mirror of https://github.com/tLDP/LDP
150 lines
5.4 KiB
XML
150 lines
5.4 KiB
XML
<chapter id="introduction">
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<title>Introduction</title>
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<section id="whatis">
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<title>What is Bugzilla?</title>
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<para>
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Bugzilla is a bug- or issue-tracking system. Bug-tracking
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systems allow individual or groups of developers effectively to keep track
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of outstanding problems with their product.
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Bugzilla was originally written by Terry Weissman in a programming language
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called <glossterm linkend="gloss-tcl">TCL</glossterm>, to
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replace a rudimentary bug-tracking database used internally by Netscape
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Communications. Terry later ported Bugzilla to Perl from TCL, and in Perl
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it remains to this day. Most commercial defect-tracking software vendors
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at the time charged enormous licensing fees, and Bugzilla quickly became
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a favorite of the open-source crowd (with its genesis in the open-source
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browser project, Mozilla). It is now the de-facto standard
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defect-tracking system against which all others are measured.
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</para>
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<para>Bugzilla boasts many advanced features. These include:
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<itemizedlist>
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<listitem>
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<para>Powerful searching</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>User-configurable email notifications of bug changes</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>Full change history</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>Inter-bug dependency tracking and graphing</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>Excellent attachment management</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>Integrated, product-based, granular security schema</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>Fully security-audited, and runs under Perl's taint mode</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>A robust, stable RDBMS back-end</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>Web, XML, email and console interfaces</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>Completely customisable and/or localisable web user
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interface</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>Extensive configurability</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>Smooth upgrade pathway between versions</para>
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</listitem>
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</itemizedlist>
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</para>
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</section>
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<section id="why">
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<title>Why Should We Use Bugzilla?</title>
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<para>For many years, defect-tracking software has remained principally
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the domain of large software development houses. Even then, most shops
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never bothered with bug-tracking software, and instead simply relied on
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shared lists and email to monitor the status of defects. This procedure
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is error-prone and tends to cause those bugs judged least significant by
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developers to be dropped or ignored.</para>
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<para>These days, many companies are finding that integrated
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defect-tracking systems reduce downtime, increase productivity, and raise
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customer satisfaction with their systems. Along with full disclosure, an
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open bug-tracker allows manufacturers to keep in touch with their clients
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and resellers, to communicate about problems effectively throughout the
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data management chain. Many corporations have also discovered that
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defect-tracking helps reduce costs by providing IT support
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accountability, telephone support knowledge bases, and a common,
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well-understood system for accounting for unusual system or software
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issues.</para>
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<para>But why should
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<emphasis>you</emphasis>
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use Bugzilla?</para>
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<para>Bugzilla is very adaptable to various situations. Known uses
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currently include IT support queues, Systems Administration deployment
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management, chip design and development problem tracking (both
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pre-and-post fabrication), and software and hardware bug tracking for
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luminaries such as Redhat, NASA, Linux-Mandrake, and VA Systems.
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Combined with systems such as
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<ulink url="http://www.cvshome.org">CVS</ulink>,
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<ulink url="http://www.mozilla.org/bonsai.html">Bonsai</ulink>, or
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<ulink url="http://www.perforce.com">Perforce SCM</ulink>, Bugzilla
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provides a powerful, easy-to-use solution to configuration management and
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replication problems.</para>
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<para>Bugzilla can dramatically increase the productivity and
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accountability of individual employees by providing a documented workflow
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and positive feedback for good performance. How many times do you wake up
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in the morning, remembering that you were supposed to do
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<emphasis>something</emphasis>
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today, but you just can't quite remember? Put it in Bugzilla, and you
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have a record of it from which you can extrapolate milestones, predict
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product versions for integration, and follow the discussion trail
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that led to critical decisions.</para>
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<para>Ultimately, Bugzilla puts the power in your hands to improve your
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value to your employer or business while providing a usable framework for
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your natural attention to detail and knowledge store to flourish.</para>
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</section>
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</chapter>
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