+Frequently Asked Questions about Bison:
+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Q1. Is Bison Y2K compliant?
+
+A1. If you're looking for a guarantee or certification, I can't
+ provide it. With a little thought you can answer this one for
+ yourself, though. (Hint: does a parser generator rely on the
+ date or time for anything?) If you're still confused, see
+ http://www.gnu.org/software/year2000.html for more information.
+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Q2. I'm having trouble using Bison. Where can I find help?
+
+A2. First, read the fine manual which comes with bison. Beyond that,
+ you can send mail to <help-bison@gnu.org>. This mailing list is
+ intended to be populated with people who are willing to answer
+ questions about using and installing Bison. Please keep in mind
+ that (most of) the people on the list have aspects of their lives
+ which are not related to Bison (!), so you may not receive an
+ answer to your question right away. This can be frustrating, but
+ please try not to honk them off; remember that any help they
+ provide is purely voluntary and out of the kindness of their
+ hearts.
+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Q3. I found a bug. What should I include in the bug report?
+
+A3. Before you send a bug report, make sure you are using the latest
+ version. Check ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/bison/ or one of its
+ mirrors. Be sure to include the version number in your bug
+ report. If the bug is present in the latest version but not in a
+ previous version, try to determine the most recent version which
+ did not contain the bug.
+
+ If the bug is parser-related, you should include the smallest
+ grammar you can which demonstrates the bug. The smaller and
+ simpler the grammar, the easier it will be to fix the bug.
+
+ Include information about your compilation environment, including
+ your operating system's name and version and your compiler's name
+ and version. If you have trouble compiling, you should also
+ include a transcript of the build session, starting with the
+ invocation of `configure'. Depending on the nature of the bug,
+ you may be asked to send additional files as well (such as
+ `config.h' or `config.cache').
+
+ Patches are most welcome, but not required. That is, do not
+ hesitate to send a bug report just because you can not provide a
+ fix.
+
+ Send bug reports to <bug-bison@gnu.org>.
+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Q4. Will Bison ever have C++ support?
+
+A4. Yes, it's in the works. I will need beta testers, however (and
+ people haven't exactly been lining up for the task). When this
+ feature is ready to be tested, it will be announced on the
+ bug-bison mailing list. If you're interested in testing C++
+ support when it becomes available, please consider subscribing to
+ the list, especially if you are willing to beta test other
+ releases as well.
+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Q5. What is involved in being a beta tester?
+
+A5. It's not terribly involved. Basically, you would download a test
+ release, compile it, and use it to build and run a parser or two.
+ After that, you would either submit a bug report or a message
+ saying that everything is okay. It is important to report
+ successes as well as failures because test releases eventually
+ become mainstream releases, but only if they are adequately
+ tested. If no one tests, development is essentially halted.
+
+ Beta testers are particularly needed for operating systems to
+ which I do not have access. I currently have easy access to
+ Linux (x86 glibc 2.1), Solaris (SPARC) 2.6 and 2.7, and HP-UX
+ 10.20. Reports about other operating systems are especially
+ welcome.
+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Q6. How do I join the help-bison and bug-bison mailing lists?
+
+A6. See http://www.gnu.org/ (the section about "GNU mailing lists")
+ for more information.
+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------
projects / bison.git / commitdiff
