pylon 05/11/12 17:07:53 Modified: xml/htdocs/doc/en test.xml Log: Testing if diffs > 200 lines will still be truncated
Revision Changes Path 1.40 +1340 -1 /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/test.xml file : http://www.gentoo.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi//var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/test.xml?rev=1.40&content-type=text/x-cvsweb-markup&cvsroot=gentoo plain: http://www.gentoo.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi//var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/test.xml?rev=1.40&content-type=text/plain&cvsroot=gentoo diff : http://www.gentoo.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi//var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/test.xml.diff?r1=1.39&r2=1.40&cvsroot=gentoo Index: test.xml =================================================================== RCS file: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/test.xml,v retrieving revision 1.39 retrieving revision 1.40 diff -u -r1.39 -r1.40 --- test.xml 10 Sep 2005 18:32:05 -0000 1.39 +++ test.xml 12 Nov 2005 17:07:53 -0000 1.40 @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@ <?xml version='1.0' encoding="UTF-8"?> -<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/test.xml,v 1.39 2005/09/10 18:32:05 rane Exp $ --> +<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/test.xml,v 1.40 2005/11/12 17:07:53 pylon Exp $ --> <!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd"> <guide link="/doc/en/test.xml"> @@ -43,4 +43,1343 @@ </body> </section> </chapter> + + +<chapter> +<title>Introduction</title> +<section> +<title>Preface</title> +<body> + +<p> +One of the factors that delay a bug being fixed is the way it is reported. By +creating this guide, we hope to help improve the communication between +developers and users in bug resolution. Getting bugs fixed is an important, if +not crucial part of the quality assurance for any project and hopefully this +guide will help make that a success. +</p> + +</body> +</section> +<section> +<title>Bugs!!!!</title> +<body> + +<p> +You're emerge-ing a package or working with a program and suddenly the worst +happens -- you find a bug. Bugs come in many forms like emerge failures or +segmentation faults. Whatever the cause, the fact still remains that such a bug +must be fixed. Here is a few examples of such bugs. +</p> + +<pre caption="A run time error"> +$ <i>./bad_code `perl -e 'print Ax100'`</i> +Segmentation fault +</pre> + +<pre caption="An emerge failure"> +/usr/lib/gcc-lib/i686-pc-linux-gnu/3.3.2/include/g++-v3/backward/backward_warning.h:32:2: +warning: #warning This file includes at least one deprecated or antiquated +header. Please consider using one of the 32 headers found in section 17.4.1.2 of +the C++ standard. Examples include substituting the <X> header for the <X.h> +header for C++ includes, or <sstream> instead of the deprecated header +<strstream.h>. To disable this warning use -Wno-deprecated. +In file included from main.cc:40: +menudef.h:55: error: brace-enclosed initializer used to initialize ` +OXPopupMenu*' +menudef.h:62: error: brace-enclosed initializer used to initialize ` +OXPopupMenu*' +menudef.h:70: error: brace-enclosed initializer used to initialize ` +OXPopupMenu*' +menudef.h:78: error: brace-enclosed initializer used to initialize ` +OXPopupMenu*' +main.cc: In member function `void OXMain::DoOpen()': +main.cc:323: warning: unused variable `FILE*fp' +main.cc: In member function `void OXMain::DoSave(char*)': +main.cc:337: warning: unused variable `FILE*fp' +make[1]: *** [main.o] Error 1 +make[1]: Leaving directory +`/var/tmp/portage/xclass-0.7.4/work/xclass-0.7.4/example-app' +make: *** [shared] Error 2 + +!!! ERROR: x11-libs/xclass-0.7.4 failed. +!!! Function src_compile, Line 29, Exitcode 2 +!!! 'emake shared' failed +</pre> + +<p> +These errors can be quite troublesome. However, once you find them, what do you +do? The following sections will look at two important tools for handling run +time errors. After that, we'll take a look at compile errors, and how to handle +them. Let's start out with the first tool for debugging run time errors -- +<c>gdb</c>. +</p> + +</body> +</section> +</chapter> + + +<chapter> +<title>Debugging using GDB</title> +<section> +<title>Introduction</title> +<body> + +<p> +GDB, or the (G)NU (D)e(B)ugger, is a program used to find run time errors that +normally involve memory corruption. First off, let's take a look at what +debugging entails. One of the main things you must do in order to debug a +program is to <c>emerge</c> the program with <c>FEATURES="nostrip"</c>. This +prevents the stripping of debug symbols. Why are programs stripped by default? +The reason is the same as that for having gzipped man pages -- saving space. +Here's how the size of a program varies with and without debug symbol stripping. +</p> + +<pre caption="Filesize Comparison"> +<comment>(debug symbols stripped)</comment> +-rwxr-xr-x 1 chris users 3140 6/28 13:11 bad_code +<comment>(debug symbols intact)</comment> +-rwxr-xr-x 1 chris users 6374 6/28 13:10 bad_code +</pre> + +<p> +Just for reference, <e>bad_code</e> is the program we'll be debugging with +<c>gdb</c> later on. As you can see, the program without debugging symbols is +3140 bytes, while the program with them is 6374 bytes. That's close to double +the size! Two more things can be done for debugging. The first is adding ggdb3 +to your CFLAGS and CXXFLAGS. This flag adds more debugging information than is +generally included. We'll see what that means later on. This is how +<path>/etc/make.conf</path> <e>might</e> look with the newly added flags. +</p> + +<pre caption="make.conf settings"> +CFLAGS="-O1 -pipe -g -ggdb" +CXXFLAGS="${CFLAGS}" +</pre> + +<p> +Lastly, you can also add debug to the package's USE flags. This can be done +with the <path>package.use</path> file. +</p> + +<pre caption="Using package.use to add debug USE flag"> +# <i>echo "category/package debug" >> /etc/portage/package.use</i> +</pre> + +<note> +The directory <path>/etc/portage</path> does not exist by default and you may +have to create it, if you have not already done so. If the package already has +USE flags set in <path>package.use</path>, you will need to manually modify them +in your favorite editor. +</note> + +<p> +Then we re-emerge the package with the modifications we've done so far as shown +below. +</p> + +<pre caption="Re-emergeing a package with debugging"> +# <i>FEATURES="nostrip" emerge package</i> +</pre> + +<p> +Now that debug symbols are setup, we can continue with debugging the program. +</p> + +</body> +</section> +<section> +<title>Running the program with GDB</title> +<body> + +<p> +Let's say we have a program here called "bad_code". Some person claims that the +program crashes and provides an example. You go ahead and test it out: +</p> + +<pre caption="Breaking The Program"> +$ <i>./bad_code `perl -e 'print Ax100'`</i> +Segmentation fault +</pre> + +<p> +It seems this person was right. Since the program is obviously broken, we have +a bug at hand. Now, it's time to use <c>gdb</c> to help solve this matter. First +we run <c>gdb</c> with <c>--args</c>, then give it the full program with +arguments like shown: +</p> + +<pre caption="Running Our Program Through GDB"> +$ <i>gdb --args ./bad_code `perl -e 'print Ax100'`</i> +GNU gdb 6.3 +Copyright 2004 Free Software Foundation, Inc. +GDB is free software, covered by the GNU General Public License, and you are +welcome to change it and/or distribute copies of it under certain conditions. +Type "show copying" to see the conditions. +There is absolutely no warranty for GDB. Type "show warranty" for details. +This GDB was configured as "i686-pc-linux-gnu"...Using host libthread_db library "/lib/libthread_db.so.1". +</pre> + +<note> +One can also debug with core dumps. These core files contain the same +information that the program would produce when run with gdb. In order to debug +with a core file with bad_code, you would run <c>gdb ./bad_code core</c> where +core is the name of the core file. +</note> + +<p> +You should see a prompt that says "(gdb)" and waits for input. First, we have to +run the program. We type in <c>run</c> at the command and receive a notice like: +</p> + +<pre caption="Running the program in GDB"> +(gdb) <i>run</i> +Starting program: /home/chris/bad_code + +Program received signal SIGSEGV, Segmentation fault. +0xb7ec6dc0 in strcpy () from /lib/libc.so.6 +</pre> + +<p> +Here we see the program starting, as well as a notification of SIGSEGV, or +Segmentation Fault. This is GDB telling us that our program has crashed. It +also gives the last run function it could trace when the program crashes. +However, this isn't too useful, as there could be multiple strcpy's in the +program, making it hard for developers to find which one is causing the issue. +In order to help them out, we do what's called a backtrace. A backtrace runs +backwards through all the functions that occurred upon program execution, to the +function at fault. Functions that return (without causing a crash) will not show +up on the backtrace. To get a backtrace, at the (gdb) prompt, type in <c>bt</c>. +You will get something like this: +</p> + +<pre caption="Program backtrace"> +(gdb) <i>bt</i> +#0 0xb7ec6dc0 in strcpy () from /lib/libc.so.6 +#1 0x0804838c in run_it () +#2 0x080483ba in main () +</pre> + +<p> +You can notice the trace pattern clearly. main() is called first, followed by +run_it(), and somewhere in run_it() lies the strcpy() at fault. Things such as +this help developers narrow down problems. There are a few exceptions to the +output. First off is forgetting to enable debug symbols with +<c>FEATURES="nostrip"</c>. With debug symbols stripped, the output looks something +like this: +</p> + +<pre caption="Program backtrace With debug symbols stripped"> +(gdb) <i>bt</i> +#0 0xb7e2cdc0 in strcpy () from /lib/libc.so.6 +#1 0x0804838c in ?? () +#2 0xbfd19510 in ?? () +#3 0x00000000 in ?? () +#4 0x00000000 in ?? () +#5 0xb7eef148 in libgcc_s_personality () from /lib/libc.so.6 +#6 0x080482ed in ?? () +#7 0x080495b0 in ?? () +#8 0xbfd19528 in ?? () +#9 0xb7dd73b8 in __guard_setup () from /lib/libc.so.6 +#10 0xb7dd742d in __guard_setup () from /lib/libc.so.6 +#11 0x00000006 in ?? () +#12 0xbfd19548 in ?? () +#13 0x080483ba in ?? () +#14 0x00000000 in ?? () +#15 0x00000000 in ?? () +#16 0xb7deebcc in __new_exitfn () from /lib/libc.so.6 +#17 0x00000000 in ?? () +#18 0xbfd19560 in ?? () +#19 0xb7ef017c in nullserv () from /lib/libc.so.6 +#20 0xb7dd6f37 in __libc_start_main () from /lib/libc.so.6 +#21 0x00000001 in ?? () +#22 0xbfd195d4 in ?? () +#23 0xbfd195dc in ?? () +#24 0x08048201 in ?? () +</pre> + +<p> +This backtrace contains a large number of ?? marks. This is because without +debug symbols, <c>gdb</c> doesn't know how the program was run. Hence, it is +crucial that debug symbols are <e>not</e> stripped. Now remember a while ago we +mentioned the -ggdb flag. Let's see what the output looks like with the flag +enabled: +</p> + +<pre caption="Program backtrace with -ggdb3"> +(gdb) <i>bt</i> +#0 0xb7e4bdc0 in strcpy () from /lib/libc.so.6 +#1 0x0804838c in run_it (input=0x0) at bad_code.c:7 +#2 0x080483ba in main (argc=1, argv=0xbfd3a434) at bad_code.c:12 +</pre> + +<p> +Here we see that a lot more information is available for developers. Not only is +function information displayed, but even the exact line numbers of the source +files. This method is the most preferred if you can spare the extra space. +Here's how much the file size varies between debug, strip, and -ggdb enabled +programs. +</p> + +<pre caption="Filesize differences With -ggdb flag"> +<comment>(debug symbols stripped)</comment> +-rwxr-xr-x 1 chris users 3140 6/28 13:11 bad_code +<comment>(debug symbols enabled)</comment> +-rwxr-xr-x 1 chris users 6374 6/28 13:10 bad_code +<comment>(-ggdb flag enabled)</comment> +-rwxr-xr-x 1 chris users 19552 6/28 13:11 bad_code +</pre> + +<p> +As you can see, -ggdb adds about <e>13178</e> more bytes to the file size over the one +with debugging symbols. However, as shown above, this increase in file size can +be worth it if presenting debug information to developers. The backtrace can be +saved to a file by copying and pasting from the terminal (if it's a non-x based +terminal, you can use gpm. To keep this doc simple, I recommend you read up on +the documentation for gpm to see how to copy and paste with it). Now that we're +done with <c>gdb</c>, we can quit. +</p> + +<pre caption="Quitting GDB"> +(gdb) <i>quit</i> +The program is running. Exit anyway? (y or n) <i>y</i> +$ +</pre> + +<p> +This ends the walk-through of <c>gdb</c>. Using <c>gdb</c>, we hope that you will +be able to use it to create better bug reports. However, there are other types +of errors that can cause a program to fail during run time. One of the other +ways is through improper file access. We can find those using a nifty little +tool called <c>strace</c>. +</p> + +</body> +</section> +</chapter> + +<chapter> +<title>Finding file access errors using strace</title> +<section> +<title>Introduction</title> +<body> + +<p> +Programs often use files to fetch configuration information, access hardware or +write logs. Sometimes, a program attempts to reach such files incorrectly. A +tool called <c>strace</c> was created to help deal with this. <c>strace</c> +traces system calls (hence the name) which include calls that use the memory and +files. For our example, we're going to take a program foobar2. This is an +updated version of foobar. However, during the change over to foobar2, you notice +all your configurations are missing! In foobar version 1, you had it setup to +say "foo", but now it's using the default "bar". +</p> + +<pre caption="Foobar2 With an invalid configuration"> +$ <i>./foobar2</i> +Configuration says: bar +</pre> + +<p> +Our previous configuration specifically had it set to foo, so let's use +<c>strace</c> to find out what's going on. +</p> + +</body> +</section> +<section> +<title>Using strace to track the issue</title> +<body> + +<p> +We make <c>strace</c> log the results of the system calls. To do this, we run +<c>strace</c> with the -o[file] arguments. Let's use it on foobar2 as shown. +</p> + +<pre caption="Running foobar2 through strace"> +# <i>strace -ostrace.log ./foobar2</i> +</pre> + +<p> +This creates a file called <path>strace.log</path> in the current directory. We +check the file, and shown below are the relevant parts from the file. +</p> + +<pre caption="A Look At the strace Log"> +open(".foobar2/config", O_RDONLY) = 3 +read(3, "bar", 3) = 3 +</pre> + +<p> +Aha! So There's the problem. Someone moved the configuration directory to +<path>.foobar2</path> instead of <path>.foobar</path>. We also see the program +reading in "bar" as it should. In this case, we can recommend the ebuild +maintainer to put a warning about it. For now though, we can copy over the +config file from <path>.foobar</path> and modify it to produce the correct +results. +</p> + +</body> +</section> +<section> +<title>Conclusion</title> +<body> + +<p> +Now we've taken care of finding run time bugs. These bugs prove to be +problematic when you try and run your programs. However, run time errors are +the least of your concerns if your program won't compile at all. Let's take a +look at how to address <c>emerge</c> compile errors. +</p> + +</body> +</section> +</chapter> + +<chapter> +<title>Handling emerge Errors</title> +<section> +<title>Introduction</title> +<body> + +<p> +<c>emerge</c> errors, such as the one displayed earlier, can be a major cause +of frustration for users. Reporting them is considered crucial for maintaining +the health of Gentoo. Let's take a look at a sample ebuild, foobar2, which +contains some build errors. +</p> + +</body> +</section> +<section id="emerge_error"> +<title>Evaluating emerge Errors</title> +<body> + +<p> +Let's take a look at this very simple <c>emerge</c> error: +</p> + +<pre caption="emerge Error"> +gcc -D__TEST__ -D__GNU__ -D__LINUX__ -L/usr/lib -I/usr/include -L/usr/lib/nspr/ -I/usr/include/fmod -c -o foobar2-7.o foobar2-7.c +gcc -D__TEST__ -D__GNU__ -D__LINUX__ -L/usr/lib -I/usr/include -L/usr/lib/nspr/ -I/usr/include/fmod -c -o foobar2-8.o foobar2-8.c +gcc -D__TEST__ -D__GNU__ -D__LINUX__ -L/usr/lib -I/usr/include -L/usr/lib/nspr/ -I/usr/include/fmod -c -o foobar2-9.o foobar2-9.c +gcc -D__TEST__ -D__GNU__ -D__LINUX__ -L/usr/lib -I/usr/include -L/usr/lib/nspr/ -I/usr/include/fmod -c -o foobar2.o foobar2.c +foobar2.c:1:17: ogg.h: No such file or directory +make: *** [foobar2.o] Error 1 + +!!! ERROR: sys-apps/foobar2-1.0 failed. +!!! Function src_compile, Line 19, Exitcode 2 +!!! Make failed! +!!! If you need support, post the topmost build error, NOT this status message +</pre> + +<p> +The program is compiling smoothly when it suddenly stops and presents an error message. This +particular error can be split into 3 different sections, The compile messages, the build +error, and the emerge error message as shown below. +</p> + +<pre caption="Parts of the error"> +<comment>(Compilation Messages)</comment> +gcc -D__TEST__ -D__GNU__ -D__LINUX__ -L/usr/lib -I/usr/include -L/usr/lib/nspr/ -I/usr/include/fmod -c -o foobar2-7.o foobar2-7.c +gcc -D__TEST__ -D__GNU__ -D__LINUX__ -L/usr/lib -I/usr/include -L/usr/lib/nspr/ -I/usr/include/fmod -c -o foobar2-8.o foobar2-8.c +gcc -D__TEST__ -D__GNU__ -D__LINUX__ -L/usr/lib -I/usr/include -L/usr/lib/nspr/ -I/usr/include/fmod -c -o foobar2-9.o foobar2-9.c +gcc -D__TEST__ -D__GNU__ -D__LINUX__ -L/usr/lib -I/usr/include -L/usr/lib/nspr/ -I/usr/include/fmod -c -o foobar2.o foobar2.c + +<comment>(Build Error)</comment> +foobar2.c:1:17: ogg.h: No such file or directory +make: *** [foobar2.o] Error 1 + +<comment>(emerge Error)</comment> +!!! ERROR: sys-apps/foobar2-1.0 failed. +!!! Function src_compile, Line 19, Exitcode 2 +!!! Make failed! +!!! If you need support, post the topmost build error, NOT this status message +</pre> + +<p> +The compilation messages are what lead up to the error. Most often, it's good to +at least include 10 lines of compile information so that the developer knows +where the compilation was at when the error occurred. +</p> + +<p> +Make errors are the actual error and the information the developer needs. When +you see "make: ***", this is often where the error has occurred. Normally, you +can copy and paste 10 lines above it and the developer will be able to address +the issue. However, this may not always work and we'll take a look at an +alternative shortly. +</p> + +<p> +The emerge error is what <c>emerge</c> throws out as an error. Sometimes, this +might also contain some important information. Often people make the mistake of +posting the emerge error and that's all. This is useless by itself, but with +make error and compile information, a developer can get what application and +what version of the package is failing. As a side note, make is commonly used as +the build process for programs (<b>but not always</b>). If you can't find a +"make: ***" error anywhere, then simply copy and paste 20 lines before the +emerge error. This should take care of most all build system error messages. Now +let's say the errors seem to be quite large. 10 lines won't be enough to catch +everything. That's where PORT_LOGDIR comes into play. +</p> + +</body> +</section> +<section> +<title>emerge and PORT_LOGDIR</title> +<body> + +<p> +PORT_LOGDIR is a portage variable that sets up a log directory for separate +emerge logs. Let's take a look and see what that entails. First, run your +emerge with PORT_LOGDIR set to your favorite log location. Let's say we have a +location <path>/var/log/portage</path>. We'll use that for our log directory: +</p> + +<note> +In the default setup, <path>/var/log/portage</path> does not exist, and you will +most likely have to create it. If you do not, portage will fail to write the +logs. +</note> + +<pre caption="emerge-ing With PORT_LOGDIR"> +# <i>PORT_LOGDIR=/var/log/portage emerge foobar2</i> +</pre> + +<p> +Now the emerge fails again. However, this time we have a log we can work with, +and attach to the bug later on. Let's take a quick look at our log directory. +</p> + +<pre caption="PORT_LOGDIR Contents"> +# <i>ls -la /var/log/portage</i> +total 16 +drwxrws--- 2 root root 4096 Jun 30 10:08 . +drwxr-xr-x 15 root root 4096 Jun 30 10:08 .. +-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 7390 Jun 30 10:09 2115-foobar2-1.0.log +</pre> + +<p> +The log files have the format [counter]-[package name]-[version].log. Counter +is a special variable that is meant to state this package as the n-th package +you've emerged. This prevents duplicate logs from appearing. A quick look at +the log file will show the entire emerge process. This can be attached later +on as we'll see in the bug reporting section. Now that we've safely obtained +our information needed to report the bug we can continue to do so. However, +before we get started on that, we need to make sure no one else has reported +the issue. Let's take a look at searching for bugs. +</p> + +</body> +</section> +</chapter> + +<chapter> +<title>Searching Using Bugzilla</title> +<section> +<title>Introduction</title> +<body> + +<p> +<uri link="http://www.bugzilla.org";>Bugzilla</uri> is what we at Gentoo use to +handle bugs. Gentoo's Bugzilla is reachable by HTTPS and HTTP. HTTPS is +available for those on insecure networks or simply paranoid :). For the sake of +consistency, we will be using the HTTPS version in the examples to follow. Head +over to <uri link="https://bugs.gentoo.org";>Gentoo Bugs</uri> to see how it +looks. +</p> + +<p> +One of the most frustrating things for developers and bug-wranglers is finding +duplicate bug reports. These cost them valuable time that they could otherwise +use to work on more important bugs. Often, this can be prevented by a few simple +search methods. So we're going to see how to search for bugs and find out if +you have one that's similar. For this example, we're going to use the xclass +emerge error that was used earlier. +</p> + +<pre caption="xclass emerge error"> +/usr/lib/gcc-lib/i686-pc-linux-gnu/3.3.2/include/g++-v3/backward/backward_warning.h:32:2: +warning: #warning This file includes at least one deprecated or antiquated +header. Please consider using one of the 32 headers found in section 17.4.1.2 of +the C++ standard. Examples include substituting the <X> header for the <X.h> +header for C++ includes, or <sstream> instead of the deprecated header +<strstream.h>. To disable this warning use -Wno-deprecated. +In file included from main.cc:40: +menudef.h:55: error: brace-enclosed initializer used to initialize ` +OXPopupMenu*' +menudef.h:62: error: brace-enclosed initializer used to initialize ` +OXPopupMenu*' +menudef.h:70: error: brace-enclosed initializer used to initialize ` +OXPopupMenu*' +menudef.h:78: error: brace-enclosed initializer used to initialize ` +OXPopupMenu*' +main.cc: In member function `void OXMain::DoOpen()': +main.cc:323: warning: unused variable `FILE*fp' +main.cc: In member function `void OXMain::DoSave(char*)': +main.cc:337: warning: unused variable `FILE*fp' +make[1]: *** [main.o] Error 1 +make[1]: Leaving directory +`/var/tmp/portage/xclass-0.7.4/work/xclass-0.7.4/example-app' +make: *** [shared] Error 2 + +!!! ERROR: x11-libs/xclass-0.7.4 failed. +!!! Function src_compile, Line 29, Exitcode 2 +!!! 'emake shared' failed +</pre> + +<p> +So to begin searching, we head over to the <uri +link="https://bugs.gentoo.org/";>Bugzilla Homepage</uri>. +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-homepage.png" caption="Bugzilla Homepage"/> + +<p> +We'll click on "Query Existing bug reports". The reason why we choose this +over the basic bug search is because the basic bug search tends to give vague +results and often hinders users from looking through the results and finding the +duplicate bug. Once we click on the query screen, we reach the next page: +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-search.png" caption="Bugzilla Search Page"/> + +<note> +If you've used the Advanced Search before, you'll most likely see that screen +instead. +</note> + +<p> +Proceed by clicking on the "Advanced Search" link to bring up the Advanced +Search page. +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-adv-search.png" caption="Advanced Search Page"/> + +<p> +This is how the Advanced Search Page looks like. While it may seem overwhelming +at first, we're going to look at a few simple areas to narrow down the rather +vague searches bugzilla returns. +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-content.png" caption="Content"/> + +<p> +The first field is the summary of the bug. Here we're simply going to put the +name of the package that's crashing. If bugzie doesn't return results, try +removing the package name, just in case someone didn't put that in the summary +(highly unlikely, but we've seen a fair share of strange bug reports). +</p> + +<p> +Product, Component, and Version should all be set to the default. This +prevents us from being too specific and missing all the bugs. +</p> + +<p> +Comment is the important part. Use the comment field to list what appears to be a +specific instance of the error. Basically, don't use anything like the +beginning of the build error, find a line that's before it stating a true +error. Also, you'll want to filter out any punctuation to prevent bugzilla +from interpreting the results the comment the wrong way. Example from the xclass +emerge error: +</p> + +<pre caption="Comment Line Content"> +menudef.h:78: error: brace-enclosed initializer used to initialize `OXPopupMenu' +<comment>(Remove the quotes ' ')</comment> +menudef.h 78 error brace-enclosed initializer used to initialize OXPopupMenu +</pre> + +<p> +The above is specific enough to where we'll find the bug without wading through +other xclass compile failure candidates. +</p> + +<p> +URI, Whiteboard, and Keywords can all be left alone. What we've entered so far +should be enough to find our bug. Let's take a look at what we have filled out. +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-comp-search.png" caption="Completed Search Form"/> + +<p> +Now we click on the Search button and here come the results... +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-search-result.png" caption="Search Results"/> + +<p> +Only 2 bugs! That's a lot easier to deal with. We click on the first one to +check, and sure enough it's the one we're looking for. +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-located.png" caption="Bug Located"/> + +<p> +Not only is it the one we want, but it has also been resolved. By checking the +last comment we see the solution and know what to do in order to resolve it. +Now, let's see what would have happened if we had not used the advanced search. +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-basic-search-result.png" caption="Basic Search Results"/> + +<p> +4 more bugs to deal with! It gets even worse with larger packages. However, +with these simple tools, we're able to significantly narrow down the search to +try and locate a specific bug. +</p> + +</body> +</section> +<section> +<title>Conclusion</title> +<body> + +<p> +Let's say that you have searched and searched but still can't find a bug. +You've found yourself a new bug. Let's take a look at the bug reporting process +for submitting your new bug. +</p> + +</body> +</section> +</chapter> + +<chapter> +<title>Reporting Bugs</title> +<section> +<title>Introduction</title> +<body> + +<p> +In this chapter, we'll figure out how to use Bugzilla to file a shiny, new bug. +Head over to <uri link="https://bugs.gentoo.org";>Gentoo Bugs</uri> and... +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-homepage.png" caption="Bugzilla Homepage"/> + +<p> +Click on "Report a Bug - Using the guided format". +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-prod-select.png" caption="Product Selection"/> + +<p> +As you can see, <b>major</b> emphasis has been placed on putting your bug in the +right place. Gentoo Linux is where a large majority of bugs go. +</p> + +<p> +Despite this, some people will file ebuild bugs in portage development +(assumption that portage team handles the portage tree) or infra (assumption +that infra has access to mirrors and rsync and can fix it directly). This is +simply not how things work. +</p> + +<p> +Another common misconception occurs with our Documentation bugs. For example, a +user finds a bug with the <uri link="/proj/en/releng/catalyst/">Catalyst +Docs</uri>. The general tendency is to file a bug under Docs-user, which gets +assigned to the <uri link="http://gdp.gentoo.org";>GDP</uri>, when it should +actually go to a member of the <uri link="/proj/en/releng/">Release +Engineering</uri> team. As a rule of thumb, only documentation under +<path>http://www.gentoo.org/doc/*</path> is under the GDP. Anything under +<path>http://www.gentoo.org/proj/*</path> is under the respective teams. +</p> + +<note> +We would rather see a bug whose product was not supposed to be Gentoo Linux but +has been filed under the same rather than seeing a bug which belongs the Gentoo +Linux product and filed elsewhere. While neither is preferred, the former is more +acceptable and understandable (except website bugs.. we might have an issue with +that...). +</note> + +<p> +Our bug goes in Gentoo Linux as it's an ebuild bug. We head over there and are +presented with the multi-step bug reporting process. Let us now proceed with +Step 1... +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-guide-step1.png" caption="Guided Format Step 1"/> + +<p> +The first step here is really important (as the red text tells you). This is +where you search to see that someone else hasn't hit the same bug you have, yet. +If you do skip this step and a bug like yours already exists, it will be marked +as a DUPLICATE thus wasting a large amount of QA effort. To give you an idea, +the bug numbers that are struck out above are duplicate bugs. Now comes step 2, +where we give the information. +</p> + +</body> +</section> +<section> +<title>Required Information</title> +<body> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-basic.png" caption="Basic Information"/> + +<p> +Let us take a closer look at what's what. +</p> + +<ul> + <li> + First, there's the Product. The product will narrow down the bug to a + specific area of Gentoo like Bugzilla (for bugs relating to + bugs.gentoo.org), Docs-user(for User Documentation) or Gentoo Linux (for + ebuilds and the like). + </li> + <li> + Component is where exactly the problem occurs, more specifically which part + of selected product the bug comes under. This makes classification easier. + </li> + <li> + Hardware platform is what architecture you're running. If you were running + SPARC, you would set it to SPARC. + </li> + <li> + Operating System is what Operating System you're using. Because Gentoo is + considered a "Meta-distribution", it can run on other operating systems + beside Linux. + </li> +</ul> + +<p> +So, for our example bug, we have : +</p> + +<ul> + <li>Product - Gentoo Linux (Since it is an ebuild issue)</li> + <li>Component - Application (It is an application at fault, foobar2)</li> + <li>Hardware Platform - All (This error could occur across architectures)</li> + <li>Operation System - All (It could occur on all types of systems)</li> +</ul> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-basic-comp.png" caption="Completed Basic Information"/> + +<ul> + <li> + Build Identifier is basically the User Agent of the browser that is being + used to report the bugs (for logging purposes). You can just leave this as + is. + </li> + <li> + URL is optional and is used to point to errors on a site someplace + (pastebin, etc.). However, doing it inside the bug allows the developers be + able to reference to it at any time and is preferred. + </li> + <li> + In the Summary, you should put the package category, name, and number. + </li> +</ul> + +<p> +Not including the category in the summary really isn't too bad, but it's +recommended. If you don't include the package name, however, we won't know what +you're filling a bug for, and will have to ask you about it later. The version +number is important for people searching for bugs. If 20 people filed bugs and +not one put a version number, how would people looking for similar bugs be able +to tell if one was there's? They'd have to look through every single bug, which +isn't too hard, but if there are say, 200 bugs.. it's not that easy. After all +the package information, you'll want to include a small description of the +incident. Here's an example: +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-summary.png" caption="Summary"/> + +<p> +These simple rules can make handling bugs a lot easier. Next are the details. +Here we put in the information about the bug. We'll demonstrate with an example: +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-details.png" caption="Details"/> + +<p> +Now the developer knows why we're filing the bug. They can then try to +reproduce it. Reproducibility tells us how often we were able to make the +problem recur. In this example, we can reproduce it any time simply by running +foobar2. Let's put that information in. +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-reprod.png" caption="Reproduction"/> + +<p> +We have explained how we found the bug. The next step is to explain what were +the results we got and what we think they should actually be. +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-results.png" caption="Results"/> + +<p> +We could then provide additional information. This could be things such as +stack traces, <b>sections</b> (since the whole log is usually big and of not +much use) of strace logs, but most importantly, your <c>emerge --info</c> +output. Here's an example. +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-addl-info.png" caption="Additional Information"/> + +<p> +Lastly we select the severity of the bug. Please look this over carefully. In +most cases it's OK to leave it as is and someone will raise/lower it for you. +However, if you raise the severity of the bug, please make sure you read it over +carefully and make sure you're not making a mistake. A run down of the various +levels is given below. +</p> + +<ul> + <li> + Blocker - The program just plain doesn't want to emerge or is a major + hinderance to the system. For example a <c>baselayout</c> issue which + prevents a system from booting up would be a sure candidate to be labelled + blocker. + </li> + <li> + Critical - The program has loss of data or severe memory leaks during + runtime. Again, an important program like say <c>net-tools</c> failing to + compile could be labelled critical. It won't prevent the system from + starting up, but is quite essential for day to day stuff. + </li> + <li> + Major - The program crashes, but nothing that causes your system severe + damage or information loss. + </li> + <li> + Minor - Your program crashes here and there with apparent workarounds. + </li> + <li> + Normal - The default. If you're not sure leave it here unless it's a new + build or cosmetic change, then read below for more information. + </li> + <li>Trivial - Things such as a mispelled word or whitespace clean up. </li> + <li> + Enhancement - A request to enable a new feature in a program, or more + specifically <e>new ebuilds</e>. + </li> +</ul> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-sev.png" caption="Severity"/> + +<p> +Here, we'll set it to Normal. +</p> + +<p> +Now we can submit the bug report by clicking on the Submit Bug Report box. You +will now see your new bug come up. See <uri +link="https://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=97265";>Bug 97561</uri> for what +the result looks like. We've reported our bug! Now let's see how it's dealt +with. +</p> + +</body> +</section> +</chapter> + +<chapter> +<title>Working With Your Bug</title> +<section> +<body> + +<p> +Looking at the bug, we see the information we provided earlier. You will notice +that the bug has been assigned to [EMAIL PROTECTED] This is the default +location for Application component bugs. +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-new-basic.png" caption="New Bug Basic Information"/> + +<p> +The details we entered about the bug are available as well. +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-new-details.png" caption="New Bug Details"/> + +<p> +However, bug-wranglers (usually) won't fix our bugs, so we'll reassign it to +someone that can (you can let bug-wranglers re-assign it for you as well). For +this we use the package's metadata.xml. You can normally find them in +<path>/usr/portage/category/package/metadata.xml</path>. Here's one I've made up +for foobar2. +</p> + +<note> +You have to be the reporter of the bug or a member of certain Gentoo Bugzilla +groups (like Gentoo Developers) to be able to reassign bugs. +</note> + +<pre caption="metadata.xml"> +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> +<!DOCTYPE pkgmetadata SYSTEM "http://www.gentoo.org/dtd/metadata.dtd"> +<pkgmetadata> +<herd>chriswhite</herd> +<maintainer> +<email>[EMAIL PROTECTED]</email> +<name>Chris White</name> +</maintainer> +<longdescription lang="en"> +Foobar2 is a package that uses a configuration file to display a word. +</longdescription> +</pkgmetadata> +</pre> + +<p> +Notice the maintainer section. This lists the maintainer of the package, which +in this case is myself, Chris White. The email listed is [EMAIL PROTECTED] +We will use this to re-assign the bug to the proper person. To do this, click +the bubble next to Reassign bug to, then fill in the email. +</p> + +<note> +A bug for a package without a metadata.xml file should be re-assigned to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and a package that needs a Gentoo Developer to +maintain should be assigned to [EMAIL PROTECTED] +</note> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-reassign.png" caption="Bug Reassignment"/> + +<p> +Then hit the Commit button for the changes to take place. The bug has been +reassigned to me. Shortly afterward, you notice (by email usually) that I've +responded to your bug. I've stated that I'd like to see an strace log to figure +out how the program is trying to reach your configuration file. You follow the +previous instructions on using strace and obtain an strace log. Now you need to +attach it to the bug. In order to do this, click on "Create A New Attachment". +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-new-attach.png" caption="New Attachment"/> + +<p> +Now we have to attach the log. Let's go throught it step wise. +</p> + +<ul> + <li> + File - This is the location of the file in your machine. In this example, + the location of <path>strace.log</path>. You can use the "Browse..." button + to select the file, or enter the path directly in the text field. + </li> + <li> + Description - A short one liner, or a few wors describing the attachment. + We'll just enter strace.log here, since that's quite self-explanatory. + </li> + <li> + Content Type - This is the type of the file we're attaching to the bug. + </li> + <li> + Obsoletes - If there were attachements submitted to the bug before the + current one, you have an option of declaring them obsoleted by yours. Since + we have no prior attachments to this bug, we need not bother. + </li> + <li> + Comment - Enter comments that will be visible along with the attachments. + You could elaborate on the attachment here, if needed. + </li> +</ul> + +<p> +With respect to Content Type, here are a few more details. You can check the +"patch" checkbox if you're submitting a patch. Otherwise, you could ask +Bugzilla to "auto-detect" the file type (not advisable). The other options are +"select from list", which is most frequently used. Use plain text (text/plain) +for <e>most</e> attachments except binary files like images (which can use +image/gif, image/jpeg or image/png depending on type) or compressed files like +.tar.bz2 which would use application/octet-stream as content type. +</p> + + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-new-attach-comp.png" caption="New Attachment Completed"/> + +<p> +We submit <path>strace.log</path> and it is reflected on the bug report. +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-strace.png" caption="Attached strace log"/> + +<p> +We've mentioned before that sometimes ebuilds will tell you to attach a file in +the emerge error. An example can be seen below. +</p> + +<pre caption="Example File Attachment Request"> +configure: error: PNG support requires ZLIB. Use --with-zlib-dir=<DIR> + +!!! Please attach the config.log to your bug report: +!!! /var/tmp/portage/php-5.0.3-r1/work/php-5.0.3/config.log + +!!! ERROR: dev-php/php-5.0.3-r1 failed. +!!! Function econf, Line 485, Exitcode 0 +!!! econf failed +!!! If you need support, post the topmost build error, NOT this status message. +</pre> + +<p> +Please attach any file mentioned like this to your bug report. +</p> + +<p> +While we're doing all this, suppose another person finds your bug by searching +through bugzilla and is curious to keep track of the bug, they may do so by +putting their email in the Add CC field of the bug as shown below. You could +also keep track of other bugs by following the same method. +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-add-email.png" caption="Adding Email To CC:"/> + +<note> +Email addresses must be registered with Gentoo Bugzilla. In order to CC multiple +addresses, simply separate them with commas or spaces. +</note> + +<p> +After all this work, the bug can undergo various status markings. This is +usually done by the Gentoo Developers and sometimes by the reporter. The +following are the various possible states a bug may go through during its +lifetime. +</p> + +<ul> + <li> + UNCONFIRMED - You're generally not going to see this too often. This means + that a bug reporter has opened a bug using the advanced method and is + uncertain his or her bug is an actual bug. + </li> + <li>NEW - Bugs that are first opened are considered new.</li> + <li> + ASSIGNED - When the person you've assigned the bug too validates your bug, + it will often receive ASSIGNED status while they figure out the issue. + This lets you know that they've accepted your bug as a real bug. + </li> + <li> + REOPENED - Someone has resolved a bug and you think the solution is not + feasible or the problem still persists. At this point, you may re-open the + bug. Please <b>do not abuse this</b>. If a developer closes the bug a + second or third time, chances are that your bug is closed. + </li> + <li> + RESOLVED - A firm decision has been taken on the bug. Usually goes onto + FIXED to indicate the bug is solved and the matter closed although various + other resolutions are possible. We'll look into those a little later. + </li> + <li> + VERIFIED - The steps take to work the bug are correct. This is usually a QA + thing. + </li> + <li> + CLOSED - Basically means RIP for the bug and it's buried under the never + ending flow of new bugs. + </li> +</ul> + +<p> +Now shortly afterward, we find the error in the strace log and fix the bug and +mark it as RESOLVED FIXED and mention that there was a change in the location +of configuration files, and that I will update the ebuild with a warning about +it. The bug now becomes resolved, and you are shown the following. +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-reso.png" caption="Resolved Bug"/> + +<p> +A little below, you'll see the following: +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-options.png" caption="Bug Options"/> + +<p> +This gives you the option of Reopening the bug if you wish to (i.e. the +developer thinks it's resolved but it's really not to your standards). Now our +bug is fixed! However, different resolutions can occur. Here's a small list: +</p> + +<ul> + <li> + FIXED - The bug is fixed, follow the instructions to resolve your issue. + </li> + <li> + INVALID - You did not do something specifically documented, causing the + bug. + </li> + <li>DUPLICATE - You didn't use this guide and reported a duplicate bug.</li> + <li> + WORKSFORME - Developer/person assigned the bug cannot reproduce your error. + </li> + <li> + CANTFIX - Somehow the bug cannot be solved because of certain + circumstances. These circumstances will be noted by the person taking the + bug. + </li> + <li> + WONTFIX - This is usually applied to new ebuilds or feature requests. + Basically the developer does not want to add a certain feature because it + is not needed, a better alternative exists, or it's just plain broken. + Sometimes you may be given a solution to get said issue resolved. + </li> + <li> + UPSTREAM - The bug cannot be fixed by the Gentoo development team, and have + requested you take the problem upstream (the people that actually made the + program) for review. Upstream has a few ways of handling bugs. These + include mailing lists, irc channels, and even bug reporting systems. If + you're not sure how to contact them, ask in the bug and someone will point + you to the right direction. + </li> +</ul> + +<p> +Sometimes, before the bug can be resolved, a developer may request that you +test an updated ebulid. In the next chapter we'll take a look at testing +ebuilds. +</p> + +</body> +</section> +</chapter> + +<chapter> +<title>Testing Ebuilds</title> +<section> +<title>Getting The Files</title> +<body> + +<p> +Let's say that you reported a bug for the foobar2 compile fix from earlier. Now +developers might find out what the problem is and might need you to test the +ebuild for them to be sure it works for you as well: +</p> + +<figure link="/images/docs/bugzie-ebuild-request.png" caption="Ebuild Test Request"/> + +<p> +Some rather confusing vocabulary is used here. First off, let's see what an +overlay is. An overlay is a special directory like <path>/usr/portage</path>, +the difference being that when you <c>emerge sync</c>, files contained within it +will not be deleted. Luckily, a special <path>/usr/local/portage</path> +directory is created for that purpose. Let's go ahead and set our portage +overlay in<path>/etc/make.conf</path>. Open make.conf up in your favorite editor +and add this towards the end. +</p> + +<pre caption="Setting Up PORTDIR_OVERLAY"> +PORTDIR_OVERLAY="/usr/local/portage" +</pre> + +<p> +Now we'll want to create the appropriate directories to put our test ebuild +files in. In this case, we're supposed to put them in sys-apps/foobar2. You'll +notice that the second comment asks for a files directory for the patch. The +files directory holds the digests (md5sums of files for a particular version of +a package) and any other required files that aren't included with the standard +source archive (patches, init.d scripts, etc). This is a subdir in the package +directory called files. Go ahead and create these directories: +</p> + +<pre caption="Setting Up The Category And Package Directories"> +# <i>mkdir -p /usr/local/portage/sys-apps/foobar2/files</i> +</pre> + +<note> +The -p in mkdir creates not only the directory you want but also any missing +parent directories as well (sys-apps and foobar2 in this case). +</note> + +<p> +Ok now, we can go ahead and download the files. First, download the ebuild +into <path>/usr/local/portage/sys-apps/foobar2</path>, and then add the patch +to <path>/usr/local/portage/sys-apps/foobar2/files</path>. Now that we have the +files, we can begin working on testing the ebuild. +</p> + +</body> +</section> +<section> +<title>Testing The ebuild</title> +<body> + +<p> +The process to create an ebuild that can be used by emerge is fairly simple. You +must create a Manifest and a digest file for the ebuild. This can be done with +the ebuild command. Run it as shown. +</p> + +<pre caption="Creating the Manifest and digest files"> +# <i>ebuild foobar2-1.0.ebuild digest</i> +>>> Generating digest file... +<<< foobar2-1.0.tar.bz2 +>>> Generating manifest file... +<<< foobar2-1.0.ebuild +<<< files/digest-foobar2-1.0 +<<< files/foobar2-1.0-Makefile.patch +>>> Computed message digests. +</pre> + +<p> +Now let's test to see if it works as it should. +</p> + +<pre caption="Testing With emerge -pv"> +# <i>emerge -pv foobar2</i> + +These are the packages that I would merge, in order: + +Calculating dependencies ...done! +[ebuild N ] sys-apps/foobar2-1.0 0 kB [1] + +Total size of downloads: 0 kB +Portage overlays: + [1] /usr/local/portage +</pre> + +<p> +It does seem to have worked! You'll notice the [1] next to the [ebuild] line. +That points to <path>/usr/local/portage</path>, which is the overlay we created +earlier. Now we go ahead and emerge the package. +</p> + +<pre caption="Emerge Result"> +# <i>emerge foobar2</i> + Calculating dependencies ...done! +<comment>(compile info snipped)</comment> +>>> Unpacking foobar2-1.0.tar.bz2 to /var/tmp/portage/foobar2-1.0/work + * Applying foobar2-1.0-Makefile.patch ... [ ok ] +<comment>(compile info snipped)</comment> +>>> Merging sys-apps/foobar2-1.0 to / +>>> chris +sandbox(preinst) +--- /usr/ +--- /usr/bin/ +>>> /usr/bin/foobar2 +</pre> + +<p> +In the first section we see that the emerge started off as it should. The second +section shows our patch being applied successfully by the "[ ok ]" status +message to the right. The last section tells us the program compiled ok. The +patch works! Now we can go and let the developer know that their patch works +fine, and that they can commit the fix to portage. +</p> + +</body> +</section> +<section> +<title>Conclusion</title> +<body> + +<p> +This concludes the howto on working with Bugzilla. I hope you find this useful. +If you have any questions, comments, or ideas regarding this document, please +send them to me at <mail>[EMAIL PROTECTED]</mail>. Special thanks go to +moreon for his notes on -g flags and compile errors, the people at #gentoo-bugs +for helping out with bug-wrangling, Griffon26 for his notes on +maintainer-needed, robbat2 for general suggestions and fox2mike for fixing up +the doc and adding stuff as needed. +</p> + +</body> +</section> +</chapter> + </guide> -- [email protected] mailing list
