summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/docs/sgml/faq.sgml
blob: df80794cda4708d4bbeb7ab9b5d043f9b1b24977 (plain)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907
908
909
910
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
921
922
923
924
925
926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934
935
936
937
938
939
940
941
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963
964
965
966
967
968
969
970
971
972
973
974
975
976
977
978
979
980
981
982
983
984
985
986
987
988
989
990
991
992
993
994
995
996
997
998
999
1000
1001
1002
1003
1004
1005
1006
1007
1008
1009
1010
1011
1012
1013
1014
1015
1016
1017
1018
1019
1020
1021
1022
1023
1024
1025
1026
1027
1028
1029
1030
1031
1032
1033
1034
1035
1036
1037
1038
1039
1040
1041
1042
1043
1044
1045
1046
1047
1048
1049
1050
1051
1052
1053
1054
1055
1056
1057
1058
1059
1060
1061
1062
1063
1064
1065
1066
1067
1068
1069
1070
1071
1072
1073
1074
1075
1076
1077
1078
1079
1080
1081
1082
1083
1084
1085
1086
1087
1088
1089
1090
1091
1092
1093
1094
1095
1096
1097
1098
1099
1100
1101
1102
1103
1104
1105
1106
1107
1108
1109
1110
1111
1112
1113
1114
1115
1116
1117
1118
1119
1120
1121
1122
1123
1124
1125
1126
1127
1128
1129
1130
1131
1132
1133
1134
1135
1136
1137
1138
1139
1140
1141
1142
1143
1144
1145
1146
1147
1148
1149
1150
1151
1152
1153
1154
1155
1156
1157
1158
1159
1160
1161
1162
1163
1164
1165
1166
1167
1168
1169
1170
1171
1172
1173
1174
1175
1176
1177
1178
1179
1180
1181
1182
1183
1184
1185
1186
1187
1188
1189
1190
1191
1192
1193
1194
1195
1196
1197
1198
1199
1200
1201
1202
1203
1204
1205
1206
1207
1208
1209
1210
1211
1212
1213
1214
1215
1216
1217
1218
1219
1220
1221
1222
1223
1224
1225
1226
1227
1228
1229
1230
1231
1232
1233
1234
1235
1236
1237
1238
1239
1240
1241
1242
1243
1244
1245
1246
1247
1248
1249
1250
1251
1252
1253
1254
1255
1256
1257
1258
1259
1260
1261
1262
1263
1264
1265
1266
1267
1268
1269
1270
1271
1272
1273
1274
1275
1276
1277
1278
1279
1280
1281
1282
1283
1284
1285
1286
1287
1288
1289
1290
1291
1292
1293
1294
1295
1296
1297
1298
1299
1300
1301
1302
<!-- <!DOCTYPE appendix PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook V4.1//EN"> -->

<appendix id="faq">
  <title>The Bugzilla FAQ</title>

  <para>
    This FAQ includes questions not covered elsewhere in the Guide.
  </para>
  
  <qandaset>


    <qandadiv id="faq-general">
      <title>General Questions</title>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-general-information">
	  <para>
	    Where can I find information about Bugzilla?</para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    You can stay up-to-date with the latest Bugzilla
	    information at <ulink url="http://www.bugzilla.org/">
	    http://www.bugzilla.org/</ulink>
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-general-license">
	  <para>
	    What license is Bugzilla distributed under?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Bugzilla is covered by the Mozilla Public License.
	    See details at <ulink url="http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/">
	    http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/</ulink>
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-general-support">
	  <para>
	    How do I get commercial support for Bugzilla?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
          <para>
            <ulink url="http://bugzilla.org/consulting.html">http://bugzilla.org/consulting.html</ulink>
            is a list of people and companies who have asked us to list them
            as consultants for Bugzilla.
          </para>
	  <para>
	    <ulink url="http://www.collab.net/">www.collab.net</ulink> offers
	    Bugzilla as part of their standard offering to large projects.
	    They do have some minimum fees that are pretty hefty, and generally
	    aren't interested in small projects.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    There are several experienced
	    Bugzilla hackers on the mailing list/newsgroup who are willing
	    to make themselves available for generous compensation.
	    Try sending a message to the mailing list asking for a volunteer.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-general-companies">
	  <para>
	    What major companies or projects are currently using Bugzilla
	    for bug-tracking?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    There are <emphasis>dozens</emphasis> of major companies with public
	    Bugzilla sites to track bugs in their products.  A few include:
	    <simplelist>
	      <member>Netscape/AOL</member>
	      <member>Mozilla.org</member>
	      <member>NASA</member>
	      <member>Red Hat Software</member>
	      <member>SuSe Corp</member>
	      <member>The Horde Project</member>
	      <member>AbiSource</member>
	      <member>Real Time Enterprises, Inc</member>
	      <member>Eggheads.org</member>
	      <member>Strata Software</member>
	      <member>RockLinux</member>
	      <member>Creative Labs (makers of SoundBlaster)</member>
	      <member>The Apache Foundation</member>
	      <member>The Gnome Foundation</member>
	      <member>Ximian</member>
	      <member>Linux-Mandrake</member>
	    </simplelist>
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    Suffice to say, there are more than enough huge projects using Bugzilla
	    that we can safely say it's extremely popular.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-general-maintainers">
	  <para>
	    Who maintains Bugzilla?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    A 
      <ulink url="http://www.bugzilla.org/who_we_are.html">core team</ulink>,
      led by Dave Miller (justdave@netscape.com).      
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-general-compare">
	  <para>
	    How does Bugzilla stack up against other bug-tracking databases?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    We can't find any head-to-head comparisons of Bugzilla against
	    other defect-tracking software. If you know of one, please
      get in touch. However, from the author's personal
	    experience with other bug-trackers, Bugzilla offers
	    superior performance on commodity hardware, better price
	    (free!), more developer- friendly features (such as stored
	    queries, email integration, and platform independence),
	    improved scalability, open source code, greater
	    flexibility, and superior ease-of-use.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    If you happen to be a commercial bug-tracker vendor, please
	    step forward with a list of advantages your product has over
      Bugzilla. We'd be happy to include it in the "Competitors"
      section.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-general-bzmissing">
	  <para>
	    Why doesn't Bugzilla offer this or that feature or compatibility
	    with this other tracking software?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    It may be that the support has not been built yet, or that you
	    have not yet found it.  Bugzilla is making tremendous strides in
	    usability, customizability, scalability, and user interface.  It
	    is widely considered the most complete and popular open-source
	    bug-tracking software in existence.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    That doesn't mean it can't use improvement!
	    You can help the project along by either hacking a patch yourself
	    that supports the functionality you require, or else submitting a
	    "Request for Enhancement" (RFE) using the bug submission interface
	    at <ulink url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=Bugzilla">bugzilla.mozilla.org</ulink>.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-general-mysql">
	  <para>
	    Why MySQL?  I'm interested in seeing Bugzilla run on
	    Oracle/Sybase/Msql/PostgreSQL/MSSQL.
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
            MySQL was originally chosen because it is free, easy to install,
            and was available for the hardware Netscape intended to run it on.
	  </para>
          <para>
            There is currently work in progress to make Bugzilla work on
            PostgreSQL and Sybase in the default distribution.  You can track
            the progress of these initiatives in bugs <ulink
            url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=98304">98304</ulink>
            and <ulink
            url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=173130">173130</ulink>
            respectively.
          </para>
          <para>
            Once both of these are done, adding support for additional
            database servers should be trivial.
          </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-general-bonsaitools">
	  <para>
	    Why do the scripts say "/usr/bonsaitools/bin/perl" instead of
	    "/usr/bin/perl" or something else?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	     Mozilla.org uses /usr/bonsaitools/bin/perl, because originally
       Terry wanted a place to put a version of Perl and other tools 
       that was strictly under his control. 
    </para>
		<para>
		  We always recommend that, if possible, you keep the path
		  as /usr/bonsaitools/bin/perl, and simply add symlink.  
      This will make upgrading
		  your Bugzilla much easier in the future.
		</para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>


      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-general-cookie">
	  <para>
	    Is there an easy way to change the Bugzilla cookie name?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    At present, no.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>
      
    </qandadiv>

    <qandadiv id="faq-phb">
      <title>Managerial Questions</title>
      <para>
	<note>
	  <para>
	    Questions likely to be asked by managers. :-)
	  </para>
	</note>
      </para>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-client">
	  <para>
	    Is Bugzilla web-based, or do you have to have specific software or
	    a specific operating system on your machine?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    It is web and e-mail based.  You can edit bugs by sending specially
	    formatted email to a properly configured Bugzilla, or control via the web.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-integration">
	  <para>
	    Can Bugzilla integrate with
	    Perforce (SCM software)?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Yes!  You can find more information elsewhere in "The Bugzilla
	    Guide" in the "Integration with Third-Party Products" section.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-projects">
	  <para>
	    Does Bugzilla allow the user to track multiple projects?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Absolutely!  You can track any number of Products that can each be
            composed of any number of Components.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-sorting">
	  <para>
	    If I am on many projects, and search for all bugs assigned to me, will
	    Bugzilla list them for me and allow me to sort by project, severity etc?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Yes.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-attachments">
	  <para>
	    Does Bugzilla allow attachments (text, screenshots, URLs etc)? If yes,
	    are there any that are NOT allowed?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Yes - any sort of attachment is allowed, although administrators can
      configure a maximum size.  
            Bugzilla gives the user the option of either using the MIME-type
            supplied by the browser, choosing from a pre-defined list or
            manually typing any arbitrary MIME-type. 
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-priorities">
	  <para>
	    Does Bugzilla allow us to define our own priorities and levels? Do we
	    have complete freedom to change the labels of fields and format of them, and
	    the choice of acceptable values?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Yes.  However, modifying some fields, notably those related to bug
	    progression states, also require adjusting the program logic to
	    compensate for the change.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    There is no GUI for adding fields to Bugzilla at this
	    time.  You can follow development of this feature at
	    <ulink
		   url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=91037">http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=91037</ulink>
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-reporting">
	  <para>
	    Does Bugzilla provide any reporting features, metrics, graphs, etc? You
	    know, the type of stuff that management likes to see. :)
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Yes.  Look at <ulink url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/report.cgi">
	    http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/report.cgi</ulink> for samples of what
            Bugzilla can do in reporting and graphing.
	  </para>
	  <para>
            If you can not get the reports you want from the included reporting
            scripts, it is possible to hook up a professional reporting package
            such as Crystal Reports using ODBC. If you choose to do this,
            beware that giving direct access to the database does contain some
            security implications. Even if you give read-only access to the
            bugs database it will bypass the secure bugs features of Bugzilla.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-email">
	  <para>
	    Is there email notification and if so, what do you see when you get an
	    email?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Email notification is user-configurable.  By default, the bug id and 
      Summary of the bug report accompany each email notification, along with
	    a list of the changes made.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-cclist">
	  <para>
	    Can email notification be set up to send to multiple
	    people, some on the To List, CC List, BCC List etc?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Yes.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-emailapp">
	  <para>
	    Do users have to have any particular
	    type of email application?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Bugzilla email is sent in plain text, the most compatible mail format
	    on the planet.
	    <note>
	      <para>
		If you decide to use the bugzilla_email integration features
		to allow Bugzilla to record responses to mail with the associated bug,
		you may need to caution your users to set their mailer to "respond
		to messages in the format in which they were sent".  For security reasons
		Bugzilla ignores HTML tags in comments, and if a user sends HTML-based
		email into Bugzilla the resulting comment looks downright awful.
	      </para>
	    </note>
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-data">
	  <para>
	    Does Bugzilla allow data to be imported and exported? If I had outsiders
	    write up a bug report using a MS Word bug template, could that template be
	    imported into "matching" fields? If I wanted to take the results of a query
	    and export that data to MS Excel, could I do that?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
          <para>
            Bugzilla can output buglists as HTML (the default), CSV or RDF.
            The link for CSV can be found at the bottom of the buglist in HTML
            format.  This CSV format can easily be imported into MS Excel or
            other spread-sheet applications.
          </para>
          <para>
            To use the RDF format of the buglist it is necessary to append a
            <computeroutput>&amp;ctype=rdf</computeroutput> to the URL.  RDF
            is meant to be machine readable and thus it is assumed that the
            URL would be generated progmatically so there is no user visible
            link to this format.
          </para>
          <para>
            Currently the only script included with Bugzilla that can import
            data is <filename>importxml.pl</filename> which is intended to be
            used for importing the data generated by <filename>xml.cgi</filename>
            in association with bug moving. Any other use is left as an
            exercise for the user.
          </para>
          <para>
            There are also scripts included in the <filename>contrib/</filename>
            directory for using e-mail to import information into Bugzilla,
            but these scripts are not currently supported and included for
            educational purposes.
          </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-l10n">
	  <para>
	    Has anyone converted Bugzilla to another language to be used in other
	    countries? Is it localizable?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
            Yes.  For more information including available translated templates,
            see <ulink
            url="http://www.bugzilla.org/download.html">http://www.bugzilla.org/download.html</ulink>.
            The admin interfaces are still not included in these translated
            templates and is therefore still English only.  Also, there may be
            issues with the charset not being declared.  See <ulink
            url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=126266">bug 126226</ulink>
            for more information.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-reports">
	  <para>
	    Can a user create and save reports? Can they do this in Word format?
	    Excel format?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Yes.  No.  Yes (using the CSV format).
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-searching">
	  <para>
	    Does Bugzilla have the ability to search by word, phrase, compound
	    search?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    You have no idea.  Bugzilla's query interface, particularly with the
	    advanced Boolean operators, is incredibly versatile.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-midair">
	  <para>
	     Does Bugzilla provide record locking when there is simultaneous access
	    to the same bug? Does the second person get a notice that the bug is in use
	    or how are they notified?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Bugzilla does not lock records.  It provides mid-air collision detection,
	    and offers the offending user a choice of options to deal with the conflict.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-backup">
	  <para>
	    Are there any backup features provided?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    MySQL, the database back-end for Bugzilla, allows hot-backup of data.
	    You can find strategies for dealing with backup considerations
	    at <ulink url="http://www.mysql.com/doc/B/a/Backup.html">
	    http://www.mysql.com/doc/B/a/Backup.html</ulink>
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-livebackup">
	  <para>
	    Can users be on the system while a backup is in progress?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Yes.  However, commits to the database must wait
	    until the tables are unlocked.  Bugzilla databases are typically
	    very small, and backups routinely take less than a minute.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-maintenance">
	  <para>
	    What type of human resources are needed to be on staff to install and
	    maintain Bugzilla? Specifically, what type of skills does the person need to
	    have? I need to find out if we were to go with Bugzilla, what types of
	    individuals would we need to hire and how much would that cost vs buying an
	    "Out-of-the-Box" solution.
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    If Bugzilla is set up correctly from the start, continuing maintenance
      needs are minimal and can be done easily using the web interface.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    Commercial Bug-tracking software typically costs somewhere upwards
	    of $20,000 or more for 5-10 floating licenses.  Bugzilla consultation
	    is available from skilled members of the newsgroup. Simple questions
      are answered there and then.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-installtime">
	  <para>
	    What time frame are we looking at if we decide to hire people to install
	    and maintain the Bugzilla? Is this something that takes hours or weeks to
	    install and a couple of hours per week to maintain and customize or is this
	    a multi-week install process, plus a full time job for 1 person, 2 people,
	    etc?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    It all depends on your level of commitment.  Someone with much Bugzilla
	    experience can get you up and running in less than a day, and
	    your Bugzilla install can run untended for years.  If your
	    Bugzilla strategy is critical to your business workflow, hire somebody
	    with reasonable UNIX or Perl skills to handle your process management and
	    bug-tracking maintenance &amp; customization.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-phb-cost">
	  <para>
	    Is there any licensing fee or other fees for using Bugzilla? Any
	    out-of-pocket cost other than the bodies needed as identified above?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    No.  MySQL asks, if you find their product valuable, that you purchase
	    a support contract from them that suits your needs.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>
    </qandadiv>

    <qandadiv id="faq-security">
      <title>Bugzilla Security</title>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-security-mysql">
	  <para>
	    How do I completely disable MySQL security if it's giving me problems
	    (I've followed the instructions in the installation section of this guide)?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Run MySQL like this: "mysqld --skip-grant-tables".  Please remember <emphasis>this
	    makes MySQL as secure as taping a $100 to the floor of a football stadium
	    bathroom for safekeeping.</emphasis> 
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-security-knownproblems">
	  <para>
	    Are there any security problems with Bugzilla?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    The Bugzilla code has undergone a reasonably complete security audit,
      and user-facing CGIs run under Perl's taint mode. However, 
	    it is recommended that you closely examine permissions on your Bugzilla
	    installation, and follow the recommended security guidelines found
	    in The Bugzilla Guide.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>


      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-security-mysqluser">
	  <para>
	    I've implemented the security fixes mentioned in Chris Yeh's security
	    advisory of 5/10/2000 advising not to run MySQL as root, and am running into
	    problems with MySQL no longer working correctly.
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    This is a common problem, related to running out of file descriptors.
	    Simply add "ulimit -n unlimited" to the script which starts
	    mysqld.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>
    </qandadiv>

    <qandadiv id="faq-email">
      <title>Bugzilla Email</title>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-email-nomail">
	  <para>
	    I have a user who doesn't want to receive any more email from Bugzilla.
	    How do I stop it entirely for this user?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    The user should be able to set
	    this in user email preferences (uncheck all boxes) or you can add
            their email address to the <filename>data/nomail</filename> file.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-email-testing">
	  <para>
	    I'm evaluating/testing Bugzilla, and don't want it to send email to
	    anyone but me. How do I do it?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Edit the "newchangedmail" Param. Replace "To:" with "X-Real-To:",
	    replace "Cc:" with "X-Real-CC:", and add a "To: &lt;youremailaddress&gt;".
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-email-whine">
	  <para>
	    I want whineatnews.pl to whine at something more, or other than, only new
	    bugs. How do I do it?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Try Klaas Freitag's excellent patch for "whineatassigned" functionality.
	    You can find it at<ulink url=" http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=6679">
	      http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=6679</ulink>. This
	    patch is against an older version of Bugzilla, so you must apply
	    the diffs manually.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-email-procmail">
	  <para>
	    I don't like/want to use Procmail to hand mail off to bug_email.pl.
	    What alternatives do I have?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    You can call bug_email.pl directly from your aliases file, with
	    an entry like this:
	    <blockquote>
	      <para>
		bugzilla-daemon: "|/usr/local/bin/bugzilla/contrib/bug_email.pl"
	      </para>
	    </blockquote>
	    However, this is fairly nasty and subject to problems; you also
	    need to set up your smrsh (sendmail restricted shell) to allow
	    it.  In a pinch, though, it can work.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-email-mailif">
	  <para>
	    How do I set up the email interface to submit/change bugs via email?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    You can find an updated README.mailif file in the contrib/ directory
	    of your Bugzilla distribution that walks you through the setup.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-email-sendmailnow">
	  <para>
	    Email takes FOREVER to reach me from Bugzilla -- it's extremely slow.
	    What gives?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    If you are using an alternate <glossterm linkend="gloss-mta">MTA</glossterm>,
            make sure the options given in <filename>Bugzilla/BugMail.pm</filename>
            and any other place where <application>sendmail</application> is called from
	    are correct for your MTA. You should also ensure that the
            <option>sendmailnow</option> param is set to <literal>on</literal>.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    If you are using <application>sendmail</application>, try enabling
            <option>sendmailnow</option> in <filename>editparams.cgi</filename>.
            <!-- TODO provide more info about this, possibly a link to admin -->
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-email-nonreceived">
	  <para>
	     How come email from Bugzilla changes never reaches me?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Double-check that you have not turned off email in your user preferences.
	    Confirm that Bugzilla is able to send email by visiting the "Log In"
	    link of your Bugzilla installation and clicking the "Email me a password"
	    button after entering your email address.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    If you never receive mail from Bugzilla, chances you do not have
	    sendmail in "/usr/lib/sendmail".  Ensure sendmail lives in, or is symlinked
	    to, "/usr/lib/sendmail".
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>
    </qandadiv>

    <qandadiv id="faq-db">
      <title>Bugzilla Database</title>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-db-oracle">
	  <para>
	    I've heard Bugzilla can be used with Oracle?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
            Red Hat's old version of Bugzilla (based on 2.8) worked on Oracle.
            Red Hat's newer version (based on 2.17.1 and soon to be merged into
            the main distribution) runs on PostgreSQL.  At this time we know of
            no recent ports of Bugzilla to Oracle but do intend to support it
            in the future (possibly the 2.20 time-frame).
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-db-corrupted">
	  <para>
	    I think my database might be corrupted, or contain invalid entries. What
	    do I do?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Run the <quote>sanity check</quote> utility
	    (<filename>./sanitycheck.cgi</filename> in the
	    Bugzilla_home directory) from your web browser to see! If
	    it finishes without errors, you're
	    <emphasis>probably</emphasis> OK.  If it doesn't come back
	    OK (i.e. any red letters), there are certain things
	    Bugzilla can recover from and certain things it can't.  If
	    it can't auto-recover, I hope you're familiar with
	    mysqladmin commands or have installed another way to
	    manage your database.  Sanity Check, although it is a good
	    basic check on your database integrity, by no means is a
	    substitute for competent database administration and
	    avoiding deletion of data.  It is not exhaustive, and was
	    created to do a basic check for the most common problems
	    in Bugzilla databases.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-db-manualedit">
	  <para>
	    I want to manually edit some entries in my database. How?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	     There is no facility in Bugzilla itself to do this. It's also generally
	    not a smart thing to do if you don't know exactly what you're doing.
	    However, if you understand SQL you can use the <command>mysql</command>
            command line utility to manually insert, delete and modify table
            information.  There are also more intuitive GUI clients available.
            Personal favorites of the Bugzilla team are <ulink
            url="http://www.phpmyadmin.net/">phpMyAdmin</ulink> and <ulink
            url="http://www.mysql.com/downloads/gui-mycc.html">MySQL Control
            Center</ulink>.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-db-permissions">
	  <para>
	    I think I've set up MySQL permissions correctly, but Bugzilla still can't
	    connect.
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Try running MySQL from its binary: "mysqld --skip-grant-tables". This
	    will allow you to completely rule out grant tables as the cause of your
            frustration. If this Bugzilla is able to connect at this point then
            you need to check that you have granted proper permission to the user
            password combo defined in <filename>localconfig</filename>.
          </para>
          <warning>
            <para>
              Running MySQL with this command line option is very insecure and
              should only be done when not connected to the external network
              as a troubleshooting step.
            </para>
          </warning>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-db-synchronize">
	  <para>
	    How do I synchronize bug information among multiple different Bugzilla
	    databases?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Well, you can synchronize or you can move bugs.  Synchronization will
	    only work one way -- you can create a read-only copy of the database
	    at one site, and have it regularly updated at intervals from the main
	    database.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    MySQL has some synchronization features builtin to the latest releases.
	    It would be great if someone looked into the possibilities there
	    and provided a report to the newsgroup on how to effectively
	    synchronize two Bugzilla installations.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    If you simply need to transfer bugs from one Bugzilla to another,
	    checkout the "move.pl" script in the Bugzilla distribution.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>
    </qandadiv>

    <qandadiv id="faq-nt">
      <title>Bugzilla and Win32</title>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-nt-easiest">
	  <para>
	    What is the easiest way to run Bugzilla on Win32 (Win98+/NT/2K)?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Remove Windows. Install Linux. Install Bugzilla.
	    The boss will never know the difference.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-nt-bundle">
	  <para>
	    Is there a "Bundle::Bugzilla" equivalent for Win32?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Not currently.  Bundle::Bugzilla enormously simplifies Bugzilla
	    installation on UNIX systems.  If someone can volunteer to
	    create a suitable PPM bundle for Win32, it would be appreciated.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-nt-mappings">
	  <para>
	    CGI's are failing with a "something.cgi is not a valid Windows NT
	    application" error. Why?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Depending on what Web server you are using, you will have to configure
	    the Web server to treat *.cgi files as CGI scripts. In IIS, you do this by
	    adding *.cgi to the App Mappings with the &lt;path&gt;\perl.exe %s %s as the
	    executable.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    Microsoft has some advice on this matter, as well:
	    <blockquote>
	      <para>
		"Set application mappings. In the ISM, map the extension for the script
		file(s) to the executable for the script interpreter. For example, you might
		map the extension .py to Python.exe, the executable for the Python script
		interpreter. Note For the ActiveState Perl script interpreter, the extension
		.pl is associated with PerlIS.dll by default. If you want to change the
		association of .pl to perl.exe, you need to change the application mapping.
		In the mapping, you must add two percent (%) characters to the end of the
		pathname for perl.exe, as shown in this example: c:\perl\bin\perl.exe %s %s"
	      </para>
	    </blockquote>
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-nt-dbi">
	  <para>
	    I'm having trouble with the perl modules for NT not being able to talk to
	    to the database.
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Your modules may be outdated or inaccurate. Try:
	    <orderedlist>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  Hitting http://www.activestate.com/ActivePerl
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  Download ActivePerl
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  Go to your prompt
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  Type 'ppm'
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  <prompt>PPM></prompt> <command>install DBI DBD-mysql GD</command>
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	    </orderedlist>
	    I reckon TimeDate and Data::Dumper come with the activeperl. You can check
	    the ActiveState site for packages for installation through PPM.
	    <ulink url=" http://www.activestate.com/Packages/">
	      http://www.activestate.com/Packages/</ulink>
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

    </qandadiv>

    <qandadiv id="faq-use">
      <title>Bugzilla Usage</title>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-use-changeaddress">
	  <para>
	    How do I change my user name (email address) in Bugzilla?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    New in 2.16 - go to the Account section of the Preferences. You will
      be emailed at both addresses for confirmation.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-use-query">
	  <para>
	    The query page is very confusing.  Isn't there a simpler way to query?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    The interface was simplified by a UI designer for 2.16. Further
      suggestions for improvement are welcome, but we won't sacrifice power for
      simplicity.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-use-accept">
	  <para>
	    I'm confused by the behavior of the "accept" button in the Show Bug form.
	    Why doesn't it assign the bug to me when I accept it?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    The current behavior is acceptable to bugzilla.mozilla.org and most
	    users.  You have your choice of patches
	    to change this behavior, however.
	    <simplelist>
	      <member><ulink url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/showattachment.cgi?attach_id=8029">
		Add a "and accept bug" radio button</ulink></member>
	      <member><ulink url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/showattachment.cgi?attach_id=8153">
		"Accept" button automatically assigns to you</ulink></member>
	    </simplelist>
	    Note that these patches are somewhat dated.  You will need to apply
      them manually.  
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-use-attachment">
	  <para>
	    I can't upload anything into the database via the "Create Attachment"
	    link.  What am I doing wrong?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    The most likely cause is a very old browser or a browser that is
	    incompatible with file upload via POST.  Download the latest Netscape,
	    Microsoft, or Mozilla browser to handle uploads correctly.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-use-keyword">
	  <para>
	    How do I change a keyword in Bugzilla, once some bugs are using it?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    In the Bugzilla administrator UI, edit the keyword and it will let you
	    replace the old keyword name with a new one.  This will cause a problem
	    with the keyword cache.  Run sanitycheck.cgi to fix it.
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

    </qandadiv>

    <qandadiv id="faq-hacking">
      <title>Bugzilla Hacking</title>

      <qandaentry>
        <question id="faq-hacking-templatestyle">
	  <para>
	    What kind of style should I use for templatization?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Gerv and Myk suggest a 2-space indent, with embedded code sections on
	    their own line, in line with outer tags.  Like this:</para>
	    <programlisting><![CDATA[
<fred>
[% IF foo %]
  <bar>
  [% FOREACH x = barney %]
    <tr>
      <td>
        [% x %]
      </td>
    <tr>
  [% END %]
[% END %]
</fred>
]]></programlisting>

	<para> Myk also recommends you turn on PRE_CHOMP in the template
	initialization to prevent bloating of HTML with unnecessary whitespace.
	</para>

	<para>Please note that many have differing opinions on this subject,
	and the existing templates in Bugzilla espouse both this and a 4-space
	style.  Either is acceptable; the above is preferred.</para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-hacking-bugzillabugs">
	  <para>
	    What bugs are in Bugzilla right now?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    Try <ulink url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=NEW&amp;bug_status=ASSIGNED&amp;bug_status=REOPENED&amp;product=Bugzilla">
	    this link</ulink> to view current bugs or requests for
	    enhancement for Bugzilla.
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    You can view bugs marked for 2.18 release
	    <ulink url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/buglist.cgi?product=Bugzilla&amp;target_milestone=Bugzilla+2.18">here</ulink>.
	    This list includes bugs for the 2.18 release that have already
	    been fixed and checked into CVS.  Please consult the
	    <ulink url="http://www.mozilla.org/projects/bugzilla/">
	      Bugzilla Project Page</ulink> for details on how to
	    check current sources out of CVS so you can have these
	    bug fixes early!
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-hacking-priority">
	  <para>
	    How can I change the default priority to a null value?  For instance, have the default
	    priority be "---" instead of "P2"?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <para>
	    This is well-documented here: <ulink url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=49862">
	    http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=49862</ulink>.  Ultimately, it's as easy
	    as adding the "---" priority field to your localconfig file in the appropriate area,
	    re-running checksetup.pl, and then changing the default priority in your browser using
	    "editparams.cgi". 
	  </para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="faq-hacking-patches">
	  <para>
	    What's the best way to submit patches?  What guidelines should I follow?
	  </para>
	</question>
	<answer>
	  <blockquote>
	    <orderedlist>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  Enter a bug into bugzilla.mozilla.org for the <quote><ulink
                  url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=Bugzilla">Bugzilla</ulink></quote>
                  product.
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  Upload your patch as a unified diff (having used "diff -u" against
		  the <emphasis>current sources</emphasis> checked out of CVS),
		  or new source file by clicking
		  "Create a new attachment" link on the bug page you've just created, and
		  include any descriptions of database changes you may make, into the bug
		  ID you submitted in step #1.  Be sure and click the "Patch" checkbox
		  to indicate the text you are sending is a patch!
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  Announce your patch and the associated URL
		  (http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=XXXXXX) for discussion in
		  the newsgroup (netscape.public.mozilla.webtools).  You'll get a really
		  good, fairly immediate reaction to the implications of your patch,
		  which will also give us an idea how well-received the change would
		  be.
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  If it passes muster with minimal modification, the person to whom
		  the bug is assigned in Bugzilla is responsible for seeing the patch
		  is checked into CVS.
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	      <listitem>
		<para>
		  Bask in the glory of the fact that you helped write the most successful
		  open-source bug-tracking software on the planet :)
		</para>
	      </listitem>
	    </orderedlist>
	  </blockquote>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>


    </qandadiv>

  </qandaset>

</appendix>


<!-- Keep this comment at the end of the file
Local variables:
mode: sgml
sgml-always-quote-attributes:t
sgml-auto-insert-required-elements:t
sgml-balanced-tag-edit:t
sgml-exposed-tags:nil
sgml-general-insert-case:lower
sgml-indent-data:t
sgml-indent-step:2
sgml-local-catalogs:nil
sgml-local-ecat-files:nil
sgml-minimize-attributes:nil
sgml-namecase-general:t
sgml-omittag:t
sgml-parent-document:("Bugzilla-Guide.sgml" "book" "chapter")
sgml-shorttag:t
sgml-tag-region-if-active:t
End:
-->