European Wafaa

I've been thinking about an itch that I'm sure not only I have, and it's an itch I'm really surprised exists. It is with this itch that I need help with hacking from all you programming and hacking supremos out there. Why don’t I start hacking? Well simple, I can barely hack “Hello world”! So please help me.

As anyone that has filed a bug with openSUSE/Novell knows, it is done in Bugzilla. The problem is it is a web only interface with no easy way of dealing with bugs apart from through a web browser. This is not a failing of the software as it was designed this way to ensure global reach, if you have a browser (not many desktops don't, and even mobile devices have them) you can file a bug. Almost all bugtracking services are web only, for that exact reason - Launchpad, Mantis, Trac, JIRA etc. Bugzilla is by far the most common, as not only do openSUSE/Novell use it but so do RedHat, Mozilla (funny that), the upstream Kernel, GNOME, KDE, Apache, Eclipse, OpenOffice.org and many others.

My itch is for a desktop client to Bugzilla and the other bugtrackers. Ideally the other bug trackers could be enabled/disabled via a plugin system. If you think about it the Bugbot in IRC can interface with all of these so why can’t we from one app? I first started thinking about it when Lamby created his Debian BTS applet. I spoke to him again about this and my itch at LRL on Saturday. By the way, shame on you Ubuntu for taking his applet modifying it and not feeding back the changes! This provides some of the function I would like to see, as in the main app would minimise to the tray and only show the applet. From this you could access a subset of functions and also get notifications. On the topic of notifications, one item I would like to see this client – which I’ll call bugthra (a play on Godzilla’s foe Mothra) but not set in stone – deal with is not having to have your inbox battered with bug notification e-mails, yes I know I can set up filters but that’s not the point! Instead you get a notification bubble notifying you and possibly also some form of icon change.

So what features would I like to see? In no specific order my thoughts are the following:

• Search - I think this is kind of crucial. It’s always good practise to search for similar bugs before filing a new one Being able to save searches etc would be handy.
• Modifiable views – I’m kind of thinking along the lines of being able to have a window/tab for “Bugs I’ve filed” and any other custom view a user wishes, removing selected fields from view etc.
• Creating/Modifying/Following bugs – Duh, one of the main reasons for the app. Hopefully an intuitive interface to facilitate simple filing/modifying of bugs. Following bugs is also pretty key, as there are times when a specific bug perks one’s interest and curiosity. Also you may experience the issue but have no further info to provide.
• Offline facility – not sure how feasible this would be, but certainly falls into the “would be nice” category. Having something similar to a DVCS would be handy and enable bug work whilst offline. User connects to the bugzilla server, and on initial connection does a sort of check out of bugs that the user already is dealing with and stores it locally (SQLite/embedded MySQL/etc). Any additional changes are stored locally and checked back in periodically (connection permitting).
• Ideally cross platform – Again not vital, but to enable maximum uptake being desktop agnostic would be ideal. If I had to choose one, I would possibly say Gtk because I spend most of my time in a GNOME desktop. I will admit I have limited knowledge as to how a Qt works on GNOME and other desktops.

I have no real knowledge about the APIs available, but I believe they’re all there waiting to be used. There is currently a proprietry application called Deskzilla that does do a fair amount of what I’m talking about which Open Source project contributors can obtain a free license providing they meet specific requirements. I would like to see a FOSS competitor, which can beat it So please chip in a scratch this itch if you can, would be great if it could be taken up as part of the next HackWeek. As a reward I will donate some of my acquired openSUSE goodies, either a geeko or usb stick, to the first two major contributions. I am also willing to create an official project with associated bits and bobs if people think it plausible. Either leave a comment, mail me or catch me on IRC (I normally go by the nick of FunkyPenguin)