Introduction
What is Bugzilla?
Bugzilla is a bug- or issue-tracking system. Bug-tracking
systems allow individual or groups of developers effectively to keep track
of outstanding problems with their products.
Do we need more here?
Why use a bug-tracking system?
For many years, defect-tracking software was principally
the domain of large software development houses. Most smaller shops
simply relied on
shared lists and email to monitor the status of defects. This procedure
was error-prone and tended to cause those bugs judged least significant by
developers to be dropped or ignored.
Integrated
defect-tracking systems reduce downtime, increase productivity, and raise
customer satisfaction with their systems. Along with full disclosure, an
open bug-tracker allows you to keep in touch with your clients
and resellers, to communicate about problems effectively throughout the
data management chain. Many corporations have also discovered that
defect-tracking helps reduce costs by providing IT support
accountability, telephone support knowledge bases, and a common,
well-understood method for accounting for unusual system or software
issues.
Why use Bugzilla?
Bugzilla boasts many advanced features. These include:
Powerful searching
User-configurable email notifications of bug changes
Full change history
Inter-bug dependency tracking and graphing
Excellent attachment management
Integrated, product-based, granular security schema
Fully security-audited, and runs under Perl's taint mode
A robust, stable RDBMS back-end
Web, XML, email and console interfaces
Completely customisable and/or localisable web user
interface
Extensive configurability
Smooth upgrade pathway between versions
Bugzilla is very adaptable to various situations. Known uses
currently include IT support queues, Systems Administration deployment
management, chip design and development problem tracking (both
pre-and-post fabrication), and software and hardware bug tracking for
luminaries such as Redhat, NASA, Linux-Mandrake, and VA Systems.
Combined with systems such as
CVS,
Bonsai, or
Perforce SCM, Bugzilla
provides a powerful, easy-to-use solution to configuration management and
replication problems.