cvsbug - send problem report (PR) about CVS to a central
support site
cvsbug [ site ] [ -f problem-report ] [ -t mail-address ]
[ -P ] [ -L ] [ --request-id ] [ -v ]
cvsbug is a tool used to submit problem reports (PRs) to a
central support site. In most cases the correct site will
be the default. This argument indicates the support site
which is responsible for the category of problem involved.
Some sites may use a local address as a default. site
values are defined by using the aliases(5).
cvsbug invokes an editor on a problem report template
(after trying to fill in some fields with reasonable
default values). When you exit the editor, cvsbug sends
the completed form to the Problem Report Management System
(GNATS) at a central support site. At the support site,
the PR is assigned a unique number and is stored in the
GNATS database according to its category and submitter-id.
GNATS automatically replies with an acknowledgement, citing
the category and the PR number.
To ensure that a PR is handled promptly, it should contain
your (unique) submitter-id and one of the available cate-
gories to identify the problem area. (Use `cvsbug -L' to
see a list of categories.)
The cvsbug template at your site should already be customized
with your submitter-id (running `install-sid sub-
mitter-id' to accomplish this is part of the installation
procedures for cvsbug). If this hasn't been done, see
your system administrator for your submitter-id, or
request one from your support site by invoking `cvsbug
--request-id'. If your site does not distinguish between
different user sites, or if you are not affiliated with
the support site, use `net' for this field.
The more precise your problem description and the more
complete your information, the faster your support team
can solve your problems.
-f problem-report
specify a file (problem-report) which already contains
a complete problem report. cvsbug sends the
contents of the file without invoking the editor.
If the value for problem-report is `-', then cvsbug
reads from standard input.
-t mail-address
Change mail address at the support site for problem
reports. The default mail-address is the address
used for the default site. Use the site argument
rather than this option in nearly all cases.
-P print the form specified by the environment variable
PR_FORM on standard output. If PR_FORM is not
set, print the standard blank PR template. No mail
is sent.
-L print the list of available categories. No mail is
sent.
--request-id
sends mail to the default support site, or site if
specified, with a request for your submitter-id.
If you are not affiliated with site, use a submit-
ter-id of net'.
-v Display the cvsbug version number.
Note: use cvsbug to submit problem reports rather than
mailing them directly. Using both the template and cvsbug
itself will help ensure all necessary information will
reach the support site.
The environment variable EDITOR specifies the editor to
invoke on the template.
default: vi
If the environment variable PR_FORM is set, then its value
is used as the file name of the template for your problemreport
editing session. You can use this to start with a
partially completed form (for example, a form with the
identification fields already completed).
HOW TO FILL OUT A PROBLEM REPORT [Toc] [Back] Problem reports have to be in a particular form so that a
program can easily manage them. Please remember the following
guidelines:
o describe only one problem with each problem report.
o For follow-up mail, use the same subject line as the
one in the automatic acknowledgement. It consists of
category, PR number and the original synopsis line.
This allows the support site to relate several mail
messages to a particular PR and to record them automatically.
o Please try to be as accurate as possible in the subject
and/or synopsis line.
o The subject and the synopsis line are not confidential.
This is because open-bugs lists are compiled from them.
Avoid confidential information there.
See the GNU Info file cvsbug.info or the document Report-
ing Problems With cvsbug for detailed information on
reporting problems
HOW TO SUBMIT TEST CASES, CODE, ETC.
Submit small code samples with the PR. Contact the support
site for instructions on submitting larger test cases
and problematic source code.
/tmp/p$$ copy of PR used in editing session
/tmp/pf$$ copy of empty PR form, for testing purposes
/tmp/pbad$$ file for rejected PRs
INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION [Toc] [Back] See INSTALL for installation instructions.
gnats(l), query-pr(1), edit-pr(1), gnats(8), queue-pr(8),
at-pr(8), mkcat(8), mkdist(8).
Jeffrey Osier, Brendan Kehoe, Jason Merrill, Heinz G.
Seidl (Cygnus Support)
Copyright (c) 1992, 1993 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim
copies of this manual provided the copyright notice and
this permission notice are preserved on all copies.
Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions
of this manual under the conditions for verbatim
copying, provided that the entire resulting derived work
is distributed under the terms of a permission notice
identical to this one.
Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations
of this manual into another language, under the above conditions
for modified versions, except that this permission
notice may be included in translations approved by the
Free Software Foundation instead of in the original
English.
February 1993 xVERSIONx CVSBUG(8)
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