Re: [coreutils] debbugs

[Ralf Wildenhues]

[ adding automake-patches ]

Hi Glen,

sorry for the delay.

* Glenn Morris wrote on Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 09:17:08AM CEST:
> > > With that in mind, I'm looking for something that can keep things in
> > > order in some way, be that things added by users or ourselves.
> > > Who do we talk to if we want to try it out?
> > 
> > Glenn Morris is the guy.  He set up the emacs one and then made it so
> > that with almost no work we could use it for coreutils, too.
> 
> You are very welcome to try it out, and you prompted me to create a
> web-page explaining how it works:
> 
> http://debbugs.gnu.org/Using.html

Thank you for this writeup, also for the other documentation accessible
from the toplevel and http://debbugs.gnu.org/Developer.html.

There is one question I haven't seen addressed yet, that I think should
be documented: is it possible to easily export the bug database to some
other format?  Are there maybe any converters that do this already?
(I'm thinking that it should be possible, but if one has to completely
invent it anew, that would at least be some work.)

Then, if there is an importer, we might want to consider importing the
old Gnats database bugs.  I don't even know whether exporting from
Gnats is possible, though.

> Let me know if you have any questions.

I think we want this.  Does bug-coreutils operate in Exclusive mode?
I think that is what would be easiest for bug-automake as well.

You can use my email address as maintainer and debbugs-submit moderator
for now.  The bug-automake list is known under its name only, as far as
I know.

My current plan is to apply the patch below to the tree, create the HTML
page from it and upload it to
<http://www.gnu.org/software/automake/manual/html_node/Reporting-Bugs.html>
(where it will appear for the next release anyway), so you could use
that as "Specific help" link on <http://debbugs.gnu.org/>.

Comments regarding the patch, and the general strategy of course,
appreciated.

Thanks,
Ralf

    Add FAQ entry for bug reporting instructions.
    
    * doc/automake.texi (Reporting Bugs): New section.
    (Introduction): Refer to it.

diff --git a/doc/automake.texi b/doc/automake.texi
index e107e2c..c93e563 100644
--- a/doc/automake.texi
+++ b/doc/automake.texi
@@ -343,6 +343,7 @@ Frequently Asked Questions about Automake
 * Multiple Outputs::            Writing rules for tools with many output files
 * Hard-Coded Install Paths::    Installing to hard-coded locations
 * Debugging Make Rules::        Strategies when things don't work as expected
+* Reporting Bugs::              Feedback on bugs and feature requests
 
 History of Automake
 
@@ -424,8 +425,7 @@ to be built.
 @cindex Reporting bugs
 @cindex E-mail, bug reports
 
-Mail suggestions and bug reports for Automake to
address@hidden@value{PACKAGE_BUGREPORT}}.
+For more information on bug reports, @xref{Reporting Bugs}.
 
 @node Autotools Introduction
 @chapter An Introduction to the Autotools
@@ -10401,6 +10401,7 @@ lists.
 * Multiple Outputs::            Writing rules for tools with many output files
 * Hard-Coded Install Paths::    Installing to hard-coded locations
 * Debugging Make Rules::        Strategies when things don't work as expected
+* Reporting Bugs::              Feedback on bugs and feature requests
 @end menu
 
 @node CVS
@@ -11793,6 +11794,47 @@ a debugger.
 @end itemize
 
 
address@hidden Reporting Bugs
address@hidden Reporting Bugs
+
+Most nontrivial software has bugs.  Automake is no exception.  Although
+we cannot promise we can or will fix a bug, and we might not even agree
+that it is a bug, we want to hear about problems you encounter. Often we
+agree they are bugs and want to fix them.
+
+To make it possible for us to fix a bug, please report it. In order to
+do so effectively, it helps to know when and how to do it.
+
+Before reporting a bug, it is a good idea to see if it is already known.
+You can look at the @uref{http://debbugs.gnu.org/, GNU Bug Tracker}
+and the @uref{http://lists.gnu.org/@/archive/@/html/@/bug-automake/,
+bug-automake mailing list archives} for previous bug reports.  We
+previously used a
address@hidden://sourceware.org/@/cgi-bin/@/gnatsweb.pl?database=automake,
+Gnats database} for bug tracking, so some bugs might have been reported
+there already.  Please do not use it for new bug reports, however.
+
+If the bug is not already known, it should be reported.  It is very
+important to report bugs in a way that is useful and efficient.  For
+this, please familiarize yourself with
address@hidden://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/@/~sgtatham/@/bugs.html, How to
+Report Bugs Effectively}
+and @uref{http://catb.org/@/~esr/@/faqs/@/smart-questions.html, How to
+Ask Questions the Smart Way}.  This helps you and developers to save
+time which can then be spent on fixing more bugs and implementing more
+features.
+
+For a bug report, a feature request or other suggestions, please send
+email to to @address@hidden  This will then open a
+new bug in the
address@hidden://debbugs.gnu.org/@/cgi/@/pkgreport.cgi?package=automake;max-bugs=100;base-order=1;bug-rev=1,
+bug tracker}.  Be sure to include the versions of Autoconf and Automake
+that you use.  Ideally, post a minimal @file{Makefile.am} and
address@hidden that reproduces the problem you encounter.  If you
+have encountered test suite failures, please be attach the
address@hidden/test-suite.log} file.
+
+
 @node History
 @chapter History of Automake