PERLBUG(1) Perl Programmers Reference Guide PERLBUG(1)
NAME
perlbug - how to submit bug reports on Perl
SYNOPSIS
perlbug
perlbug [ -v ] [ -a address ] [ -s subject ] [ -b body | -f inputfile ] [ -F outputfile ] [ -r returnaddress ]
[ -e editor ] [ -c adminaddress | -C ] [ -S ] [ -t ] [ -d ] [ -A ] [ -h ] [ -T ]
perlbug [ -v ] [ -r returnaddress ]
[ -A ] [ -ok | -okay | -nok | -nokay ]
perlthanks
DESCRIPTION
This program is designed to help you generate and send 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 standard distribution), 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.
If you are unable to send your report using perlbug (most likely because your system doesn't have a way to
send mail that perlbug recognizes), you may be able to use this tool to compose your report and save it to a
file which you can then send to [email protected] using your regular mail client.
In extreme cases, perlbug 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 perlbug -d to get system configuration information to include in a
manually composed bug report to [email protected].
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.
This tool isn't appropriate for reporting bugs in any version prior to Perl 5.0.
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 wrong, your issue is likely to receive more
attention. You may want to start with perldoc perltrap for pointers to common traps that new (and
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 exact 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 (dbx, gdb, etc) to produce a stack trace to
include in the bug report.
NOTE: unless your Perl has been compiled with debug info (often -g), 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?
A bug report which includes a patch to fix it will almost definitely be fixed. When sending a patch,
please use the "diff" program with the "-u" option to generate "unified" diff files. Bug reports with
patches are likely to receive significantly more attention and interest than those without patches.
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 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 the report?
perlbug 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 [email protected]. 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).
Whether you use "perlbug" or send the email manually, please make your Subject line 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.
Can you use "perlbug" to submit a thank-you note?
Yes, you can do this by either using the "-T" option, or by invoking the program as "perlthanks". Thank-
Feel free to update the ticket about your bug on http://rt.perl.org if a new version of Perl is released and
your bug is still present.
OPTIONS
-a Address to send the report to. Defaults to [email protected].
-A Don't send a bug received acknowledgement to the reply address. Generally it is only a sensible to
use this option if you are a perl maintainer actively watching perl porters for your message to
arrive.
-b Body of the report. If not included on the command line, or in a file with -f, you will get a chance
to edit the message.
-C Don't send copy to administrator.
-c Address to send copy of report to. Defaults to the address of the local perl administrator (recorded
when perl was built).
-d Data mode (the default if you redirect or pipe output). This prints out your configuration data,
without mailing anything. You can use this with -v to get more complete data.
-e Editor to use.
-f File containing the body of the report. Use this to quickly send a prepared message.
-F 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.
-h Prints a brief summary of the options.
-ok Report successful build on this system to perl porters. Forces -S and -C. Forces and supplies values
for -s and -b. Only prompts for a return address if it cannot guess it (for use with make). Honors
return address specified with -r. You can use this with -v to get more complete data. Only makes a
report if this system is less than 60 days old.
-okay As -ok except it will report on older systems.
-nok Report unsuccessful build on this system. Forces -C. Forces and supplies a value for -s, then
requires you to edit the report and say what went wrong. Alternatively, a prepared report may be
supplied using -f. Only prompts for a return address if it cannot guess it (for use with make).
Honors return address specified with -r. You can use this with -v to get more complete data. Only
makes a report if this system is less than 60 days old.
-nokay As -nok except it will report on older systems.
-r Your return address. The program will ask you to confirm its default if you don't use this option.
-S Send without asking for confirmation.
-s Subject to include with the message. You will be prompted if you don't supply one on the command
line.
-t Test mode. The target address defaults to [email protected].
SEE ALSO
perl(1), perldebug(1), perldiag(1), perlport(1), perltrap(1), diff(1), patch(1), dbx(1), gdb(1)
BUGS
None known (guess what must have been used to report them?)
perl v5.16.3 2016-11-06 PERLBUG(1)
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