(Please send feedback/update requests to Eli Goldberg)
+
+Why You Should Read This
+
+
+
++ +Simply put, the more effectively you report a bug, the more likely an engineer + will actually fix it.
+
+ These bug writing guidelines are an attempt at a general tutorial on writing + effective bug reports for novice bug writers; not every sentence may precisely apply + to your software project. + +
+How to Write a Useful Bug Report
+
+
+
++ +Useful bug reports are ones that get bugs fixed. A useful bug report normally + has two qualities: + +
+
+ +- Reproducible. If an engineer can't see it or conclusively prove that it + exists, the engineer will probably stamp it "WORKSFORME" or "INVALID", + and move on to the next bug. Every detail you can provide helps.
+
+ +- Specific. The quicker the engineer can isolate the issue to a specific + problem, the more likely it'll be expediently fixed. (If a programmer or tester + has to decypher a bug, they spend more time cursing the submitter than fixing or + testing the problem.) +
Let's say the application you're testing is a web browser. You crash at foo.com, + and want to write up a bug report: + +
++ +BAD: "My browser crashed. I think I was on foo.com. My computer uses + Windows. I think that this is a really bad problem and you should fix it now. By + the way, your icons really suck. Nobody will use your software if you keep those + ugly icons. Oh, and my grandmother's home page doesn't look right, either, it's all + messed up. Good luck."
+
+ GOOD: "I crashed each time when I went to foo.com, using the 10.28.99 + build on a Win NT 4.0 (Service Pack 5) system. I also rebooted into Linux, and reproduced + this problem using the 10.28.99 Linux build.
+
+ It again crashed each time upon drawing the Foo banner at the top of the page. I + broke apart the page, and discovered that the following image link will crash the + application reproducibly, unless you remove the "border=0" attribute:
+
+ <IMG SRC="http://foo.com/images/topics/topicfoos.gif" + width=34 height=44 border=0 alt="News">" + +
+
+How to Enter your Useful Bug Report into Bugzilla:
+
+
+
++ + +Before you enter your bug, use the Bugzilla Query Page to determine whether the + defect you've discovered is a known bug, and has already been reported. (If your + bug is the 37th duplicate of a known issue, you're more likely to annoy the engineer. + Annoyed engineers fix fewer bugs.)
+
+ Next, be sure that you've reproduced your bug using a recent build. (Engineers tend + to be most interested in problems afflicting the code base that they're actively + working on, rather than those in a code base that's hundreds of bug fixes obsolete.)
+
+ If you've discovered a new bug using a current build, report it in Bugzilla: + +
Now, fill out the form. Here's what it all means: +
++ + + + + diff --git a/mozilla/webtools/bugzilla/defparams.pl b/mozilla/webtools/bugzilla/defparams.pl index 14fecf10cd1..c65de76640b 100644 --- a/mozilla/webtools/bugzilla/defparams.pl +++ b/mozilla/webtools/bugzilla/defparams.pl @@ -444,7 +444,7 @@ DefParam("webdotbase", DefParam("entryheaderhtml", "This is a special header for the bug entry page. The text will be printed after the page header, before the bug entry form. It is meant to be a place to put pointers to intructions on how to enter bugs.", "l", - ''); + 'Bug writing guidelines'); DefParam("expectbigqueries", "If this is on, then we will tell mysql to set option SQL_BIG_TABLES=1 before doing queries on bugs. This will be a little slower, but one will not get the error The table ### is full for big queries that require a big temporary table.",Where did you find the bug? + +
++Product: In which product did you find the bug?
+
+ You just filled this out on the last page.Version: In which product version did you find the bug?
+
+ If applicable.Component: In which component does the bug exist?
+
+ Bugzilla requires that you select a component to enter a bug. (If they all look meaningless, + click on the Component link, which links to descriptions of each component, to help + you make the best choice.)Platform: On which hardware platform did you find this bug? + (e.g. Macintosh, SGI, Sun, PC.)
+
+ If you know the bug happens on all hardware platforms, choose 'All'. Otherwise, select + the platform that you found the bug on, or "Other" if your platform isn't + listed.OS: On which Operating System (OS) did you find this bug? (e.g. + Linux, Windows NT, Mac OS 8.5.)
+ +
+ If you know the bug happens on all OSs, choose 'All'. Otherwise, select the OS that + you found the bug on, or "Other" if your OS isn't listed.
+ How important is the bug? + +++Severity: How damaging is the bug?
+ This item defaults to 'normal'. (To determine the most appropriate severity for a + particular bug, click on the Severity link for a full explanation of each choice, + from Critical to Enhancement.) + +
+ Who will be following up on the bug? + +++Assigned To: Which engineer should be responsible for fixing this bug?
+
+ Bugzilla will automatically assign the bug to a default engineer upon submitting + a bug report; the text box exists to allow you to manually assign it to a different + engineer. (To see the list of default engineers for each component, click on the + Component link.)Cc: Who else should receive e-mail updates on changes to this bug?
+ List the full e-mail addresses of other individuals who should receive an e-mail + update upon every change to the bug report. You can enter as many e-mail addresses + as you'd like; e-mail addresses must be separated by commas, with no spaces between + the addresses. + ++ +
+ What else can you tell the engineer about the bug?++URL: On what URL did you discover this bug?
+ +
+ If you encountered the bug on a particular URL, please provide it (or, them) here. + If you've isolated the bug to a specific HTML snippet, please also provide a URL + for that, too.Summary: How would you describe the bug, in approximately 60 or fewer + characters?
+ +
+ A good summary should quickly and uniquely identify a bug report. Otherwise, + developers cannot meaningfully query by bug summary, and will often fail to pay attention + to your bug report when reviewing a 10 page bug list.
+
+ A summary of "PCMCIA install fails on Tosh Tecra 780DVD w/ 3c589C" is a + useful title. "Software fails" or "install problem" would be + examples of a bad title.
+ Description: What else can you tell the engineer about this bug?
+ Please provide as detailed of a problem diagnosis in this field as possible.
+
+ Where applicable, using the following bug report template will help ensure that all + relevant information comes through: + +++ +Overview Description: More detailed expansion of summary. + +
++Drag-selecting any page crashes Mac builds in NSGetFactory+ +Steps to Reproduce: The minimal set of steps necessary to trigger the bug. + Include any special setup steps. + +
++1) View any web page. (I used the default sample page, + resource:/res/samples/test0.html) +2) Drag-select the page. (Specifically, while holding down the + mouse button, drag the mouse pointer downwards from any point in + the browser's content region to the bottom of the browser's + content region.)+ +Actual Results: What the application did after performing the above steps. + +
++The application crashed. Stack crawl appended below from MacsBug.+ +Expected Results: What the application should have done, were the bug not + present. + +
++The window should scroll downwards. Scrolled content should +be selected. (Or, at least, the application should not crash.)+ +Build Date & Platform: Date and platform of the build that you first + encountered the bug in. + +
++11/2/99 build on Mac OS (Checked Viewer & Apprunner)+ +Additional Builds and Platforms: Whether or not the bug takes place on + other platforms or browsers. + +
++- Occurs On + Seamonkey (11/2/99 build on Windows NT 4.0) + + - Doesn't Occur On + Seamonkey (11/4/99 build on Red Hat Linux; feature not supported) + Internet Explorer 5.0 (RTM build on Windows NT 4.0) + Netscape Communicator 4.5 (RTM build on Mac OS) ++ +Additional Information: Any other debugging information. For crashing bugs: + +
+
+ + +- Win32: if you receive a Dr. Watson error, please note the type of the + crash, and the module that the application crashed in. (e.g. access violation in + apprunner.exe) +
- Mac OS: if you're running MacsBug, please provide the results of a how + and an sc. +
- Unix: please provide a minimized stack trace, which can be generated by + typing gdb apprunner core into a shell prompt. +
++ ++
*** MACSBUG STACK CRAWL OF CRASH (Mac OS) + +Calling chain using A6/R1 links + Back chain ISA Caller + 00000000 PPC 0BA85E74 + 03AEFD80 PPC 0B742248 + 03AEFD30 PPC 0B50FDDC NSGetFactory+027FC +PowerPC unmapped memory exception at 0B512BD0 NSGetFactory+055F0+ +You're done!
+
+ After double-checking your entries for any possible errors, press the "Commit" + button, and your bug report will now be in the Bugzilla database.
+
+
+ (Thanks to Claudius Gayle, Peter Mock, Chris Pratt, Tom Schutter, + and Chris Yeh for contributing to this document. Constructive suggestions welcome.) +