Bug database
Bug Database
This page gives you some bookmarks to use the Bugzilla Apache Bug Database.
This link issues.apache.org connects you to the complete list of Apache Bug Database systems.
Has It Been Reported?
If the current nightly build doesn't resolve your problem, it is
possible that someone else has reported the issue. It is time to
look at the bug database. This system is easy to use, and it will
let you search the
currently open and resolved bugs to see if your problem has
already been reported. If your problem has been reported, you can
see whether any of the developers have commented, suggesting
workarounds, or the reason for the bug, etc. Or you may have
information to add (see about creating and modifying bug reports
below), in which case, go right ahead and add the information.
If you don't have any additional information, you may just want
to vote for this bug, and perhaps
add yourself to the CC list to follow the progress
of this bug.
Open Ant bugs by order of priority.
Open Ant bugs by number of votes.
Filing a Bug Report
Please read our document about problems before deciding that there is an unreported bug in Ant.
You have a few choices at this point. You can send
an email to the user mailing list
to see if
others have encountered your issue and find out how they may
have worked around it. If after some discussion, you feel it
is time to create
a bug report, this is a simple operation in the bug database.
Please try to provide as much information as possible in order
to assist the developers in resolving the bug. Please try to enter
correct values for the various inputs when creating the bug, such
as which version of Ant you are running, and on which platform,
etc. Once the bug is created, you can also add attachments to
the bug report.
What information should you include in your bug report? The easiest bugs to fix are those that are most easily reproducible, so it is really helpful if you can produce a small test case that exhibits the problem. In this case, you would attach the build file and any other files necessary to reproduce the problem, probably packed together in an archive. If you can't produce a test case, you should try to include a snippet from your build file and the relevant sections from the verbose or debug output from Ant. Try to include the header information where Ant states the version, the OS and VM information, etc. As debug output is likely to be very large, it's best to remove any output that is not relevant. Once the bug is entered into the bug database, you will be kept informed by email about progress on the bug. If you receive email asking for further information, please try to respond, as it will aid in the resolution of your bug.
To create the bug report hit this link.
Asking for an Enhancement
Sometimes, you may find that Ant just doesn't do what you need it to. It isn't a bug, as such, since Ant is working the way it is supposed to work. Perhaps it is some additional functionality for a task that hasn't been thought of yet, or maybe a completely new task. For these situations, you will want to raise an enhancement request. Enhancement requests are managed using the same Apache Bug Database described above. These are just a different type of bug report. If you look in the bug database, you will see that one of the severity settings for a bug is "Enhancement". Just fill the bug report in, set the severity of the bug to "Enhancement", and state in the description how you would like to have Ant enhanced. Again, you should first check whether there are any existing enhancment requests that cover your needs. If so, just add your vote to these.
Fixing the Bug
If you aren't satisfied with just filing a bug report, you can
try to find the cause of the problem and provide a fix yourself.
The best way to do that is by working with the latest code from Subversion.
Alternatively, you can work with the source code available from the
source distributions. If you
are going to tackle the problem at this level, you may want to
discuss some details first on the dev
mailing list. Once you have a fix for the problem, you may submit
the fix as a patch to either the
dev mailing
list, or enter the bug database as described above and attach the
patch to the bug report. Using the bug database has the advantage
of being able to track the progress of your patch.
If you have a patch to submit and are sending it to the
dev mailing list,
prefix "[PATCH]"
to your message subject (this is also a good idea for
a subject line in the bug database).
Please include any relevant bug numbers.
Patch files should be created with the -u
option of the
diff or svn diff command. For
example:
diff -u Javac.java.orig Javac.java > javac.diffs
or, if you have source from Subversion:
svn diff Javac.java > javac.diffs
Note: You should give your patch files meaningful names.
This makes it easier for developers who need to apply a number
of different patch files.