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John Havlik's presentation from WordCamp MSP 2010
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HOW-TO: REPORTING ISSUESWP201: Do-it-yourself Track
Follow John Havlik @mtekkmonkey
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• WordPress user since 2005• Plugin developer since 2006• Maintain Breadcrumb NavXT
• Administrator for Weblogs.us• Blog: mtekk.us
About Me
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• Basic troubleshooting• Is it a bug?• Reporting your find• Using Trac• Using the Forums
Overview
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TROUBLESHOOTINGBasic
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• Troubleshooting is a systematic search for the root cause of an issue
• Often necessary for solving issues in complex systems (WordPress)
Basic Troubleshooting
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• Five basic steps:1. Define the problem2. Reproduce the problem3. Identify possible solutions4. Test possible solutions5. Evaluate results
• Iterate these steps until the problem is solved
The Steps
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1. Misbehaving plugins2. Misbehaving themes3. Improperly configured WordPress install4. Improperly configured server• Cause majority of WordPress related issues
The Usual Suspects
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• “White Screen of Death”• Fatal memory error• Internal server error (Error 500)• Headers already sent error
Common Problems
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• Disable all plugins• If this fixed it, re-enable one-by-one to find the culprit
• Change theme to Twenty Ten (WP 3.0+)• If this fixed it, look at your theme’s functions.php file
• Re-upload the WordPress core files
Common Remedies
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• Think critically, not magically• Always start with the simplest and most likely cause• Try undoing your most recent actions• Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you get stuck
Troubleshooting Tips
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• Error messages can be helpful• Parse error: parse error, unexpected T_STRING, expecting
T_OLD_FUNCTION or T_FUNCTION or T_VAR or ‘}’ in /wp-content/plugins/breadcrumb-navxt/breadcrumb_navxt_admin.php on line 53
• Error messages can be misleading• Warning: strpos() expects parameter 1 to be string, array
given in /wp-admin/includes/media.php on line 310• Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already
sent by (output started at /wp-config.php:34) in /path/blog/wp-login.php on line 42
More Tips
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BUG?Is it a
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• Check the documentation• codex.wordpress.org• Plugin/theme author’s plugin/theme page
• Check the forums• wordpress.org/support
Is it a BUG?
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• Intermittent behavior is very difficult to fix• Create a list of steps to trigger the bug• Try them on a “clean slate”
Is it Reproducible?
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YOUR FINDReporting
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• For WordPress issues:• WordPress Trac (general)• [email protected] (security)
• For plugin/theme issues:• WordPress.org forums• Developer’s page for the plugin/theme
Reporting Your Find
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• Provide instructions to reproduce the bug• Provide as much detail as you can• Always include the version of WordPress• For plugin/theme issues: • Include the plugin/theme version
Things to Remember
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USING TRACReporting Your Find:
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• http://core.trac.wordpress.org• Login using your wordpress.org credentials
Using Trac
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1. Search for your bug• If an existing ticket exists:• Don’t open a new ticket• Add a note providing more information
2. Open a ticket
Reporting Bugs Using Trac
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Opening a Trac Ticket•Summary – Keep it concise•Description – Full detail•Severity – If in doubt, leave this alone•Version & Component – The WordPress version, and component the bug was found in.
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USING THE FORUMSReporting Your Find:
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• For Plugins and Themes• Go to the extension’s wordpress.org/extend page• E.g. wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-lynx
• Click on the “others are saying” link• Click on the “Add New” link on the next page
Using the Forums
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Starting a New Topic•Fill out Topic title describing the issue•Set Version to the WordPress version you experience the issue in•Message should contain:
•Steps to reproduce•Version of the plugin/theme
•Add additional tags if appropriate•Don’t remove what was automatically inserted
•Don’t change the section•Check the subscribe box
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• Check in on your tickets/forum topics• Many times more information is needed• Fixes may be made need testing
Final Thoughts
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QUESTIONS?Any
