path: root/docs/sgml/using.sgml

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<!-- TOC
Chapter: Using Bugzilla
 Create an account
 Logging in
 Setting up preferences
  Account Settings
  Email Settings
  Page Footer
  Permissions
 Life cycle of a bug
 Creating a bug
  Checking for duplicates
  Overview of all bug fields
  Setting bug permissions
 The Query Interface
  Standard Queries
  Email Queries
  Boolean Queries
  Regexp Queries
 The Query Results
  Changing Columns
  Changing sorting order
  Mass changes 
 Miscellaneous usage hints

-->

<chapter id="using">
<title>Using Bugzilla</title>
  <epigraph>
    <para>
      What, Why, How, &amp; Where?
    </para>
  </epigraph>

  <section id="whatis">
    <title>What is Bugzilla?</title>
    <para>
      Bugzilla is one example of a class of programs called "Defect
Tracking Systems", or, more commonly, "Bug-Tracking Systems".  Defect
Tracking Systems allow individual or groups of developers to keep
track of outstanding bugs in their product effectively. Bugzilla was
originally written by Terry Weissman in a programming language called
"TCL", to replace a crappy bug-tracking database used internally by
Netscape Communications.  Terry later ported Bugzilla to Perl from
TCL, and in Perl it remains to this day. Most commercial
defect-tracking software vendors at the time charged enormous
licensing fees, and Bugzilla quickly became a favorite of the
open-source crowd (with its genesis in the open-source browser
project, Mozilla).  It is now the de-facto standard defect-tracking
system against which all others are measured.
    </para>
    <para>
      Bugzilla has matured immensely, and now boasts many advanced features.  These include:
      <itemizedlist>
      
<listitem><para>Powerful searching</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>User-configurable email notifications of bug changes</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Full change history</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Inter-bug dependency tracking and graphing</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Excellent attachment management</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Integrated, product-based, granular security schema</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Fully security-audited, and runs under Perl's taint mode</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>A robust, stable RDBMS back-end</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Web, XML, email and console interfaces</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Completely customisable and/or localisable web user interface</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Extensive configurability</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Smooth upgrade pathway between versions</para></listitem>

      </itemizedlist>
    </para>
  </section>
  
  <section id="why">
    <title>Why Should We Use Bugzilla?</title>
    <epigraph>
      <para>
	No, Who's on first...
      </para>
    </epigraph>
    <para>
      For many years, defect-tracking software has remained
      principally the domain of large software development houses.
      Even then, most shops never bothered with bug-tracking software,
      and instead simply relied on shared lists and email to monitor
      the status of defects.  This procedure is error-prone and tends
      to cause those bugs judged least significant by developers to be
      dropped or ignored.
    </para>
    <para>
      These days, many companies are finding that integrated
      defect-tracking systems reduce downtime, increase productivity,
      and raise customer  satisfaction with their systems.  Along with
      full disclosure, an open bug-tracker allows manufacturers to
      keep in touch with their 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
      system for accounting for unusual system or software issues.
    </para>
    <para>
      But why should <emphasis>you</emphasis> use Bugzilla?
    </para>
    <para>
      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, Loki
      software, 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
    </para>
    <para>
      Bugzilla can dramatically increase the productivity and
      accountability of individual employees by providing a documented
      workflow and positive feedback for good performance.  How many
      times do you wake up in the morning, remembering that you were
      supposed to do <emphasis>something</emphasis> today, but you
      just can't quite remember?  Put it in Bugzilla, and you have a
      record of it from which you can extrapolate milestones, predict
      product versions for integration, and by using Bugzilla's e-mail
      integration features be able to follow the discussion trail that
      led to critical decisions.
    </para>
    <para>
      Ultimately, Bugzilla puts the power in your hands to improve
      your value to your employer or business while providing a usable
      framework for your natural attention to detail and knowledge
      store to flourish.
    </para>
  </section>
  
  <section id="how">
    <title>How do I use Bugzilla?</title>
    <epigraph>
      <para>
	Hey!  I'm Woody!  Howdy, Howdy, Howdy!
      </para>
    </epigraph>
    
    <para>
      This section contains information for end-users of Bugzilla. 
      If you are administering a Bugzilla installation, please consult the
      Installing and Administering Bugzilla portions of this Guide.
    </para>
    <para>
      There is a Bugzilla test installation, called
      <ulink url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/">
	    Landfill</ulink>, which you are welcome to play with.
      However, it does not necessarily have all Bugzilla features
      enabled, and often runs cutting-edge versions of Bugzilla for
      testing, so some things may work slightly differently than
      mentioned here.
    </para>
    
    <section id="myaccount">
      <title>Create a Bugzilla Account</title>
      <para>
	If you want to use Bugzilla, first you
	need to create an account.  Consult with the administrator
	responsible for your installation of Bugzilla for the URL you
	should use to access it. If you're test-driving Bugzilla, 
  use this URL: <ulink
						  url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/"> http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/</ulink>
      </para>
      <orderedlist>
	<listitem>
	  <para>
	    Click the <quote>Open a new Bugzilla account</quote> link, enter your 
      email address and, optionally, your name in the spaces provided,
	    then click <quote>Create Account</quote>.
	  </para>
	</listitem>
	<listitem>
	  <para>
	    Within moments, you should receive an email to the address
	    you provided above, which contains your login name
	    (generally the same as the email address), and a password
	    you can use to access your account.  This password is
	    randomly generated, and can be changed to something more memorable.
	  </para>
	</listitem>
	<listitem>
	  <para>
	    Click the <quote>Log In</quote> link in the yellow area at
	    the bottom of the page in your browser, enter your
	    email address and password into the spaces provided, and click
	    <quote>Login</quote>.
	  </para>
	</listitem>
      </orderedlist>
      <para>
	You are now logged in. Bugzilla uses cookies for authentication, so
  (unless your IP address changes) you should not have to log in again.
      </para>
    </section>
    
    <section id="bug_page">
      <title>Anatomy of a Bug</title>
      <para>
        The core of Bugzilla is the screen which displays a particular bug.
        It's a good place to explain some Bugzilla concepts. 
        <ulink url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/show_bug.cgi?id=1">Bug 1 on Landfill</ulink> is a good example. Note that the names of most fields
        are hyperlinks; clicking them will take you to context-sensitive
        help on that particular field.
      </para>
      
  <orderedlist>
    <listitem>
		<para>
      <emphasis>Product and Component</emphasis>:
      Bugs are divided up by Product and Component, with a Product having one
      or more Components in it. For example, bugzilla.mozilla.org's 
      "Bugzilla" Product is composed of several Components:
		  <simplelist>
        <member><emphasis>Administration</emphasis>,
          Administration of a bugzilla installation, including 
          <filename>editcomponents.cgi</filename>,
          <filename>editgroups.cgi</filename>, 
          <filename>editkeywords.cgi</filename>, 
          <filename>editparams.cgi</filename>,
          <filename>editproducts.cgi</filename>,
          <filename>editusers.cgi</filename>,
          <filename>editversions.cgi,</filename> and
          <filename>sanitycheck.cgi</filename>.
        </member>
        <member><emphasis>Bugzilla-General</emphasis>,
          Anything that doesn't fit in the other components, or spans
          multiple components.
        </member>
        <member><emphasis>Creating/Changing Bugs</emphasis>,
          Creating, changing, and viewing bugs.
          <filename>enter_bug.cgi</filename>,
          <filename>post_bug.cgi</filename>,
          <filename>show_bug.cgi</filename> and
          <filename>process_bug.cgi</filename>.
        </member>
        <member><emphasis>Documentation</emphasis>,
          The bugzilla documentation, including anything in the
          <filename>docs/</filename> directory and The Bugzilla Guide

        </member>
        <member><emphasis>Email</emphasis>,
          Anything to do with email sent by Bugzilla.
          <filename>processmail</filename>
        </member>
        <member><emphasis>Installation</emphasis>,
          The installation process of Bugzilla. This includes
          <filename>checksetup.pl</filename> and whatever else it evolves into.
        </member>
        <member><emphasis>Query/Buglist</emphasis>,
          Anything to do with searching for bugs and viewing the buglists.
          <filename>query.cgi</filename> and
          <filename>buglist.cgi</filename>
        </member>
        <member><emphasis>Reporting/Charting</emphasis>,
          Getting reports from Bugzilla.
          <filename>reports.cgi</filename> and
          <filename>duplicates.cgi</filename>
        </member>
        <member><emphasis>User Accounts</emphasis>,
          Anything about managing a user account from the user's perspective.
          <filename>userprefs.cgi</filename>, saved queries, creating accounts,
          changing passwords, logging in, etc. 
        </member>
        <member><emphasis>User Interface</emphasis>,
          General issues having to do with the user interface cosmetics (not
          functionality) including cosmetic issues, HTML templates, etc.
        </member>
		  </simplelist>
		</para>
    </listitem>
    
    <listitem>
	  <para>
      <emphasis>Status and Resolution</emphasis>: 
      A bug passes through several Statuses in its lifetime, and ends up in the
      RESOLVED status, with one of a set of Resolutions (e.g. FIXED, INVALID.)
      The different possible
      values for Status and Resolution on your installation will be documented
      in the context-sensitive help for those items.
		</para>
    </listitem>
    
    <listitem>
	  <para>
      <emphasis>Assigned To</emphasis>:
      The person responsible for fixing the bug.
	  </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
	  <para>
      <emphasis>URL</emphasis>:
      A URL associated with the bug, if any.
	  </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
	  <para>
      <emphasis>Summary</emphasis>:
      A one-sentence summary of the problem.
	  </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
	  <para>
	    <emphasis>Status Whiteboard</emphasis>: (a.k.a. Whiteboard) A
      free-form text area for adding short notes and tags to a bug.
	  </para>
    </listitem>
    
    <listitem>
	  <para>
      <emphasis>Keywords</emphasis>:
      The administrator can define keywords which you can use to tag and
      categorise bugs - e.g. The Mozilla Project has keywords like crash
      and regression.
	  </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
	  <para>
      <emphasis>Platform and OS</emphasis>:
      These indicate the computing environment where the bug was found.
	  </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
	  <para>
      <emphasis>Version</emphasis>:
      The "Version" field is usually used for versions of a product which have
      been released, and is set to indicate which versions of a Component
      have the particular problem the bug report is about.
	  </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
	  <para>
      <emphasis>Priority</emphasis>:
      The bug assignee uses this field to prioritise his or her bugs. It's
      a good idea not to change this on other people's bugs.
	  </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
	  <para>
      <emphasis>Severity</emphasis>:
      This indicates how severe the problem is - from blocker ("application
      unusable") to trivial ("minor cosmetic issue"). You can also use this
      field to indicate whether a bug is an enhancement request.
	  </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
	  <para>
      <emphasis>Target</emphasis>:
	    (a.k.a. Target Milestone) A future version by which the bug is to be
      fixed. e.g. The Bugzilla Project's milestones for future
	    Bugzilla versions are 2.18, 2.20, 3.0, etc. Milestones are 
      not restricted to numbers, thought - you can use any text strings, 
      such as dates.  
	  </para>
    </listitem>
    
    <listitem>
	  <para>
      <emphasis>Reporter</emphasis>:
      The person who filed the bug.
	  </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
	  <para>
      <emphasis>CC list</emphasis>:
      A list of people who get mail when the bug changes.
	  </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
	  <para>
      <emphasis>Attachments</emphasis>:
      You can attach files (e.g. testcases or patches) to bugs. If there are
      any attachments, they are listed in this section.
	  </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
	  <para>
      <emphasis>Dependencies</emphasis>:
      If this bug cannot be fixed unless other bugs are fixed (depends on), or
      this bug stops other bugs being fixed (blocks), their numbers are 
      recorded here.
	  </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
	  <para>
      <emphasis>Votes</emphasis>:
      Whether this bug has any votes.
	  </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
	  <para>
      <emphasis>Additional Comments</emphasis>:
      You can add your two cents to the bug discussion here, if you have 
      something worthwhile to say.
	  </para>
    </listitem>

  </orderedlist>         
      
    </section>
    
    <section id="query">
      <title>Searching for Bugs</title>
      <para>
	The Bugzilla Search page is is the interface where you can
	find any bug report, comment, or patch currently in the
	Bugzilla system. You can play with it here:
	<ulink url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/query.cgi">
	landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/query.cgi</ulink>.
  </para>
  
  <para>
    The Search page has controls for selecting different possible values
    for all of the fields in a bug, as described above. Once you've defined
    a search, you can either run it, or save it as a Remembered Query, which
    can optionally appear in the footer of your pages.
  </para>
  
  <para>
    Highly advanced querying is done using Boolean Charts, which have their
    own <ulink url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/booleanchart.html">context-sensitive help</ulink>.
  </para>
  
    </section>
    
    <section id="list">
      <title>Bug Lists</title>
      <para>
        If you run a search, a list of matching bugs will be returned. 
        The default search is to return all open bugs on the system -
        don't try running this search on a Bugzilla installation with
        a lot of bugs!
      </para>
      <para>
        The format of the list is configurable. For example, it can be 
        sorted by clicking the column headings. Other useful features
        can be accessed using the links at the bottom of the list:
	<simplelist>
	  <member><emphasis>Long Format</emphasis>: this gives you a large page
    with a non-editable summary of the fields of each bug.</member>
	  <member><emphasis>Change Columns</emphasis>: change the bug 
    attributes which appear in the list.</member>
	  <member><emphasis>Change several bugs at once</emphasis>: If
	    your account is sufficiently empowered, you can make the same
      change to all the bugs in the list - for example, changing their
      owner.</member>
	  <member><emphasis>Send mail to bug owners</emphasis>: Sends mail
    to the owners of all bugs on the list.</member>
	  <member><emphasis>Edit this query</emphasis>: If you didn't
	    get exactly the results you were looking for, you can
	    return to the Query page through this link and make small
	    revisions to the query you just made so you get more
	    accurate results.</member>
	</simplelist>
      </para>
    </section>
    
    
    <section id="bugreports">
      <title>Filing Bugs</title>
      <epigraph>
	<para>And all this time, I thought we were taking bugs <emphasis>out</emphasis>...</para>
      </epigraph>
      
	<para>
	  Years of bug writing experience has been distilled for your reading
    pleasure into the <ulink				       url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/bugwritinghelp.html">
    Bug Writing Guidelines</ulink>.  
While some of the advice is Mozilla-specific, the basic principles of reporting Reproducible, Specific bugs, isolating the Product you are using, the Version of the Product, the Component which failed, the Hardware Platform, and Operating System you were using at the time of the failure go a long way toward ensuring accurate, responsible fixes for the bug that bit you.
	</para>
  <para>
    The procedure for filing a test bug is as follows:
  </para>
  
	<orderedlist>
	  <listitem>
	    <para>
	      Go to <ulink
				url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/">Landfill</ulink> 
        in your browser and click  
        <ulink
				 url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/enter_bug.cgi"> Enter a new bug report</ulink>.
	    </para>
	  </listitem>
	  <listitem>
	    <para>
	      Select a product - any one will do.
	    </para>
	  </listitem>
	  <listitem>
	    <para>
        Fill in the fields.
	      Bugzilla should have made reasonable guesses, based upon
	      your browser, for the "Platform" and "OS" drop-down
	      boxes. If they are wrong, change them.
	    </para>
	  </listitem>
	  <listitem>
	    <para>
	      Select "Commit" and send in your bug report. 
	    </para>
	  </listitem>
  </orderedlist>  
    </section>

  </section>

  <section id="init4me">
    <title>Where can I find my user preferences?</title>
    <epigraph>
      <para>
	Indiana, it feels like we walking on fortune cookies!
      </para>
      <para>
	These ain't fortune cookies, kid...
      </para>
    </epigraph>
    <para>
      Customized User Preferences offer tremendous versatility to your
      individual Bugzilla experience. Let's plunge into what you can
      do!  The first step is to click the "Edit prefs" link at the
      footer of each page once you have logged in to <ulink
							    url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/query.cgi?GoAheadAndLogIn=1"> Landfill</ulink>.
    </para>
    <section id="accountsettings" xreflabel="Account Settings">
      <title>Account Settings</title>
      <para>
	On this page, you can change your basic Account Settings,
	including your password and full name. For security reasons,
	in order to change anything on this page you must type your
	<emphasis>current</emphasis> password into the <quote>Old
	  Password</quote> field.  If you wish to change your
	password, type the new password you want into the <quote>New
	  Password</quote> field and again into the <quote>Re-enter
	  new password</quote> field to ensure you typed your new
	password correctly.  Select the <quote>Submit</quote> button
	    and you are done.
      </para>
    </section>
    <section id="emailsettings" >
      <title>Email Settings</title>
      <section id="notification" xreflabel="">
	<title>Email Notification</title>
	<para>
	  Here you can reduce or increase the amount of email sent you
	  from Bugzilla.  Although this is referred to as
	  <quote>Advanced Email Filtering Options</quote>, they are,
	  in fact, the standard email filter set.  All of them are
	  self-explanatory, but you can use the filters in interesting
	  ways.  For instance, some people (notably Quality Assurance
	  personnel) often only care to receive updates regarding a
	  bug when the bug changes state, so they can track bugs on
	  their flow charts and know when it is time to pull the bug
	  onto a quality assurance platform for inspection.  Other
	  people set up email gateways to
	    <xref linkend="bonsai" /> or <xref linkend="tinderbox" />, and
	  restrict which types of Bugzilla information are fed to
	  these systems..
	</para>
      </section>
      <section id="newemailtech">
	<title>New Email Technology</title>
	<note>
	  <para>
	    This option may not be available in all Bugzilla
	    installations, depending upon the preferences of the
	    systems administrator responsible for the setup of your
	    Bugzilla. However, if you really want this functionality,
	    ask her to "enable newemailtech in Params" and "make it
	    the default for all new users", referring her to the
	    Administration section of this Guide.
	  </para>
	</note>
	<para>
	  Disregard the warnings about "experimental and bleeding
	  edge"; the code to handle email in a cleaner manner than
	  that historically used for Bugzilla is quite robust and
	  well-tested now.
	</para>
	<para>
	  I recommend you enable the option, "Click here to sign up
	  (and risk any bugs)". Your email-box will thank you for it.
	  The fundamental shift in "newemailtech" is away from
	  standard UNIX "diff" output, which is quite ugly, to a
	  prettier, better laid-out email.
	</para>
      </section>
      <section id="watchsettings">
	<title>"Watching" Users</title>
	<note>
	  <para>
	    This option may not be available in all Bugzilla
	    installations, depending upon the preferences of the
	    systems administrator responsible for the setup of your
	    Bugzilla. However, if you really want this functionality,
	    ask her to "enable watchers in Params".
	  </para>
	</note>
	<para>
	  By entering user email names into the "Users to watch" text
	  entry box, delineated by commas, you can watch bugs of other
	  users.  This powerful functionality enables seamless
	  transitions as developers change projects, managers wish to
	  get in touch with the issues faced by their direct reports,
	  or users go on vacation.  If any of these three situations
	  apply to you, you will undoubtedly find this feature quite
	  convenient.
	</para>
      </section>
    </section>
    <section id="footersettings">
      <title>Page Footer</title>
      <note>
	<para>
	  By default, this page is quite barren.  However, go explore
	  the Query Page some more; you will find that you can store
	  numerous queries on the server, so if you regularly run a
	  particular query it is just a drop-down menu away.  On this
	  page of Preferences, if you have many stored queries you can
	  elect to have them always one-click away!
	</para>
      </note>
      <para>
	If you have many stored queries on the server, here you will
	find individual drop-downs for each stored query.  Each
	drop-down gives you the option of that query appearing on the
	footer of every page in Bugzilla!  This gives you powerful
	one-click access to any complex searches you may set up, and
	is an excellent way to impress your boss...
      </para>
      <tip>
	<para>By default, the "My Bugs" link appears at the bottom of
	  each page.  However, this query gives you both the bugs you
	  have reported, as well as those you are assigned.  One of
	  the most common uses for this page is to remove the "My
	  Bugs" link, replacing it with two other queries, commonly
	  called "My Bug Reports" and "My Bugs" (but only referencing
	  bugs assigned to you).  This allows you to distinguish those
	  bugs you have reported from those you are assigned.  I
	  commonly set up complex Boolean queries in the Query page
	  and link them to my footer in this page.  When they are
	  significantly complex, a one-click reference can save hours
	  of work.</para>
      </tip>
    </section>
    <section id="permissionsettings">
      <title>Permissions</title>
      <para>
	This is a purely informative page which outlines your current
	permissions on this installation of Bugzilla.  If you have
	permissions to grant certain permissions to other users, the
	"other users" link appears on this page as well as the footer.
	For more information regarding user administration, please
	consult the Administration section of this Guide.
      </para>
    </section>
  </section>

  <section id="usingbz-conc">
    <title>Using Bugzilla-Conclusion</title>
    <para>
      Thank you for reading through this portion of the Bugzilla
      Guide.  I anticipate it may not yet meet the needs of all
      readers.  If you have additional comments or corrections to
      make, please submit your contributions to the <ulink
							   url="mailto://mozilla-webtools@mozilla.org">mozilla-webtools</ulink> mailing list/newsgroup.  The mailing list is mirrored to the netscape.public.mozilla.webtools newsgroup, and the newsgroup is mirrored to mozilla-webtools@mozilla.org
    </para>
  </section>
</chapter>


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