File: gawk.info,  Node: Bug address,  Next: Usenet,  Prev: Bug definition,  Up: Bugs

B.4.2 Submitting Bug Reports
----------------------------

Before reporting a bug, make sure you have really found a genuine bug.

   Here are the steps for submitting a bug report.  Following them will
make both your life and the lives of the maintainers much easier.

  1. Make sure that what you want to report is appropriate.  *Note Bug
     definition::.  If it's not, you are wasting your time and ours.

  2. Verify that you have the latest version of 'gawk'.  Many bugs
     (usually subtle ones) are fixed at each release, and if yours is
     out-of-date, the problem may already have been solved.

  3. Please see if setting the environment variable 'LC_ALL' to
     'LC_ALL=C' causes things to behave as you expect.  If so, it's a
     locale issue, and may or may not really be a bug.

  4. Carefully reread the documentation and see if it says you can do
     what you're trying to do.  If it's not clear whether you should be
     able to do something or not, report that too; it's a bug in the
     documentation!

  5. Before reporting a bug or trying to fix it yourself, try to isolate
     it to the smallest possible 'awk' program and input data file that
     reproduce the problem.

  6. Use the 'gawkbug' program to submit the bug report.  This program
     sets up a bug report template and opens it in your editor.  You
     then need to edit it appropriately to include:

        * The program and data file.

        * The exact results 'gawk' gave you.  Also say what you expected
          to occur; this helps us decide whether the problem is really
          in the documentation.

        * A fix if you have one.

  7. Do _not_ send screenshots.  Instead, use copy/paste to send text,
     or send files.

  8. Please be sure to send all mail in _plain text_, not (or not
     exclusively) in HTML.

  9. _All email must be in English.  This is the only language
     understood in common by all the maintainers._

   The 'gawkbug' program sends email to .

   The 'gawk' maintainers subscribe to this address, and thus they will
receive your bug report.  Do _not_ send mail to the maintainers
directly; the bug reporting address is preferred because the email list
is archived at the GNU Project.

   If you are using OpenVMS or the MinGW build of 'gawk', the 'gawkbug'
script won't be available.  Please send the previously listed
information directly in an email to the bug list.  Please send any test
program or data files as attachments, instead of inline in the email, to
avoid their being mangled by various mail systems.

     NOTE: Many distributions of GNU/Linux and the various BSD-based
     operating systems have their own bug reporting systems.  If you
     report a bug using your distribution's bug reporting system, you
     should also send a copy to .

     This is for two reasons.  First, although some distributions
     forward bug reports "upstream" to the GNU mailing list, many don't,
     so there is a good chance that the 'gawk' maintainers won't even
     see the bug report!  Second, mail to the GNU list is archived, and
     having everything at the GNU Project keeps things self-contained
     and not dependent on other organizations.

   Please note: We ask that you follow the GNU Kind Communication
Guidelines (https://gnu.org/philosophy/kind-communication.html) in your
correspondence on the list (as well as off of it).