From LQWiki
Bug reporting is a very important part of software development. Users of the software inform the developers of errors that have arisen in the normal use of the program which have gone undetected by standard testing procedures. The ideal bug report includes a patch to fix it, but even non-programmers can submit valuable information which can help developers reproduce, understand, and correct problems.
Bug reporting also commonly encompasses feature requests and other user-response to a program.
Contents |
Reporting tools
- Bugzilla
- Source Forge methods
- Tinderbox
- email lists
Where to report a bug
Make sure you report your bug to the appropriate place.
Etiquette
This will vary from project to project. In general, try reading the documentation that was given with the product first, and or search for it online with a search engine, then go to a reporting tool, then go to the mailing list, then go to the author. It may not be appropriate to go all the way to the author, and you should make sure that you are reporting to the correct mailing list - people don't like bug reports in their product announcement list.
Basic bug reports
You must first be able to reproduce the bug for it to have any value. Reporting a freak occurrence will rarely contain enough information to fix a problem. Having reproduced it, report the exact steps to do so, with a description of what was supposed to happen and what did happen. Include any information relevant to the problem but do not include every possible detail. (more)
Advanced bug reports
(core dumps, traces, etc.) See Instead: debugging
Feature Requests / Wish lists
This bug reporting page also covers: feature requests and change requests
Even though many people do not believe that a "feature request" is a bug, These bug reporting tools are often used to handle them as well. One can justify this connection with an example, and the fact that the method of dealing with them is highly similar.
Example: Somebody has created an application that appears to be exactly what I want... I go install it, and it doesn't work on the data that i provide it, it looks like it should.. so i go to the bugzilla, and search for bugs/feature requests, adn find none, so I submit it as a bug. The developer comes along, and says, Oh, the format of your data is not exactly the way the program needs it to be, yes it's a possible interpretation of the documentation, but.. it just dont' work.. The developer has a lot of other things to do, so ve switches it over to a Low Priority Bug / A.K.A, a Feature Request.
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