perldiag, it probably isn't |
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generated by Perl. Consult your operating system |
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documentation instead. |
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If you are on a non-UNIX platform check also perlport, as |
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some features may be unimplemented or work |
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differently. |
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Try to study the problem under the Perl debugger, if |
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necessary. See perldebug. |
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Do you have a proper test case? |
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The easier it is to reproduce your bug, the more likely it |
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will be fixed, because if no one can duplicate the problem, |
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no one can fix it. A good test case has most of these |
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attributes: fewest possible number of lines; few |
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dependencies on external commands, modules, or libraries; |
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runs on most platforms unimpeded; and is |
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self-documenting. |
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A good test case is almost always a good candidate to be on |
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the perl test suite. If you have the time, consider making |
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your test case so that it will readily fit into the standard |
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test suite. |
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Remember also to include the __exact__ error messages, if |
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any. ``Perl complained something'' is not an exact error |
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message. |
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If you get a core dump (or equivalent), you may use a |
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debugger (__dbx__, __gdb__, etc) to produce a stack |
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trace to include in the bug report. NOTE: |
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unless your Perl has been compiled with debug info (often |
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__-g__), the stack trace is likely to be somewhat hard to |
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use because it will most probably contain only the function |
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names and not their arguments. If possible, recompile your |
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Perl with debug info and reproduce the dump and the stack |
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trace. |
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Can you describe the bug in plain English? |
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The easier it is to understand a reproducible bug, the more |
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likely it will be fixed. Anything you can provide by way of |
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insight into the problem helps a great deal. In other words, |
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try to analyze the problem (to the extent you can) and |
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report your discoveries. |
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Can you fix the bug yourself? |
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A bug report which ''includes a patch to fix it'' will |
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almost definitely be fixed. Use the diff program to |
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generate your patches (diff is being maintained by |
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the GNU folks as part of the __diffutils__ |
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package, so you should be able to get it from any of the |
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GNU software repositories). If you do submit |
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a patch, the cool-dude counter at perlbug@perl.org will |
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register you as a savior of the world. Your patch may be |
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returned with requests for changes, or requests for more |
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detailed explanations about your fix. |
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Here are some clues for creating quality patches: Use the |
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__-c__ or __-u__ switches to the diff program (to |
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create a so-called context or unified diff). Make sure the |
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patch is not reversed (the first argument to diff is |
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typically the original file, the second argument your |
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changed file). Make sure you test your patch by applying it |
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with the patch program before you send it on its |
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way. Try to follow the same style as the code you are trying |
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to patch. Make sure your patch really does work (make |
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test, if the thing you're patching supports |
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it). |
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Can you use perlbug to submit the |
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report? |
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__perlbug__ will, amongst other things, ensure your |
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report includes crucial information about your version of |
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perl. If perlbug is unable to mail your report |
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after you have typed it in, you may have to compose the |
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message yourself, add the output produced by perlbug |
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-d and email it to __perlbug@perl.org__. If, for |
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some reason, you cannot run perlbug at all on your |
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system, be sure to include the entire output produced by |
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running perl -V (note the uppercase |
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V). |
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Whether you use perlbug or send the email manually, |
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please make your Subject line informative. ``a bug'' not |
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informative. Neither is ``perl crashes'' nor `` |
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HELP !!!''. These don't help. A compact |
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description of what's wrong is fine. |
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Having done your bit, please be prepared to wait, to be told |
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the bug is in your code, or even to get no reply at all. The |
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Perl maintainers are busy folks, so if your problem is a |
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small one or if it is difficult to understand or already |
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known, they may not respond with a personal reply. If it is |
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important to you that your bug be fixed, do monitor the |
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Changes file in any development releases since the |
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time you submitted the bug, and encourage the maintainers |
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with kind words (but never any flames!). Feel free to resend |
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your bug report if the next released version of perl comes |
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out and your bug is still present. |
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!!OPTIONS |
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__-a__ |
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Address to send the report to. Defaults to |
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`perlbug@perl.org'. |
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__-A__ |
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Don't send a bug received acknowledgement to the reply |
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address. Generally it is only a sensible to use this option |
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if you are a perl maintainer actively watching perl porters |
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for your message to arrive. |
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__-b__ |
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Body of the report. If not included on the command line, or |
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in a file with __-f__, you will get a chance to edit the |
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message. |
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__-C__ |
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Don't send copy to administrator. |
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__-c__ |
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Address to send copy of report to. Defaults to the address |
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of the local perl administrator (recorded when perl was |
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built). |
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__-d__ |
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Data mode (the default if you redirect or pipe output). This |
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prints out your configuration data, without mailing |
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anything. You can use this with __-v__ to get more |
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complete data. |
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__-e__ |
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Editor to use. |
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__-f__ |
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File containing the body of the report. Use this to quickly |
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send a prepared message. |
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__-F__ |
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File to output the results to instead of sending as an |
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email. Useful particularly when running perlbug on a machine |
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with no direct internet connection. |
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__-h__ |
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Prints a brief summary of the options. |
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__-ok__ |
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Report successful build on this system to perl porters. |
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Forces __-S__ and __-C__. Forces and supplies values |
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for __-s__ and __-b__. Only prompts for a return |
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address if it cannot guess it (for use with __make__). |
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Honors return address specified with __-r__. You can use |
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this with __-v__ to get more complete data. Only makes a |
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report if this system is less than 60 days old. |
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__-okay__ |
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As __-ok__ except it will report on older |
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systems. |
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__-nok__ |
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Report unsuccessful build on this system. Forces __-C__. |
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Forces and supplies a value for __-s__, then requires you |
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to edit the report and say what went wrong. Alternatively, a |
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prepared report may be supplied using __-f__. Only |
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prompts for a return address if it cannot guess it (for use |
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with __make__). Honors return address specified with |
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__-r__. You can use this with __-v__ to get more |
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complete data. Only makes a report if this system is less |
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than 60 days old. |
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__-nokay__ |
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As __-nok__ except it will report on older |
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systems. |
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__-r__ |
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Your return address. The program will ask you to confirm its |
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default if you don't use this option. |
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__-S__ |
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Send without asking for confirmation. |
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__-s__ |
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Subject to include with the message. You will be prompted if |
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you don't supply one on the command line. |
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__-t__ |
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Test mode. The target address defaults to |
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`perlbug-test@perl.com'. |
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__-v__ |
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Include verbose configuration data in the |
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report. |
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!!AUTHORS |
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Kenneth Albanowski ( |
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doc''tored by Gurusamy Sarathy |
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( |
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'' |
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!!SEE ALSO |
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perl(1), perldebug(1), perldiag(1), |
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perlport(1), perltrap(1), diff(1), |
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patch(1), dbx(1), gdb(1) |
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!!BUGS |
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None known (guess what must have been used to report |
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them?) |
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---- |
