PERLBUG(1) Perl Programmers Reference Guide PERLBUG(1)

PERLBUG(1) Perl Programmers Reference Guide PERLBUG(1) #

PERLBUG(1) Perl Programmers Reference Guide PERLBUG(1)

NNAAMMEE #

 perlbug - how to submit bug reports on Perl

SSYYNNOOPPSSIISS #

 ppeerrllbbuugg

 ppeerrllbbuugg [ --vv ] [ --aa _a_d_d_r_e_s_s ] [ --ss _s_u_b_j_e_c_t ] [ --bb _b_o_d_y | --ff _i_n_p_u_t_f_i_l_e ]
 [ --FF _o_u_t_p_u_t_f_i_l_e ] [ --rr _r_e_t_u_r_n_a_d_d_r_e_s_s ] [ --ee _e_d_i_t_o_r ]
 [ --cc _a_d_m_i_n_a_d_d_r_e_s_s | --CC ] [ --SS ] [ --tt ]  [ --dd ]  [ --hh ] [ --TT ]

 ppeerrllbbuugg [ --vv ] [ --rr _r_e_t_u_r_n_a_d_d_r_e_s_s ]
  [ --ookk | --ookkaayy | --nnookk | --nnookkaayy ]

DDEESSCCRRIIPPTTIIOONN #

 This program is designed to help you generate bug reports (and thank-you
 notes) about perl5 and the modules which ship with it.

 In most cases, you can just run it interactively from a command line
 without any special arguments and follow the prompts.

 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-core
 module (such as Tk, DBI, etc), then please see the documentation that
 came with that distribution to determine the correct place to report
 bugs.

 Bug reports should be submitted to the GitHub issue tracker at
 <https://github.com/Perl/perl5/issues>. The ppeerrllbbuugg@@ppeerrll..oorrgg address no
 longer automatically opens tickets. You can use this tool to compose your
 report and save it to a file which you can then submit to the issue
 tracker.

 In extreme cases, ppeerrllbbuugg may not work well enough on your system to
 guide you through composing a bug report. In those cases, you may be able
 to use ppeerrllbbuugg --dd or ppeerrll --VV to get system configuration information to
 include in your issue report.

 When reporting a bug, please 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.org/> to find out.  If you are not using the
     latest released version, please try to replicate your bug on the
     latest stable release.

     Note that reports about bugs in old versions of Perl, especially
     those which indicate you haven't also tested the current stable
     release of Perl, are likely to receive less attention from the
     volunteers who build and maintain Perl than reports about bugs in the
     current release.

 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 issue you've run into
     isn't intentional by glancing through the documentation that comes
     with the Perl distribution.

     Given the sheer volume of Perl documentation, this isn't a trivial
     undertaking, but if you can point to documentation that suggests the
     behaviour you're seeing is _w_r_o_n_g, your issue is likely to receive
     more attention. You may want to start with ppeerrllddoocc perltrap for
     pointers to common traps that new (and experienced) Perl programmers
     run into.

     If you're unsure of the meaning of an error message you've run
     across, ppeerrllddoocc perldiag for an explanation.  If the message isn't in
     perldiag, it probably isn't generated by Perl.  You may have luck
     consulting your operating system documentation instead.

     If you are on a non-UNIX platform ppeerrllddoocc perlport, as some features
     may be unimplemented or work differently.

     You may be able to figure out what's going wrong using the Perl
     debugger.  For information about how to use the debugger ppeerrllddoocc
     perldebug.

 Do you have a proper test case?
     The easier it is to reproduce your bug, the more likely it will be
     fixed -- if nobody can duplicate your problem, it probably won't be
     addressed.

     A good test case has most of these attributes: short, simple code;
     few dependencies on external commands, modules, or libraries; no
     platform-dependent code (unless it's a platform-specific bug); clear,
     simple documentation.

     A good test case is almost always a good candidate to be included in
     Perl's test suite.  If you have the time, consider writing your test
     case so that it can be easily included into the standard test suite.

 Have you included all relevant information?
     Be sure to include the eexxaacctt error messages, if any.  "Perl gave an
     error" is not an exact error message.

     If you get a core dump (or equivalent), you may use a debugger (ddbbxx,
     ggddbb, etc) to produce a stack trace to include in the bug report.

     NOTE: unless your Perl has been compiled with debug info (often --gg),
     the stack trace is likely to be somewhat hard to use because it will
     most probably contain only the function names and not their
     arguments.  If possible, recompile your Perl with debug info and
     reproduce the crash and the stack trace.

 Can you describe the bug in plain English?
     The easier it is to understand a reproducible bug, the more likely it
     will be fixed.  Any insight you can provide into the problem will
     help a great deal.  In other words, try to analyze the problem (to
     the extent you can) and report your discoveries.

 Can you fix the bug yourself?
     If so, that's great news; bug reports with patches are likely to
     receive significantly more attention and interest than those without
     patches.  Please submit your patch via the GitHub Pull Request
     workflow as described in ppeerrllddoocc perlhack.  You may also send patches
     to ppeerrll55--ppoorrtteerrss@@ppeerrll..oorrgg.  When sending a patch, create it using
     "git format-patch" if possible, though a unified diff created with
     "diff -pu" will do nearly as well.

     Your patch may be returned with requests for changes, or requests for
     more detailed explanations about your fix.

     Here are a few hints for creating high-quality patches:

     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 "git am" or 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 is
     covered by Perl's test suite).

 Can you use "perlbug" to submit a thank-you note?
     Yes, you can do this by using the "-T" option.  Thank-you notes are
     good. It makes people smile.

 Please make your issue title informative.  "a bug" is not informative.
 Neither is "perl crashes" nor is "HELP!!!".  These don't help.  A compact
 description of what's wrong is fine.

 Having done your bit, please be prepared to wait, to be told the bug is
 in your code, or possibly to get no reply at all.  The volunteers who
 maintain Perl are busy folks, so if your problem is an obvious bug in
 your own code, is difficult to understand or is a duplicate of an
 existing report, you may not receive a personal reply.

 If it is important to you that your bug be fixed, do monitor the issue
 tracker (you will be subscribed to notifications for issues you submit or
 comment on) and the commit logs to development versions of Perl, and
 encourage the maintainers with kind words or offers of frosty beverages.
 (Please do be kind to the maintainers.  Harassing or flaming them is
 likely to have the opposite effect of the one you want.)

 Feel free to update the ticket about your bug on
 <https://github.com/Perl/perl5/issues> if a new version of Perl is
 released and your bug is still present.

OOPPTTIIOONNSS #

 --aa      Address to send the report to instead of saving to a file.

 --bb      Body of the report.  If not included on the command line, or in a
         file with --ff, you will get a chance to edit the report.

 --CC      Don't send copy to administrator when sending report by mail.

 --cc      Address to send copy of report to when sending report by mail.
         Defaults to the address of the local perl administrator (recorded
         when perl was built).

 --dd      Data mode (the default if you redirect or pipe output).  This
         prints out your configuration data, without saving or mailing
         anything.  You can use this with --vv to get more complete data.

 --ee      Editor to use.

 --ff      File containing the body of the report.  Use this to quickly send
         a prepared report.

 --FF      File to output the results to.  Defaults to ppeerrllbbuugg..rreepp.

 --hh      Prints a brief summary of the options.

 --ookk     Report successful build on this system to perl porters. Forces --SS
         and --CC. Forces and supplies values for --ss and --bb. Only prompts
         for a return address if it cannot guess it (for use with mmaakkee).
         Honors return address specified with --rr.  You can use this with
         --vv to get more complete data.   Only makes a report if this
         system is less than 60 days old.

 --ookkaayy   As --ookk except it will report on older systems.

 --nnookk    Report unsuccessful build on this system.  Forces --CC.  Forces and
         supplies a value for --ss, then requires you to edit the report and
         say what went wrong.  Alternatively, a prepared report may be
         supplied using --ff.  Only prompts for a return address if it
         cannot guess it (for use with mmaakkee). Honors return address
         specified with --rr.  You can use this with --vv to get more complete
         data.  Only makes a report if this system is less than 60 days
         old.

 --nnookkaayy  As --nnookk except it will report on older systems.

 --pp      The names of one or more patch files or other text attachments to
         be included with the report.  Multiple files must be separated
         with commas.

 --rr      Your return address.  The program will ask you to confirm its
         default if you don't use this option.

 --SS      Save or send the report without asking for confirmation.

 --ss      Subject to include with the report.  You will be prompted if you
         don't supply one on the command line.

 --tt      Test mode.  Makes it possible to command perlbug from a pipe or
         file, for testing purposes.

 --TT      Send a thank-you note instead of a bug report.

 --vv      Include verbose configuration data in the report.

AAUUTTHHOORRSS #

 Kenneth Albanowski (<kjahds@kjahds.com>), subsequently _d_o_ctored by
 Gurusamy Sarathy (<gsar@activestate.com>), Tom Christiansen
 (<tchrist@perl.com>), Nathan Torkington (<gnat@frii.com>), Charles F.
 Randall (<cfr@pobox.com>), Mike Guy (<mjtg@cam.ac.uk>), Dominic Dunlop
 (<domo@computer.org>), Hugo van der Sanden (<hv@crypt.org>), Jarkko
 Hietaniemi (<jhi@iki.fi>), Chris Nandor (<pudge@pobox.com>), Jon Orwant
 (<orwant@media.mit.edu>, Richard Foley (<richard.foley@rfi.net>), Jesse
 Vincent (<jesse@bestpractical.com>), and Craig A. Berry
 (<craigberry@mac.com>).

SSEEEE AALLSSOO #

 ppeerrll(1), ppeerrllddeebbuugg(1), ppeerrllddiiaagg(1), ppeerrllppoorrtt(1), ppeerrllttrraapp(1), ddiiffff(1),
 ppaattcchh(1), ddbbxx(1), ggddbb(1)

BBUUGGSS #

 None known (guess what must have been used to report them?)

perl v5.36.3 2024-03-20 PERLBUG(1)