Enhance the perlbug checklist.

p4raw-id: //depot/cfgperl@2808

1 files changed, 28 insertions, 4 deletions

diff --git a/utils/perlbug.PL b/utils/perlbug.PL
index f82b5baba8..190405934d 100644
--- a/utils/perlbug.PL
+++ b/utils/perlbug.PL
@@ -901,6 +901,13 @@ it all, but at least have a look at the sections that I<seem> relevant).
 Be aware of the familiar traps that perl programmers of various hues
 fall into.  See L<perltrap>.
 
+If what you see looks like a Perl error message, check L<perldiag>
+to see what the message means.  If it looks like an error from
+your operating system, consult your operating system documentation.
+
+If you are on a non-UNIX platform check also L<perlport>, some
+features may not be implemented or work differently.
+
 Try to study the problem under the perl debugger, if necessary.
 See L<perldebug>.
 
@@ -916,6 +923,17 @@ A good test case is almost always a good candidate to be on the perl
 test suite.  If you have the time, consider making your test case so
 that it will readily fit into the standard test suite.
 
+Remember also to include the B<exact> error messages, if any.
+"Perl complained something" is not an exact error message.
+
+If you get a core dump (or equivalent), you may use a debugger
+(B<dbx>, B<gdb>, etc) to produce a stack trace to include in the bug
+report.  NOTE: unless your Perl has been compiled with debug info
+(often B<-g>), the stack trace is likely to be somewhat hard to use
+because it will most probably contain only the function names, not
+their arguments.  If possible, recompile your Perl with debug info and
+reproduce the dump and the stack trace.
+
 =item Can you describe the bug in plain English?
 
 The easier it is to understand a reproducible bug, the more likely it
@@ -954,6 +972,11 @@ it to B<perlbug@perl.com>.  If, for some reason, you cannot run
 C<perlbug> at all on your system, be sure to include the entire output
 produced by running C<perl -V> (note the uppercase V).
 
+Whether you use C<perlbug> or send the email manually, please make
+your subject informative.  "a bug" not informative.  Neither is "perl
+crashes" nor "HELP!!!", these all are null information.  A compact
+description of what's wrong is fine.
+
 =back
 
 Having done your bit, please be prepared to wait, to be told the bug
@@ -1071,12 +1094,14 @@ Kenneth Albanowski (E<lt>kjahds@kjahds.comE<gt>), subsequently I<doc>tored
 by Gurusamy Sarathy (E<lt>gsar@umich.eduE<gt>), Tom Christiansen
 (E<lt>tchrist@perl.comE<gt>), Nathan Torkington (E<lt>gnat@frii.comE<gt>),
 Charles F. Randall (E<lt>cfr@pobox.comE<gt>), Mike Guy
-(E<lt>mjtg@cam.a.ukE<gt>), Dominic Dunlop (E<lt>domo@computer.orgE<gt>)
-and Hugo van der Sanden (E<lt>hv@crypt0.demon.co.ukE<gt>).
+(E<lt>mjtg@cam.a.ukE<gt>), Dominic Dunlop (E<lt>domo@computer.orgE<gt>),
+Hugo van der Sanden (E<lt>hv@crypt0.demon.co.ukE<gt>), and
+Jarkko Hietaniemi (E<lt>jhi@iki.fiE<gt>).
 
 =head1 SEE ALSO
 
-perl(1), perldebug(1), perltrap(1), diff(1), patch(1)
+perl(1), perldebug(1), perldiag(1), perlport(1), perltrap(1),
+diff(1), patch(1), dbx(1), gdb(1)
 
 =head1 BUGS
 
@@ -1090,4 +1115,3 @@ close OUT or die "Can't close $file: $!";
 chmod 0755, $file or die "Can't reset permissions for $file: $!\n";
 exec("$Config{'eunicefix'} $file") if $Config{'eunicefix'} ne ':';
 chdir $origdir;
-