Re: Bugs bugs, Finder bugs, yummy bugs
Re: Bugs bugs, Finder bugs, yummy bugs
- Subject: Re: Bugs bugs, Finder bugs, yummy bugs
- From: "John C. Welch" <email@hidden>
- Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2005 14:00:36 -0500
- Thread-topic: Bugs bugs, Finder bugs, yummy bugs
On 8/23/05 13:28, "Richard Rönnbäck" <email@hidden> wrote:
> At that occasion I was, rather bluntly as I recall, discouraged by Chris
> Espinoza, since he claimed what I observed wasn't a bug. He didn't care to
> explain why it wasn't , but I took his word for it and didn't bother to
> report.
Not to dis Chris, but if you think it's a bug, report it anyway. You pay for
it, you use it, your thoughts on the matter count. What seems one way on a
mailing list can, quite often, turn out to be something else on closer
inspection. Often, this inspection won't happen outside of a customer-filed
bug report.
>
> So now, after following the recent Finder bugs/Finder bash threads I thought
> I should once again try to find information about how to report bugs, after
> all the recent threads taught me that bug reports should be filed through
> something "radar" and that I need to have an ADC membership.
>
> So, after logging in with my ADC membership and having spent 15 minutes I
> still have found no information whatsoever on how and where to report
> AppleScript bugs.
<http://bugreport.apple.com/> is the URL.
Yes...filing bugs can be tricky, and Apple should do better here with tips
and tricks, but the way I deal with it is to look at what I'm trying to
script. If it's the OS, or applications unavailable outside of the OS, then
I file against Mac OS X.
If it's against software unique to Mac OS X Server, such as Server Admin or
QTSS Publisher, I file the bug against Mac OS X Server.
Pro Apps, iApps, Quicktime, Safari and Java all have their own categories,
and you can file AppleScript bugs against those directly.
When in doubt, pick "Other". There is some triage going on behind the
scenes, so if you aren't sure, pick "Other". The bug is still filed, and the
triage team will figure out who needs to get it. My bug on Keychain
Scripting and SSL in Mac OS X 10.3, fixed in Mac OS X 10.4, was not handled
by the core OS team, but rather the Keychain folks. However, I still filed
it on the OS.
Note that you can file bugs on documentation too...and I HIGHLY recommend
it. I'm working on a plethora of them.
Sometimes it's a lot of work. The Keychain Scripting SSL bug took me almost
seven months to nail down. It took years for one I filed on "Display Dialog"
to get fixed. Literally. Don't go into it assuming that the bug will
immediately get fixed. Do go into it assuming that it will be in front of
people like an albatross until it is fixed. Even if it's by a new OS that
doesn't break the same way, (LPR bug in 8.6 fixed that way)
Sometimes bugs get closed as duplicates. That's okay too, because if many
people file a bug on the same thing, it gets more attention. While I don't
recommend it as a primary tactic, sometimes being a very squeaky wheel gets
results.
If you're going to file a bug, take notes on what you do when it happens.
Copious detail is a good thing. Report what you see, leave off what you
think is happening, unless you have real support, i.e. log files. Even a
well-thought-out hypothesis can be completely wrong. Just report the facts
as best you can, the conclusions will take care of themselves.
Include build numbers with the OS version. They don't always map 1:1,
particularly if your on a seed. Remember how Mac OS X 10.4 changed between
its WWDC intro and the version you saw on the release.
While the bug form may be tedious, do your best to fill in the blanks
correctly. It can make a difference.
Finally, remember this: No one wants bugs. No one at Apple is deliberately
coding or allowing bugs. I've met and know a lot of these folks. They want
this stuff to work the right way the first time, and when that doesn't
happen, whether via unexpected bugs, situations they couldn't plan for, or
just a simple lack of time and resources, they don't like it. When someone
files a bug on something, especially a bug that the engineers know about,
they get really happy. You'd be amazed at what a bug report from you can do
to elevate the priority of a bug beyond what an Apple Engineer can do. You
have influence that they don't. You pay for this stuff. Even to Steve, that
matters.
File the bugs. If you need help with one, ask on the list, hell, ping me
offlist, I'll help as best I can. If it's one that I didn't notice, I may
file one on the same bug too, and make it more noticed.
john
--
If you're in a fair fight, you didn't plan it properly.
-- Nick Lappos, Chief R&D Pilot, Sikorsky Aircraft.
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