Skip to Content
97 Things Every Programmer Should Know
book

97 Things Every Programmer Should Know

by Kevlin Henney
February 2010
Beginner
255 pages
6h 10m
English
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Content preview from 97 Things Every Programmer Should Know

Chapter 38. How to Use a Bug Tracker

Matt Doar

image with no caption

WHETHER YOU CALL THEM bugs, defects, or even design side effects, there is no getting away from them. Knowing how to submit a good bug report, as well as what to look for in one, are key skills for keeping a project moving along nicely.

A good bug report needs to convey three things:

  • How to reproduce the bug, as precisely as possible, and how often this will make the bug appear

  • What should have happened, at least in your opinion

  • What actually happened, or at least as much information as you have recorded

The amount and quality of information reported in a bug says as much about the reporter as it does about the bug. Angry, terse bugs (“This function sucks!”) tell the developers that you were having a bad time, but not much else. A bug with plenty of context to make it easier to reproduce earns the respect of everyone, even if it stops a release.

Bugs are like a conversation, with all the history right there in front of everyone. Don’t blame others or deny the bug’s very existence. Instead, ask for more information or consider what you could have missed.

Changing the status of a bug—e.g., Open to Closed—is a public statement of what you think of the bug. Taking the time to explain why you think the bug should be closed will save tedious hours spent later on justifying it to frustrated managers and customers. Changing the priority of a bug is a ...

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.

Read now

Unlock full access

More than 5,000 organizations count on O’Reilly

AirBnbBlueOriginElectronic ArtsHomeDepotNasdaqRakutenTata Consultancy Services

QuotationMarkO’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.
Julian F.
Head of Cybersecurity
QuotationMarkI wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.
Addison B.
Field Engineer
QuotationMarkI’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.
Amir M.
Data Platform Tech Lead
QuotationMarkI'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.
Mark W.
Embedded Software Engineer

You might also like

40 Algorithms Every Programmer Should Know

40 Algorithms Every Programmer Should Know

Imran Ahmad

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780596809515Errata Page