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Bug Base Manual


Using Bug Base

Bug Base usage is completely web based. Depending upon the installation, the entry page can be reached with:

http://<hostname>/bugbase/index.jsp

Page Layout

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The page is separated into two parts: the navigation bar on the left side and the main window on the right side.

The navigation bar contains status information (user and project), links to Bug Base tasks (new bug report, view and edit, developer applet and administration applet), the language selection and a link to the manual.

The contents of the main window depend upon the selected task.

Page Layout

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The page is separated into two parts: the navigation bar on the left side and the main window on the right side.

The navigation bar contains status information (user and project), links to Bug Base tasks (new bug report, view and edit, developer applet and administration applet), the language selection and a link to the manual.

The contents of the main window depend upon the selected task.

Registration

click to show image Bug Base is only accessible for registered users. Hence, users have to register first. This can be done from the initial login page. Click either on the link "Register as new user" in the navigation bar or on "register" in the main window. In order to register please fill out the registration form:
  • userid: Select your user ID.
  • password: Enter your password.
  • name: Enter your full name.
  • email: Enter your email address.
Press the Submit button to finish the registration. This will lead you to the login page.

userid and project may be set as request parameters for index.jsp.

Login

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Enter your user ID and your password either in the main window or in the navigation bar. If you are not a registered user, please register first.

Bug Base may manage multiple the bug reports for several projects. Hence, the login is project specific. Please select the desired project.

Press the login button to enter Bug Base.


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A successful login will lead you to the entry page. Now you can view and modify bug reports and submit new bug reports.

New Bug Reports

click to show image Fill out this form in order to submit a new bug report:
  • title: Title of the bug report.
  • package: The project package, where the bug occured. If their is no suitable package, please contact your bug base administrator to add a new package.
  • description: Detailed description of the bug.
  • bug level: Level of the bug report.
  • user group: The group of users for which this bug report should be visible.
  • attachment: You may add an attachment (screenshot etc.).
Press the Submit button to submit the bug report.

View Bug Reports

click to show image Bug Base can be searched for existing bug reports. The returned list can be restricted using search and filter criteria:
  • search text: Restrict the list to bug reports containing the given text either in the title or in the description.
  • filter: Restrict the list to bug reports to reports with a certain status.
Press Show bug reports button to retrieve the list matching the search criteria.


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The list of bug reports matching the search criteria is displayed. The list may be sorted ascending (sort up) and descending (sort down) columnwise.

From this list, a single bug report may be selected to view details. Please click on the link behind the report number or title.


click to show image The detailed description of the bug report is displayed.

Edit a Bug Report

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Starting at the detail of a bug report (see View Bug Reports), the selected bug report may be edited following the Edit Bug Report link. A form is presented similar to to the form for new bug reports. Additionally, you may modify the bug status.

Note: The user must belong to the group doctors to modify bug reports.


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Press Submit to save the changes. After saving the changes, you may send an email to the author of the bug report to notify him for changes.

Developer Applet

click to show image Developers have a second access to the list of bug reports using the developer applet. When opening the applet page, a login window is presented:

After successful login, developers may modify existing bug reports and submit new bug reports. For each task, there exist one tab panel.

Managing Bug Reports

The managing panel contains an overview panel in the upper part and a detail panel in the lower part. The desired bug report can be selected in the overview panel. In the detail panel, the bug report can be managed.

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  • Filtering: With filter criteria, the list of displayed bug reports may be restricted to bug reports with certain report status. Filtering can be done along the four stati a bug report may have: reported, started, fixed and rejected. Press the Refresh button to apply the new filter criteria.

  • Sorting: The list of bug reports may be sorted by clicking on the column headers. Holding the SHIFT button pressed inverses the sort.

  • Report Status: Initially, bug reports have the status reported. When bug fixing is started, the status may be set to started. After finishing bug fixing, the status may be set to fixed. If the bug report does not contain a bug, its status may be set to rejected.

    Hint: The status may only set back to a previous state, if the date entry is cleared.

  • Package: The package to which this report belongs to may be changed by selecting the respective entry from the package choice box.

  • Bug Level: The level of the bug report may be changed by selecting the respective entry from the bug level choice box.

  • User Group: Users may only view only a bug report, if they belong to the same group as the bug report. The group of a bug report may be changed by selecting the respective entry from the user group choice box.

  • Fixed by: In this choice box, the responsible user for the bug fix can be set.

  • View attachment: Bug reports may contain an additional attachment (screenshots etc.). If the selected report contains an attachment, the view attachment button is enabled. By pressing the button, the attachment URL is requested in the browser.

  • Contact Author: If the author's email address is known, the contact author button is enabled. By pressing the button, the system's email client is opened.

  • Save: Changes in the bug report have to be commited by pressing the Save button. The user may decide, whether the author of the bug report should be informed about the actual bug report state.

    In the case the user presses Yes, the server sends an email to the author containing the actual report status and data. In any case, the changes are stored into the database.

Administration Applet

There exists an applet for the Bug Base administration. The login is the similar to the login for developers:

click to show image The login is restricted to users belonging the the group admin. After successful installation an administrator user is created:

  • userid: admin
  • password: bugbase


The administration of Bug Base is split up in three panels:

  • General settings: This panel contains the administration tasks, which concern the Bug Base installation and are not project dependent.

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    • Projects: In the left part, new project names may be added or existing ones deleted. Press Save to commit the changes.

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    • User data: Users can be administrated with the panel on the right side. If no user is selected from the top list, new user data may be entered. The user will be defined, when the Add button has been pressed. Existing ones may be modified or deleted. The modifications will be commited by pressing the Save button.

    • Groups: In the lower right part of the panel, the groups can be managed. If the desired group does not exist, press New to add a new group name.


  • Project administration: The project administration panel contains a list panel for adding and deleting new project packages.

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    • Project: Select the project.

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    • Project packages: Projects may be structured by packages. On this panel, new packages may be defined and existing ones deleted. The modifications will be commited by pressing the Save button.


  • Database administration: This panel offers direct access to the database via SQL.

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    • SQL command: Enter a SQL command in the text area and press the Submit button to submit the command to the underlying database of Bug Base.

    • Updating the database structure: If new versions of Bug Base are introduced, the underlying database may need modifications. Select the new database version from the Updates choice box and press Update to execute the the version update of the database. See Concepts for details about the update mechanism.

    The results of executed SQL commands or version updates are displayed in the Console text area.

Problem diagnosis

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In the unlikely case of an error, a diagnosis page may be used in order to detect the malicious configurations.


The Bug Base Project

Last modified: Sun Oct 28 18:56:25 2001