doc/FAQ

   1 Frequently Asked Questions about Bison:
   2
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   4
   5 Q1.  Is Bison Y2K compliant?
   6
   7 A1.  If you're looking for a guarantee or certification, I can't
   8      provide it.  With a little thought you can answer this one for
   9      yourself, though.  (Hint: does a parser generator rely on the
  10      date or time for anything?)  If you're still confused, see
  11      http://www.gnu.org/software/year2000.html for more information.
  12
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  14
  15 Q2.  I can't build Bison because "make" complains that "msgfmt" is not
  16      found.  What should I do?
  17
  18 A2.  Like most GNU packages with internationalization support, that
  19      feature is turned on by default.  If you have problems building
  20      in the "po" subdirectory, it indicates that your system's
  21      internationalization support is lacking.  You can re-configure
  22      Bison with "--disable-nls" to turn off this support, or you can
  23      install GNU gettext from ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gettext/ and
  24      re-configure Bison.  See the file "ABOUT-NLS" for more
  25      information.
  26
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  28
  29 Q3.  I'm having trouble using Bison.  Where can I find help?
  30
  31 A3.  First, read the fine manual which comes with bison.  Beyond that,
  32      you can send mail to <help-bison@gnu.org>.  This mailing list is
  33      intended to be populated with people who are willing to answer
  34      questions about using and installing Bison.  Please keep in mind
  35      that (most of) the people on the list have aspects of their lives
  36      which are not related to Bison (!), so you may not receive an
  37      answer to your question right away.  This can be frustrating, but
  38      please try not to honk them off; remember that any help they
  39      provide is purely voluntary and out of the kindness of their
  40      hearts.
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  43
  44 Q4.  I found a bug.  What should I include in the bug report?
  45
  46 A4.  Before you send a bug report, make sure you are using the latest
  47      version.  Check ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/bison/ or one of its
  48      mirrors.  Be sure to include the version number in your bug
  49      report.  If the bug is present in the latest version but not in a
  50      previous version, try to determine the most recent version which
  51      did not contain the bug.
  52
  53      If the bug is parser-related, you should include the smallest
  54      grammar you can which demonstrates the bug.  The grammar file
  55      should also be complete (i.e., I should be able to run it through
  56      Bison without having to edit or add anything).  The smaller and
  57      simpler the grammar, the easier it will be to fix the bug.
  58
  59      Include information about your compilation environment, including
  60      your operating system's name and version and your compiler's name
  61      and version.  If you have trouble compiling, you should also
  62      include a transcript of the build session, starting with the
  63      invocation of `configure'.  Depending on the nature of the bug,
  64      you may be asked to send additional files as well (such as
  65      `config.h' or `config.cache').
  66
  67      Patches are most welcome, but not required.  That is, do not
  68      hesitate to send a bug report just because you can not provide a
  69      fix.
  70
  71      Send bug reports to <bug-bison@gnu.org>.
  72
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  74
  75 Q5.  Will Bison ever have C++ support?
  76
  77 A5.  Yes, it's in the works.  Things are very chaotic right now, but
  78      what little information floats around is posted to the bug-bison
  79      mailing list.  If you're interested in testing C++ support when
  80      it becomes available, please consider subscribing to the list,
  81      especially if you are willing to beta test other releases as
  82      well.
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  85
  86 Q6.  What is involved in being a beta tester?
  87
  88 A6.  It's not terribly involved.  Basically, you would download a test
  89      release, compile it, and use it to build and run a parser or two.
  90      After that, you would submit either a bug report or a message
  91      saying that everything is okay.  It is important to report
  92      successes as well as failures because test releases eventually
  93      become mainstream releases, but only if they are adequately
  94      tested.  If no one tests, development is essentially halted.
  95
  96      Beta testers are particularly needed for operating systems to
  97      which I do not have access.  I currently have easy access to
  98      Linux (x86 glibc 2.1), Solaris (SPARC) 2.6 and 2.7, and HP-UX
  99      10.20.  Reports about other operating systems are especially
 100      welcome.
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 103
 104 Q7.  How do I join the help-bison and bug-bison mailing lists?
 105
 106 A7.  See http://www.gnu.org/ (the section about "GNU mailing lists")
 107      for more information.
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