--- In firebird-support@yahoogroups.com, Hans <hhoogstraat@...> wrote:

>
> I'm not subscribed to any other Firebird Conferences and I don't want
> to get into trouble by posting to the wrong conference.
>
> Question where and how do I report a verified FB1.5 and FB2.0 bug ?

Hello Hans,

The first thing to consider is where the 'bug' occurs. For example, is
it reproducable using iSQL, or is it only a problem when used in
conjunction with the JDBC, .NET or ODBC driver, or using a specific
connection component within your development environment.

If the problem can not be replicated using iSQL, then chances are it
is either a bug in one of these drivers/components, or you are not
using these drivers/components correctly, and you should ask questions
on the respective list.

If however the problem can be replicated using iSQL, then here is the
place to ask about it.

Tips for asking:

1) Don't run in with all guns blazing. It is entirely possible that
the bug is actually 'as designed behaviour'. This behaviour may seem
illogical, but chances are it is to keep Firebird in step with the SQL
standards body.

Here is an example:

select sum(ID) from Employee where 1=0;

You may expect it to return 0, but it returns <null>. I can not tell
you why it does that, to me it seems illogical but I am sure there is
some reason behind the madness, the documentation clearly states this
will happen and provides a workaround to get the behaviour normal
people expect.

ie:
select Coalesce(sum(ID),0) from Employee where 1=0;

2) Remember there have been literally millions of downloads of various
versions of Firebird, and many of us distribute the installer with our
applications, so there may be even more installations. We are probably
not Christopher Columbus here. The online documentation is constantly
improving, and the published documentation is excellent but it still
has a way to go.

The chances of finding an 'unknown issue' is *significantly* lower
than finding something a developer has misunderstood and is trying to
use the wrong way.

This is one of the reasons certain threads are not taken seriously.

So you may want to try and use a format like:

[Summary of problem]
[Script to duplicate]
[Actual Result]
[Expected Result]

Then ask something in a non-threatening manner.
Is this a bug, or is this correct behaviour?

There are many Firebird developers and doc writers watching the list,
and so you should receive a reasonably prompt answer (especially so if
you have a simple script to duplicate it).

One of two things will happen.
* The bug is confirmed by someone and you will be asked to submit a
bug report to the tracker.
* The behaviour is confirmed to not be a bug

Of course, if you don't have something that can be replicated, it may
take a long time and significant effort on your part to identify the
cause.

Adam