1. Can users be on the system while a backup is in progress?
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.
2. Does Bugzilla provide any reporting features, metrics, graphs, etc?
Yes. Look at http://link.GlobalGuideline.com for basic reporting facilities.
For more advanced reporting, I recommend hooking up a professional reporting package, such as Crystal Reports, and use ODBC to access the MySQL database. You can do a lot through the Query page of Bugzilla as well, but right now Advanced Reporting is much better accomplished through third-party utilities that can interface with the database directly.
Advanced Reporting is a Bugzilla 3.X proposed feature.
Email notification is user-configurable. The bug id and Topic of the bug report accompany each email notification, along with a list of the changes made.
Yes. Place yourself in the "cc" field of the bug you wish to monitor. Then change your "Notify me of changes to" field in the Email Settings tab of the User Preferences screen in Bugzilla to the "Only those bugs which I am listed on the CC line" option.
Currently, no.
7. Does Bugzilla have the ability to search by word, phrase, compound search?
You have no idea. Bugzilla's query interface, particularly with the advanced Boolean operators, is incredibly versatile.
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.
9. I do not like/want to use Procmail to hand mail off to bug_email.pl. What alternatives do I have?
You can call bug_email.pl directly from your aliases file, with an entry like this: bugzilla-daemon: "|/usr/local/bin/bugzilla/contrib/bug_email.pl"
10. I try to add myself as a user, but Bugzilla always tells me my password is wrong.
Certain version of MySQL (notably, 3.23.29 and 3.23.30) accidentally disabled the "crypt()" function. This prevented MySQL from storing encrypted passwords. Upgrade to the "3.23 stable" version of MySQL and you should be good to go.
11. Bugzilla can be used with Oracle?
The current version does not have this capability.
12. I think my database might be corrupted, or contain invalid entries. What do I do?
Run the "sanity check" utility (./sanitycheck.cgi in the Bugzilla_home directory) from your web browser to see! If it finishes without errors, you're probably 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.
13. How do I synchronize bug information among multiple different Bugzilla databases?
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.
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.
If you simply need to transfer bugs from one Bugzilla to another, checkout the "move.pl" script in the Bugzilla distribution.
14. How come even after I delete bugs, the long descriptions show up?
This should only happen with Bugzilla 2.14 if you are using the "shadow database" feature, and your shadow database is out of sync. Try running syncshadowdb -syncall to make sure your shadow database is in synch with your primary database.
15. How do I change a keyword in Bugzilla, once some bugs are using it?
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.
16. Step-by-step Install Bugzilla?
Installation of bugzilla is pretty straightforward, particularly if your machine already has MySQL and the MySQL-related perl packages installed.
The software packages necessary for the proper running of bugzilla are:
1. MySQL database server and the mysql client (3.22.5 or greater)
2. Perl (5.004 or greater, 5.6.1 is recommended if you wish to use Bundle::Bugzilla)
3. DBI Perl module
4. Data::Dumper Perl module
5. Bundle::Mysql Perl module collection
6. TimeDate Perl module collection
7. GD perl module (1.8.3) (optional, for bug charting)
8. Chart::Base Perl module (0.99c) (optional, for bug charting)
9. DB_File Perl module (optional, for bug charting) 9. 10.The web server of your choice. Apache is recommended.
11.MIME::Parser Perl module (optional, for contrib/bug_email.pl interface)
You should untar the Bugzilla files into a directory that you're willing to make writable by the default web server user (probably "nobody"). You may decide to put the files off of the main web space for your web server or perhaps off of /usr/local with a symbolic link in the web space that points to the Bugzilla directory. At any rate, just dump all the files in the same place, and make sure you can access the files in that directory through your web server.
Once all the files are in a web accessible directory, make that directory writable by your webserver's user. This is a temporary step until you run the post-install checksetup.pl script, which locks down your installation.
Lastly, you'll need to set up a symbolic link to /usr/bonsaitools/bin/perl for the correct location of your perl executable (probably /usr/bin/perl). Otherwise you must hack all the .cgi files to change where they look for perl, or use The setperl.csh Utility, found in Useful Patches and Utilities for Bugzilla. I suggest using the symlink approach for future release compatability.
After you've gotten all the software installed and working you're ready to start preparing the database for its life as a the back end to a high quality bug tracker.
First, you'll want to fix MySQL permissions to allow access from Bugzilla. For the purpose of this Installation section, the Bugzilla username will be "bugs", and will have minimal permissions.
Next, we create the "bugs" user, and grant sufficient permissions for checksetup.pl, which we'll use later, to work its magic. This also restricts the "bugs" user to operations within a database called "bugs", and only allows the account to connect from "localhost". Modify it to reflect your setup if you will be connecting from another machine or as a different user.
Remember to set bugs_password to some unique password.
mysql > GRANT SELECT,INSERT,UPDATE,DELETE,INDEX,
ALTER,CREATE,DROP,REFERENCES ON bugs.* TO bugs@localhost IDENTIFIED BY
'bugs_password';
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
Next, run the magic checksetup.pl script.
It will make sure Bugzilla files and directories have reasonable permissions, set up the data directory, and create all the MySQL tables.
bash# ./checksetup.pl
The first time you run it, it will create a file called localconfig.
What's localconfig for ?
This file contains a variety of settings you may need to tweak including how Bugzilla should connect to the MySQL database.
The connection settings include:
1. server's host: just use "localhost" if the MySQL server is local
2. database name: "bugs" if you're following these directions
3. MySQL username: "bugs" if you're following these directions
4. Password for the "bugs" MySQL account above
You should also install .htaccess files that the Apache webserver will use to restrict access to Bugzilla data files. Once you are happy with the settings, re-run checksetup.pl. On this second run, it will create the database and an administrator account for which you will be prompted to provide information. When logged into an administrator account once Bugzilla is running, if you go to the query page (off of the Bugzilla main menu), you'll find an "edit parameters" option that is filled with editable treats. Should everything work, you will have a nearly empty Bugzilla database and a newly-created localconfig file in your Bugzilla root directory.
The second time you run checksetup.pl, you should become the user your web server runs as, and that you ensure that you set the "webservergroup" parameter in localconfig to match the web server's group name, if any. I believe, for the next release of Bugzilla, this will be fixed so that Bugzilla supports a "webserveruser" parameter in localconfig as well.
17. Red Hat Bugzilla - How do I enter a bug?
To enter a bug, select Enter a new bug from the main bugzilla page. This will take you to a product selection screen.
From this screen you select the product that you wish to enter a bug for, by selecting the hightlighted product name. This will take you to a bug entry screen.
Example: Red Hat Linux
From the bug entry screen, you need to select the version of the product that you are entering a bug on, along with which component of the product that is having a problem. Components are based on the source rpm that the offending binary rpm is derived from. To find the proper component do you can use one of two common methods:
$ rpm -qip 'binary rpm name'
This should work fine if you already know which rpm the failing binary belongs to.
$ rpm -qif /failing/binary
This will tell you which rpm the binary belongs to and also the source rpm.
After using one of the above methods look for a line that says Source RPM: This is the name of the component you should choose from the list of components in Bugzilla. If still unsure of which component to choose or you are filing a bug to request a new component be added to Bugzilla itself, then choose distribution.
Example: 5.2 and acm
Next, select the Severity of your bug.
Example: Normal.
Then you will select which Architecture your bug occurs on.
Example: If you are using an Intel x86 platform, you will choose i386.
The Cc: field can be used to add someone to the carbon-copy list for all email related to this bug. As the reporter of the bug, you will automatically be copied on any mail, so you do not need to add yourself to this.
Enter a one line description of the bug into the Summary field, and the full description of the bug into the Description field.
18. Red Hat Bugzilla - How do I search for a bug?
To search for a bug, select Go to the query page from the main bugzilla page.
The bugzilla search uses an "OR" within each field, with an "AND" between fields. So, if you were to select NEW and VERIFIED from the Status field and normal from the Priority field, you would be asking for all normal priority bugs that are new or verified.
19. Red Hat Bugzilla - Are cookies required?
Yes. If you do not have cookies enabled or are using a browser that does not support cookies, you will be prompted to re-login for each screen. It also allows for special features like stored queries and keeping track of your last query result list.
20. If only some people want a feature, could not it just be a preference?
A. In general, no. First, every piece of code needs to be written and maintained, both of which take developer time away from bugs and other features. Second, each added preference makes all other preferences slightly less accessible. Camino's goal is to be lightweight, which means keeping the number of preferences down as well.
21. Why has not my bug been fixed yet?
A. Camino is developed entirely by a small group of volunteers, working in their free time. Limited developer time means that some bugs and feature requests can wait for months, or even years, until someone has time to address them. The order bugs are fixed in depends on overall project priorities, as well as the difficulty of bugs and the skills and interests of individual developers. Do not complain in a bug or ask why it hasn't been fixed yet-see the Bugzilla etiquette. The only way to get bugs fixed faster is to contribute in some way (such as fixing them yourself, helping to recruit new developers, or helping out in some other way that frees up developers to spend more time on coding).
Demanding that a bug be fixed, whining, threatening to switch browsers, etc., is always counter-productive. Fixing bugs is simply a question of manpower and complaining in a bug wastes the time of everyone reading bug reports or following the progress of a bug via email.
22. I want a new feature. What should I do?
A. Follow the instructions above for reporting a bug, but pick “Enhancement” as the severity at the last step.
23. Camino keeps displaying the “spinning beachball” and does not respond.
A. Camino has entered a “hung” state; the only way to end this state is to “force quit” Camino. If you can reproduce the situation, file a bug. Be sure to set the severity to “critical”, add “hang” in the keyword field, and have the following things handy: the URL on which the hang occurred (if the hang was browsing-related), detailed steps to reproduce the hang (if some action was required), and a sample of Camino while it is in the hung state.
Before you force quit Camino, open the Activity Monitor application located in the Utilities subfolder of the Applications folder. On launch, the application should display a window listing various “processes” that are running on your Mac. Select Camino from the list and then click the “Inspect” button. In the window that opens, click the “Sample” button; this will generate a log that will help the developers determine why Camino entered the hung state. When the sample is complete, save the file; you may now close the sample window and force quit Camino.
After you have filed your initial bug report, attach the sample file to the bug using the “Create a New Attachment” link. Please do not paste samples into the “Comments” field of the bug report.
24. Camino Project - I found a bug. What should I do?
A. Bugs for Camino are managed through a system called Bugzilla. To report a bug, just go to the bug reporting helper and follow the instructions. Be sure to take the time to search for duplicates in step 1, since repeated reports of the same issue waste both your and developers' time.
If you've never used the system before, you'll need to create an account first. Creating an account is extremely quick and easy.
25. Why was my bug marked WONTFIX?
A. Camino's goal is to be lightweight and easy to use. That means that it can't include every feature that is ever requested. Invariably, some people will be unhappy with the decisions that are made regarding which features aren't included, but strong leadership is necessary to keep Camino true to its vision. WONTFIX decisions are made by the Camino lead, are made for good reason (even if not explained in the bug), and as such are final. Do not complain or argue in a bug that has been marked WONTFIX. Unless you have new, compelling information to add, do not comment in the bug. Please remember that “x people I talked to said this is really important” is not compelling information. Unless you have have done a statistically valid sample of Camino's entire target user base (and neither Bugzilla nor online forums are representative samples), you aren't going to convince anyone.
26. Can not I just post a message about the bug/feature in the forum instead?
A. You could, but it's extremely unlikely to be fixed if you don't file a bug. Developers use Bugzilla to track everything that needs to be done, and anything that isn't in that system can easily be forgotten. There's no guarantee a forum post will even be seen by a developer.
27. There is a problem with a page that requires a login.
A. In most cases the Camino developers and bug triage team members won't have access to the site in question. However, there are still ways to generate a bug report that will allow the Camino team to assess the problem and hopefully fix it. When you are on the problematic page, take a screenshot (be sure to obscure any personal or confidential information before attaching the screenshot to your bug); a screenshot is most useful for situations where the page does not display properly.
After taking a screenshot, choose Save As… from the File menu and then select HTML Complete from the Format: drop-down menu at the bottom of the Save dialog. This will save a copy of the page and a folder containing all of the files referenced by that page (if the page is saved as my_page.html, the folder will be called my_page Files). If the page displayed any personal or confidential information (like a password or an account number), drag the saved .html file onto TextEdit and replace that information with a string of X or other characters. Be careful not to edit any of the HTML. It's probably a good idea to check all of the associated files in the folder to make sure none of them contain personal information, either.
When you're sure there's no personal information remaining, select both the folder and the .html file in the Finder, ctrl-click, and choose Create Archive of 2 items from the Finder's context menu. After you file your bug report, attach this archive and the screenshot (if needed) to the bug using the “Create a New Attachment” link. Make sure to include the URL to the page (again, removing any personal information that might be contained in the URL) in your bug report for reference.
28. Camino crashed! What do I do now?
A. If you can reproduce the crash, file a bug. When reporting a crashing bug, be sure to set the severity to “critical”, add “crash” in the keyword field, and have the following things handy: the URL on which the crash occurred (if the crash was browsing-related), detailed steps to reproduce the crash (if some action was required), and a crash log.
Mac OS X ships with a very helpful tool called Crash Reporter. When Camino crashes and you see a dialog stating “The application Camino has unexpectedly quit”, click the “Submit Report…” button. Copy the entire contents of the “Crash Report:” text field into a new plain-text document (in TextEdit, create a new document and choose Make Plain Text from the Format menu). Once you have saved the text file, you can dismiss the Crash Report dialog. Note: The wording of the dialogs varies slightly between major Mac OS X versions.
If the “The application Camino has unexpectedly quit” dialog fails to appear, you have most likely disabled Crash Reporter and you will have to extract the crash log from the system's crash logs manually.
After you have filed your initial bug report, attach the file containing the crash log to the bug using the “Create a New Attachment” link. Please do not paste crash reports into the “Comments” field of the bug report.
In addition to taking these steps to obtain the crash report, you should let the Talkback application run and file a report with mozilla.org; this report is used to aggregate crash data and often helps identify causes of crashes that are otherwise not reproducible.
29. Camino Project - What to do with a bug or feature request?
If you want your bug or feature request to be considered, it's important to follow the right process. Doing so ensures that it will be seen and considered by the Camino developers.
30. Red Hat Bugzilla - How do I submit a patch?
The new Bugzilla system supports the attachment of patches, test cases, and various other forms of file types directly from the bug report screen. Just click on "Create an attachment". You will then be asked for the file name, a one line description, and the file type. After that it will be uploaded to server so that it can be displayed later from the same bug report.
31. Red Hat Bugzilla - What happens once I enter a bug?
After you enter a bug, mail is sent both to you and the QA department of Red Hat. A member of the QA department will verify that they can reproduce your bug, and may contact you to get additional information.
After the bug has been verified, it will be assigned to a developer to look into a resolution for the bug.
Once a resolution has been found, the bug will be marked CLOSED with a resolution status.
At each step of the process, you will get an email message that will tell you what has been updated on your bug report.
Bugzilla is a bug tracking system developed at mozilla.org. It was originally used to track the bugs in the Mozilla web browser. Red Hat has customized it to track bugs in our Linux products.
# To connect to your database: bash#mysql-u root
# To see all the "spreadsheets" (tables): mysql>show tables from bugs;
# To see columns from table: mysql> show columns from table;
# To see all the data in a table: mysql> select * from table;
# others:
mysqlgt; select * from table where (column = "some info");
mysqlgt; select * from table where (column != "some info");
mysqlgt; show columns from bugs
(exceedingly long output truncated here)
| bug_status| enum('UNCONFIRMED','NEW','ASSIGNED','REOPENED','RESOLVED','VERIFIED'
mysqlgt; ALTER table bugs CHANGE bug_status bug_status
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.
35. Why do I get bizarre errors when trying to submit data, particularly problems with groupset?
If you're sure your MySQL parameters are correct, you might want turn "strictvaluechecks" OFF in editparams.cgi. If you have "usebugsentry" set "On", you also cannot submit a bug as readable by more than one group with "strictvaluechecks" ON.
