1PERLBUG(1) Perl Programmers Reference Guide PERLBUG(1)
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6 perlbug - how to submit bug reports on Perl
7
9 perlbug [ -v ] [ -a address ] [ -s subject ] [ -b body ⎪ -f inputfile ]
10 [ -F outputfile ] [ -r returnaddress ] [ -e editor ] [ -c adminad‐
11 dress ⎪ -C ] [ -S ] [ -t ] [ -d ] [ -A ] [ -h ]
12 perlbug [ -v ] [ -r returnaddress ]
14 [ -A ] [ -ok ⎪ -okay ⎪ -nok ⎪ -nokay ]
15
17 A program to help generate bug reports about perl or the modules that
18 come with it, and mail them.
19 If you have found a bug with a non-standard port (one that was not part
21 of the standard distribution), a binary distribution, or a non-standard
22 module (such as Tk, CGI, etc), then please see the documentation that
23 came with that distribution to determine the correct place to report
24 bugs.
25 "perlbug" is designed to be used interactively. Normally no arguments
27 will be needed. Simply run it, and follow the prompts.
28 If you are unable to run perlbug (most likely because you don't have a
30 working setup to send mail that perlbug recognizes), you may have to
31 compose your own report, and email it to perlbug@perl.org. You might
32 find the -d option useful to get summary information in that case.
33 In any case, when reporting a bug, please make sure you have run
35 through this checklist:
36 What version of Perl you are running?
38 Type "perl -v" at the command line to find out.
39 Are you running the latest released version of perl?
41 Look at http://www.perl.com/ to find out. If it is not the latest
42 released version, get that one and see whether your bug has been
43 fixed. Note that bug reports about old versions of Perl, espe‐
44 cially those prior to the 5.0 release, are likely to fall upon deaf
45 ears. You are on your own if you continue to use perl1 .. perl4.
46 Are you sure what you have is a bug?
48 A significant number of the bug reports we get turn out to be docu‐
49 mented features in Perl. Make sure the behavior you are witnessing
50 doesn't fall under that category, by glancing through the documen‐
51 tation that comes with Perl (we'll admit this is no mean task,
52 given the sheer volume of it all, but at least have a look at the
53 sections that seem relevant).
54 Be aware of the familiar traps that perl programmers of various
56 hues fall into. See perltrap.
57 Check in perldiag to see what any Perl error message(s) mean. If
59 message isn't in perldiag, it probably isn't generated by Perl.
60 Consult your operating system documentation instead.
61 If you are on a non-UNIX platform check also perlport, as some fea‐
63 tures may be unimplemented or work differently.
64 Try to study the problem under the Perl debugger, if necessary.
66 See perldebug.
67 Do you have a proper test case?
69 The easier it is to reproduce your bug, the more likely it will be
70 fixed, because if no one can duplicate the problem, no one can fix
71 it. A good test case has most of these attributes: fewest possible
72 number of lines; few dependencies on external commands, modules, or
73 libraries; runs on most platforms unimpeded; and is self-document‐
74 ing.
75 A good test case is almost always a good candidate to be on the
77 perl test suite. If you have the time, consider making your test
78 case so that it will readily fit into the standard test suite.
79 Remember also to include the exact error messages, if any. "Perl
81 complained something" is not an exact error message.
82 If you get a core dump (or equivalent), you may use a debugger
84 (dbx, gdb, etc) to produce a stack trace to include in the bug
85 report. NOTE: unless your Perl has been compiled with debug info
86 (often -g), the stack trace is likely to be somewhat hard to use
87 because it will most probably contain only the function names and
88 not their arguments. If possible, recompile your Perl with debug
89 info and reproduce the dump and the stack trace.
90 Can you describe the bug in plain English?
92 The easier it is to understand a reproducible bug, the more likely
93 it will be fixed. Anything you can provide by way of insight into
94 the problem helps a great deal. In other words, try to analyze the
95 problem (to the extent you can) and report your discoveries.
96 Can you fix the bug yourself?
98 A bug report which includes a patch to fix it will almost defi‐
99 nitely be fixed. Use the "diff" program to generate your patches
100 ("diff" is being maintained by the GNU folks as part of the diffu‐
101 tils package, so you should be able to get it from any of the GNU
102 software repositories). If you do submit a patch, the cool-dude
103 counter at perlbug@perl.org will register you as a savior of the
104 world. Your patch may be returned with requests for changes, or
105 requests for more detailed explanations about your fix.
106 Here are some clues for creating quality patches: Use the -c or -u
108 switches to the diff program (to create a so-called context or uni‐
109 fied diff). Make sure the patch is not reversed (the first argu‐
110 ment to diff is typically the original file, the second argument
111 your changed file). Make sure you test your patch by applying it
112 with the "patch" program before you send it on its way. Try to
113 follow the same style as the code you are trying to patch. Make
114 sure your patch really does work ("make test", if the thing you're
115 patching supports it).
116 Can you use "perlbug" to submit the report?
118 perlbug will, amongst other things, ensure your report includes
119 crucial information about your version of perl. If "perlbug" is
120 unable to mail your report after you have typed it in, you may have
121 to compose the message yourself, add the output produced by "perl‐
122 bug -d" and email it to perlbug@perl.org. If, for some reason, you
123 cannot run "perlbug" at all on your system, be sure to include the
124 entire output produced by running "perl -V" (note the uppercase V).
125 Whether you use "perlbug" or send the email manually, please make
127 your Subject line informative. "a bug" not informative. Neither
128 is "perl crashes" nor "HELP!!!". These don't help. A compact
129 description of what's wrong is fine.
130 Having done your bit, please be prepared to wait, to be told the bug is
132 in your code, or even to get no reply at all. The Perl maintainers are
133 busy folks, so if your problem is a small one or if it is difficult to
134 understand or already known, they may not respond with a personal
135 reply. If it is important to you that your bug be fixed, do monitor
136 the "Changes" file in any development releases since the time you sub‐
137 mitted the bug, and encourage the maintainers with kind words (but
138 never any flames!). Feel free to resend your bug report if the next
139 released version of perl comes out and your bug is still present.
140
142 -a Address to send the report to. Defaults to perlbug@perl.org.
143 -A Don't send a bug received acknowledgement to the reply address.
145 Generally it is only a sensible to use this option if you are a
146 perl maintainer actively watching perl porters for your message
147 to arrive.
148 -b Body of the report. If not included on the command line, or in
150 a file with -f, you will get a chance to edit the message.
151 -C Don't send copy to administrator.
153 -c Address to send copy of report to. Defaults to the address of
155 the local perl administrator (recorded when perl was built).
156 -d Data mode (the default if you redirect or pipe output). This
158 prints out your configuration data, without mailing anything.
159 You can use this with -v to get more complete data.
160 -e Editor to use.
162 -f File containing the body of the report. Use this to quickly
164 send a prepared message.
165 -F File to output the results to instead of sending as an email.
167 Useful particularly when running perlbug on a machine with no
168 direct internet connection.
169 -h Prints a brief summary of the options.
171 -ok Report successful build on this system to perl porters. Forces
173 -S and -C. Forces and supplies values for -s and -b. Only
174 prompts for a return address if it cannot guess it (for use
175 with make). Honors return address specified with -r. You can
176 use this with -v to get more complete data. Only makes a
177 report if this system is less than 60 days old.
178 -okay As -ok except it will report on older systems.
180 -nok Report unsuccessful build on this system. Forces -C. Forces
182 and supplies a value for -s, then requires you to edit the
183 report and say what went wrong. Alternatively, a prepared
184 report may be supplied using -f. Only prompts for a return
185 address if it cannot guess it (for use with make). Honors
186 return address specified with -r. You can use this with -v to
187 get more complete data. Only makes a report if this system is
188 less than 60 days old.
189 -nokay As -nok except it will report on older systems.
191 -r Your return address. The program will ask you to confirm its
193 default if you don't use this option.
194 -S Send without asking for confirmation.
196 -s Subject to include with the message. You will be prompted if
198 you don't supply one on the command line.
199 -t Test mode. The target address defaults to perl‐
201 bug-test@perl.org.
202 -v Include verbose configuration data in the report.
204
206 Kenneth Albanowski (<kjahds@kjahds.com>), subsequently doctored by
207 Gurusamy Sarathy (<gsar@activestate.com>), Tom Christiansen
208 (<tchrist@perl.com>), Nathan Torkington (<gnat@frii.com>), Charles F.
209 Randall (<cfr@pobox.com>), Mike Guy (<mjtg@cam.a.uk>), Dominic Dunlop
210 (<domo@computer.org>), Hugo van der Sanden (<hv@crypt.org<gt>), Jarkko
211 Hietaniemi (<jhi@iki.fi>), Chris Nandor (<pudge@pobox.com>), Jon Orwant
212 (<orwant@media.mit.edu>, and Richard Foley (<richard@rfi.net>).
213
215 perl(1), perldebug(1), perldiag(1), perlport(1), perltrap(1), diff(1),
216 patch(1), dbx(1), gdb(1)
217
219 None known (guess what must have been used to report them?)
220perl v5.8.8 2008-05-05 PERLBUG(1)