Re: gcc bugs

["Martin v. Loewis" <martin at loewis dot home dot cs dot tu-berlin dot de>]

> So how do I go about finding a bug to work on?
> I see there is a gcc-prs mailing list.
> 
> Could I just choose a problem mentioned on that list?

That, or the Web interface at http://gcc.gnu.org/cgi-bin/gnatsweb.pl

> Do I need to worry about duplicating effort?

Unlikely - especially if the bug is older. You can also look at the
expected failures in the test suites; nobody is going to work on any
of these any time soon.

If you really want to be cautious, you could announce that you are
going to look at a specific problem before you start doing so.

> I see that some emails have a link to the GNATS system.
> 
> Is there a different front ends for GNATS?

Different from what? There is the Web interface, and an email
interface. There is also a set of command line tools, but they only
work on the local machine, so nobody is using them.

> It would be good to have a web page detailing the bug fixing
> procedures that someone like myself should follow.

That would be good. Do you want to write one?

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask (just as you
currently do). There aren't that many new contributors every week, so
we can handle all questions that pop up. GCC internals questions
usually get a higher priority from maintainers than people that just
ask FAQs.

Looking forward to your patches,
Martin