I spend quite a lot of time doing analysis for my books and Opensource.com articles. Sometimes this leads me to find bugs within the software program I exploit, together with Fedora and the Linux kernel. As a long-time Linux person and sysadmin, I’ve benefited tremendously from GNU/Linux, and I like to provide again. I’m not a C language programmer, so I do not create fixes and submit them with bug experiences, as some individuals do. But a approach I can return some worth to the Linux neighborhood is by reporting bugs.
Product maintainers use quite a lot of instruments to let their customers seek for present bugs and report new ones. Bugzilla is a well-liked software, and I exploit the Red Hat Bugzilla web site to report Fedora-related bugs as a result of I primarily use Fedora on the techniques I am accountable for. It’s a straightforward course of, however it might appear daunting you probably have by no means executed it earlier than. So let’s begin with the fundamentals.
Start with a search
Even although it is tempting, by no means assume that seemingly anomalous habits is the results of a bug. I at all times begin with a search of related web sites, such because the Fedora wiki, the CentOS wiki, and the documentation for the distro I am utilizing. I additionally attempt to test the varied distro listservs.
If it seems that nobody has encountered this drawback earlier than (or if they’ve, they have not reported it as a bug), I am going to the Red Hat Bugzilla website and start trying to find a bug report which may come near matching the signs I encountered.
You can search the Red Hat Bugzilla website with out an account. Go to the Bugzilla website and click on on the Advanced Search tab.
For instance, if you wish to seek for bug experiences associated to Fedora’s Rescue mode kernel, enter the next information within the Advanced Search type.
| Field | Logic | Data or Selection |
|---|---|---|
| Summary | Contains the string | Rescue mode kernel |
| Classification | Fedora | |
| Product | Fedora | |
| Component | grub2 | |
| Status | New + Assigned |
Then press Search. This returns a listing of 1 bug with the ID 1654337 (which occurs to be a bug I reported).
Click on the ID to view my bug report particulars. I entered as a lot related information as potential within the prime part of the report. In the feedback, I described the issue and included supporting information, different related feedback (reminiscent of the truth that the issue occurred on a number of motherboards), and the steps to breed the issue.
The extra info you’ll be able to present right here that pertains to the bug, reminiscent of signs, the and software program environments (if they’re relevant), different software program that was operating on the time, kernel and distro launch ranges, and so forth, the better it will likely be to find out the place to assign your bug. In this case, I initially selected the kernel part, nevertheless it was shortly modified to the GRUB2 part as a result of the issue occurred earlier than the kernel loaded.
How to submit a bug report
The Red Hat Bugzilla web site requires an account to submit new bugs or touch upon previous ones. It is straightforward to enroll. On Bugzilla’s foremost web page, click on Open a New Account and fill within the requested info. After you confirm your e mail tackle, you’ll be able to fill in the remainder of the knowledge to create your account.
Advisory: Bugzilla is a working web site that individuals depend on for help. I strongly counsel not creating an account until you propose to submit bug experiences or touch upon present bugs.
To display the right way to submit a bug report, I am going to use a fictional instance of making a bug in opposition to the Xfce4-terminal emulator in Fedora. Please don’t do that until you will have an actual bug to report.
Log into your account and click on on New within the menu bar or the File a Bug button. You’ll want to pick a classification for the bug to proceed the method. This will slender down a number of the decisions on the following web page.
The following picture exhibits how I stuffed out the required fields (and a few others that aren’t required).
When you kind a brief drawback description within the Summary area, Bugzilla shows a listing of different bugs which may match yours. If one matches, click on Add Me to the CC List to obtain emails when adjustments are made to the bug.
If none match, fill within the info requested within the Description area. Add as a lot info as you’ll be able to, together with error messages and display screen captures that illustrate the issue. Be certain to explain the precise steps wanted to breed the issue and the way reproducible it’s: does it fail each time, each second, third, fourth, random time, or no matter. If it occurred solely as soon as, it is not possible anybody will have the ability to reproduce the issue you noticed.
When you end including as a lot info as you’ll be able to, press Submit Bug.
Be form
Bug reporting web sites should not for asking questions—they’re for looking and reporting bugs. That means you need to have carried out some work by yourself to conclude that there actually is a bug. There are many wikis, listservs, and Q&A web sites which might be acceptable for asking questions. Use websites like Bugzilla to seek for present bug experiences on the issue you will have discovered.
Be certain you submit your bugs on the right bug reporting web site. For instance, solely submit bugs about Red Hat merchandise on the Red Hat Bugzilla, and submit bugs about LibreOffice by following LibreOffice’s instructions.
Reporting bugs shouldn’t be troublesome, and it is a vital strategy to take part.
