source: chapter02/askforhelp.xml@ 687ef73

<sect1 id="ch-prepare-askforhelp">
<title>How to ask for help</title>
<?dbhtml filename="askforhelp.html" dir="chapter02"?>

<para>If you encounter a problem while using this book, and your problem
is not listed in the FAQ (<ulink url="&faq-root;"/>), you will find that
most of the people on Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and on the mailing lists
are willing to help you. An overview of the LFS mailing lists can be
found via <xref linkend="ch-scatter-maillists"/>. To assist us in
diagnosing and solving your problem, include as much relevant
information as possible in your request for help.</para>

<sect2>
<title>Things to mention</title>
 
<para>Apart from a brief explanation of the problem you're having, the
essential things to include in your request are:</para>

<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>the version of the book you are using (being &version;),</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>the host distribution and version you are using to create
LFS from,</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>the package or section giving you problems,</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>the exact error message or symptom you are receiving,</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>whether you have deviated from the book at all.</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

<para>(Note that saying that you've deviated from the book doesn't mean
that we won't help you. After all, LFS is about choice. It'll just
help us to see other possible causes of your problem.)</para>

</sect2>

<sect2>
<title>Configure problems</title>

<para>When something goes wrong during the stage where the configure script
is run, look through the <filename>config.log</filename> file. This file
may contain errors encountered during configure which weren't printed to
the screen. Include those relevant lines if you decide to ask for
help.</para>

</sect2>

<sect2>
<title>Compile problems</title>

<para>To help us find the cause of the problem, both screen output and
the contents of various files are useful. The screen output from both
the ./configure script and the make run can be useful. Don't blindly
include the whole thing but on the other hand, don't include too little.
As an example, here is some screen output from make:</para>

<screen>gcc -DALIASPATH=\"/mnt/lfs/usr/share/locale:.\"
-DLOCALEDIR=\"/mnt/lfs/usr/share/locale\" -DLIBDIR=\"/mnt/lfs/usr/lib\"
-DINCLUDEDIR=\"/mnt/lfs/usr/include\" -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I. -I.
-g -O2 -c getopt1.c
gcc -g -O2 -static -o make ar.o arscan.o commands.o dir.o expand.o file.o
function.o getopt.o implicit.o job.o main.o misc.o read.o remake.o rule.o
signame.o variable.o vpath.o default.o remote-stub.o version.o opt1.o
-lutil job.o: In function `load_too_high':
/lfs/tmp/make-3.79.1/job.c:1565: undefined reference to `getloadavg'
collect2: ld returned 1 exit status
make[2]: *** [make] Error 1
make[2]: Leaving directory `/lfs/tmp/make-3.79.1'
make[1]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1
make[1]: Leaving directory `/lfs/tmp/make-3.79.1'
make: *** [all-recursive-am] Error 2</screen>

<para>In this case, many people just include the bottom section where it
says:</para>

<screen>make [2]: *** [make] Error 1</screen>

<para>and onwards. This isn't enough for us to diagnose the problem because it
only tells us that <emphasis>something</emphasis> went wrong, not
<emphasis>what</emphasis> went wrong. The whole section, as in the example
above, is what should be included to be helpful, because it includes the
command that was executed and the command's error message(s).</para>

<para>An excellent article on asking for help on the Internet in general
has been written by Eric S. Raymond. It is available online at <ulink
url="http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html"/>.
Read and follow the hints in that document and you are much more likely
to get a response to start with and also to get the help you actually
need.</para>

</sect2>

<sect2>
<title>Test suite problems</title>

<para>Many packages provide a test suite which, depending on the importance
of the package, we may encourage you to run. Sometimes packages will
generate false or expected failures. If you encounter these, you can check
the LFS Wiki page at <ulink url="&wiki-root;"/> to see whether we have
already noted and investigated them. If we already know
about them, then usually there is no need to be concerned.</para>

</sect2>


</sect1>