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-<h3>Contents</h3>
-<ul>
-<li><a href="#why">Why You Should Read This</a></li>
-<li><a href="#useful">What Makes [% terms.aBug %] Report Useful?</a></li>
-<li><a href="#before">Before You Start...</a></li>
-<li><a href="#reporting">Reporting a New [% terms.Bug %]</a></li>
-<li><a href="#more">More Information on Writing Good [% terms.Bugs %]</a></li>
-</ul>
-
-<h3><a name="why">Why You Should Read This</a></h3>
-
-<blockquote>
- <p>Simply put, the more effectively you report [% terms.abug %], the more
- likely an engineer will actually fix it. This tutorial teaches novice and
- intermediate [% terms.bug %] reporters how to write effective
- [% terms.bug %] reports.</p>
-</blockquote>
-
-<h3><a name="useful">What Makes [% terms.aBug %] Report Useful?</a></h3>
+ <p>Effective [% terms.bug %] reports are the most likely to be fixed.
+ These guidelines explain how to write such reports.
-<blockquote>
- <p>Useful [% terms.bug %] reports get [% terms.bugs %] fixed.
- A useful [% terms.bug %] report has two qualities:</p>
+<h3>Principles</h3>
<ul>
- <li><b>It's Reproducible.</b> Engineers usually prefer to fix [% terms.bugs %]
- they can actually see. If an engineer can't reproduce the [% terms.bug %],
- it'll probably be stamped "[% get_resolution("WORKSFORME") FILTER html %]" or
- "[% get_resolution("INVALID") FILTER html %]".<br>
- <br>
- </li>
-
- <li><b>It's Specific.</b> The quicker an engineer isolates the
- [% terms.bug %] to a specific area, the more likely it'll be fixed. (If the
- engineer must decipher your [% terms.bug %],
- he or she will waste time cursing you instead.)<br>
- </li>
+ <li>Be precise</li>
+ <li>Be clear - explain it so others can reproduce the [% terms.bug %]</li>
+ <li>One [% terms.bug %] per report</li>
+ <li>No [% terms.bug %] is too trivial to report -
+ small [% terms.bugs %] may hide big [% terms.bugs %]</li>
+ <li>Clearly separate fact from speculation</li>
</ul>
-</blockquote>
-
-<h3><a name="before">Before You Start...</a></h3>
+<h3>Preliminaries</h3>
<ol>
- <li>Before you enter your [% terms.bug %], use [% terms.Bugzilla %]'s
- <a href="query.cgi?format=specific">search page</a> to determine whether
- your [% terms.bug %] is known.</li>
-
- <li>Reproduce your [% terms.bug %] using a recent build.
- Engineers tend to be most interested in problems affecting the code base
- on which they're actively working. The [% terms.bug %] you're
- reporting may already be fixed.</li>
+ <li>Reproduce your [% terms.bug %] using a recent build of the
+ software, to see whether it has already been fixed.
+ </li>
+
+ <li><a href="query.cgi?format=specific">Search</a>
+ [% terms.Bugzilla %], to see whether your [% terms.bug %] has
+ already been reported.</li>
</ol>
-<blockquote>
-Can't find your [% terms.bug %] in [% terms.Bugzilla %]? And you can reproduce
-it in a recent build? Let's report it.
-</blockquote>
+<h3>Reporting a New [% terms.Bug %]</h3>
-<h3><a name="reporting">Reporting a New [% terms.Bug %]</a></h3>
+<p>If you have reproduced the [% terms.bug %] in a recent build and
+no-one else appears to have reported it, then:</p>
<ol>
- <li>From [% terms.Bugzilla %]'s main page, choose
- "<a href="enter_bug.cgi">Enter a new [% terms.bug %]</a>".</li>
-
- <li>Select the product in which you've found [% terms.abug %].</li>
-
- <li>Log into [% terms.Bugzilla %].</li>
-
- <li>Fill out the form. Here's what it all means:</li>
-
+ <li>Choose
+ "<a href="enter_bug.cgi">Enter a new [% terms.bug %]</a>"</li>
+ <li>Select the product in which you've found the [% terms.bug %]</li>
+ <li>Fill out the form. Here is some help understanding it:</li>
</ol>
-
- <p><b>Where did you find the [% terms.bug %]?</b></p>
-
<blockquote>
- <p><b>Product:</b> In which product did you find it?<br>
- You just specified this on the last page, so you can't edit it
- here.</p>
-
- <p><b>Version:</b> In which product version did you find
- it?<br>
- (If applicable)</p>
-
- <p><b>Component:</b> In which component does it
+ <p><b>Component:</b> In which sub-part of the software does it
exist?<br>
- [% terms.Bugzilla %] requires that you select a component to enter
- [% terms.abug %]. (Click the Component link to see a description of each
- component.)</p>
+ This field is required.
+ Click the word "Component" to see a description of each
+ component. If none seems appropriate, look for a "General" component.</p>
<p><b>OS:</b> On which operating system (OS) did you find
it?
(e.g. Linux, Windows XP, Mac OS X.)<br>
- If the [% terms.bug %] happens on all operating systems, choose "All".
- Otherwise, select the OS, or "Other" if your OS isn't listed.</p>
- </blockquote>
-
- <p><b>How important is the [% terms.bug %]?</b></p>
-
- <blockquote>
- <p><b>Severity:</b> How damaging is it?<br>
- The default is 'normal' severity. (Click on the Severity link to see
- a description of each severity rating.<br>
- </p>
- </blockquote>
-
- <p><b>Who will be following up on the [% terms.bug %]?</b></p>
+ If you know the [% terms.bug %] happens on more than one type of
+ operating system, choose "All".
+ If your OS isn't listed, choose Other.</p>
- <blockquote>
- <p><b>Assigned To:</b> Which engineer should be responsible for fixing
- it?<br>
- [% terms.Bugzilla %] automatically assigns the [% terms.bug %] to a
- default engineer upon submitting [% terms.abug %] report. If you'd prefer
- to directly assign the [% terms.bug %] to someone else, enter the person's
- e-mail address. (To see the list of default engineers for each
- component, click the Component link.)</p>
-
- <p><b>Cc:</b> Who else should receive e-mail updates on changes to this
- [% terms.bug %]?<br>
- List the e-mail addresses of other people who should receive
- an update whenever the [% terms.bug %] report changes. Enter as many e-mail
- addresses as you'd like, separating them by spaces or
- commas. Important: You can only enter people who have
- [% terms.Bugzilla %] accounts.</p>
- </blockquote>
-
- <p><b>What else can you tell the engineer about the [% terms.bug %]?</b></p>
-
- <blockquote>
<p><b>Summary:</b> How would you describe the [% terms.bug %], in
approximately 60 or fewer characters?<br>
A good summary should <b>quickly and uniquely identify [% terms.abug %]
- report</b>. If an engineer can't identify your
- [% terms.bug %] by its summary, it may be ignored when skimming through a
- 10-page list.<br>
- <br>
- A useful summary is "<tt>Cancelling a File Copy dialog crashes Nautilus</tt>".
- Examples of bad summaries would be "<tt>Software crashes</tt>" or "<tt>copy problem</tt>".<br>
- <br>
- <b>Description:</b><br>
- Provide a detailed problem report. [% terms.aBug %]'s recipients usually
- expect the following information:</p>
+ report</b>. It should explain the problem, not your suggested solution.<br>
+ <ul>
+ <li>Good: "<tt>Cancelling a File Copy dialog crashes
+ File Manager</tt>"</li>
+ <li>Bad: "<tt>Software crashes</tt>"</li>
+ <li>Bad: "<tt>Browser should work with my web site</tt>"</li>
+ </ul>
+
+ <b>Description:</b>
+ The details of your problem report, including:</p>
<blockquote>
- <p><b>Overview Description:</b> More detailed restatement of
+ <p><b>Overview:</b> More detailed restatement of
summary.</p>
<blockquote>
<pre>
-Drag-selecting any page crashes Mac builds in NSGetFactory
+Drag-selecting any page crashes Mac builds in the NSGetFactory function.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<pre>
-1) View any web page. (I used the default sample page, resource:/res/samples/test0.html)
+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
<blockquote>
<pre>
-- Doesn't Occur On Build 2006-08-10 on Windows XP Home (Service Pack 2)
+Doesn't Occur On Build 2006-08-10 on Windows XP Home (Service Pack 2)
</pre>
</blockquote>
- <p><b>Additional Information:</b> Any other debugging information.
- For crashing [% terms.bugs %]:</p>
+ <p><b>Additional Information:</b> Any other useful information.
+ <br><br>For crashing [% terms.bugs %]:</p>
<ul>
<li><b>Windows:</b> Note the type of the crash, and the module that the
application crashed in (e.g. access violation in apprunner.exe).</li>
- <li><b>Mac OS X:</b> Attach the "Crash Reporter" log that appears upon crash.
- Only include the section directly below the crashing thread, usually titled
- "Thread 0 Crashed". Please do not paste the entire log!</li>
-
+ <li><b>Mac OS X:</b> Attach the "Crash Reporter" log that appears
+ upon crash.
+ Only include the section directly below the crashing thread, usually
+ titled "Thread 0 Crashed". Please do not paste the entire log!</li>
</ul>
-
</blockquote>
- <p>You're done!<br>
- <br>
- After double-checking your entries for any possible errors, press the
- "Commit" button. Your [% terms.bug %] report will now be in
+ <p>Double-check your report for errors and omissions, then press "Commit".
+ Your [% terms.bug %] report will now be in
the [% terms.Bugzilla %] database.<br>
</p>
</blockquote>
-<hr>
-
-<h3><a name="more">More Information on Writing Good [% terms.Bugs %]</a></h3>
-
-<blockquote>
- <p><b><a name="tips"></a> 1. General Tips for a Useful [% terms.Bug %]
- Report</b></p>
-
- <blockquote>
- <p><b>Use an explicit structure, so your [% terms.bug %] reports are easy
- to skim.</b> [% terms.Bug %] report users often need immediate access to
- specific sections of your [% terms.bug %]. Follow the structure
- recommended above.</p>
-
- <p><b>Avoid cuteness if it costs clarity.</b> Nobody will be laughing
- at your funny [% terms.bug %] title at 3:00 AM when they can't remember how
- to find your [% terms.bug %].</p>
-
- <p><b>One [% terms.bug %] per report.</b> Completely different people
- typically fix, verify, and prioritize different [% terms.bugs %]. If you
- mix a handful of [% terms.bugs %] into a single report, the right people
- probably won't discover your [% terms.bugs %] in a timely fashion, if at
- all. Certain [% terms.bugs %] are also more important than others. It's
- impossible to prioritize [% terms.abug %] report when
- it contains four different issues, all of differing importance.</p>
-
- <p><b>No [% terms.bug %] is too trivial to report.</b> Unless you're
- reading the source code, you can't see actual software [% terms.bugs %],
- like a dangling pointer -- you'll see their visible manifestations, such
- as the segfault when the application finally crashes. Severe software
- problems can manifest themselves in superficially trivial ways. File them
- anyway.<br>
- </p>
- </blockquote>
-
- <p><b><a name="summary"></a>2. How and Why to Write Good [% terms.Bug %]
- Summaries</b></p>
-
- <blockquote>
- <p><b>You want to make a good first impression on the [% terms.bug %]
- recipient.</b> Just like a New York Times headline guides readers
- towards a relevant article from dozens of choices, will
- your [% terms.bug %] summary suggest that your [% terms.bug %] report is
- worth reading from dozens or hundreds of choices?</p>
-
- <p>Conversely, a vague [% terms.bug %] summary like <tt>install
- problem</tt> forces anyone reviewing installation [% terms.bugs %] to waste
- time opening up your [% terms.bug %] to determine whether it matters.</p>
-
- <p><b>Your [% terms.bug %] will often be searched by its summary.</b> Just
- as you'd find web pages with Google by searching with keywords, so will other
- people locate your [% terms.bugs %]. Descriptive [% terms.bug %] summaries are
- naturally keyword-rich and easier to find.</p>
-
- <p>For example, you'll find [% terms.abug %] titled "<tt>Dragging icons
- from List View to gnome-terminal doesn't paste path</tt>" if you search on
- "List", "terminal", or "path". Those search keywords wouldn't have
- found [% terms.abug %] titled "<tt>Dragging icons doesn't paste</tt>".</p>
-
- <p>Ask yourself, "Would someone understand my [% terms.bug %] from just
- this summary?" If so, you've succeeded.</p>
-
- <p><b>Don't write titles like these:</b></p>
-
- <ol>
- <li>"Can't install" - Why can't you install? What happens when you
- try to install?</li>
-
- <li>"Severe Performance Problems" - ...and they occur when you do
- what?</li>
-
- <li>"back button does not work" - Ever? At all?</li>
- </ol>
-
- <p><b>Good [% terms.bug %] titles:</b></p>
-
- <ol>
- <li>"Save button disabled after failed post attempt" -
- Explains the problem and context.</li>
-
- <li>"Enter & Escape have no effect in 'Upload Photos' dialog" -
- Also explains the problem and context.</li>
- </ol>
- </blockquote>
-</blockquote>
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projects / thirdparty / bugzilla.git / commitdiff
