path: root/packages/debbugs/debbugs.texi

\input texinfo
@setfilename debbugs.info
@settitle Debbugs programmer's manual

@dircategory Emacs
@direntry
* Debbugs: (debbugs).  A library for communication with Debbugs.
@end direntry

@copying
Copyright @copyright{} 2011, 2012 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

@quotation
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or
any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover, or Back-Cover Texts.  A copy of
the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
License'' in the Emacs manual.

This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
Documentation License.  If you want to distribute this document
separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.

All Emacs Lisp code contained in this document may be used, distributed,
and modified without restriction.
@end quotation
@end copying

@titlepage
@title Debbugs Programmer's Manual
@author by Evgeny M. Zubok
@page
@insertcopying
@end titlepage

@contents

@node Top
@top Debbugs Programmer's Manual

Debbugs is a bugtracking system (BTS) that was initially written for
the Debian project but actually used also by the GNU project.  The
main distinctive feature of Debbugs is that it's mostly email-based.
All actions on bug reports: opening, closing, changing the status,
commenting, forwarding are performed via email by sending specially
composed letters to the particular mail addresses.  However, searching
the bug reports, querying bug report status and viewing comments have
been web-based for a long time.  To overcome this inconvenience the
Debbugs/SOAP service was introduced.

The Debbugs/SOAP service provides the means for developers to write
client applications that can send the queries with certain search
criteria to the Debbugs server and retrieve a set of bug reports that
match them.  The developer may also ask the Debbugs server for
additional information about every bug report (e.g. subject, date,
originator, tags and etc.) and get all comments and attachments.

@code{debbugs}, described in this document, is the Emacs library that
exposes to developers the available functions provided by the Debbugs
server.  @code{debbugs} uses Emacs' SOAP client library for
communication with the Debbugs server.  In tandem with Emacs' email
facilities, @code{debbugs} provides a solution for building
applications that interact with the Debbugs BTS directly from Emacs
without addressing Debbugs' web interface.

@menu
* Installation::                Getting and installing @code{debbugs}.
* Configuration::               Configuring @code{debbugs}.
* Requesting bug numbers::      How to request bug report numbers.
* Requesting bugs statuses::    How to request the status of bug reports.
* Requesting messages::         How to get messages from bug reports.
* Requesting user tags::        How to request tags set by users.
@end menu

@node Installation
@chapter Installation

@subheading Installation on Emacs 24 or later

Install @code{debbugs} from the @ref{Packaging, ELPA repository, , elisp}.

@subheading Installation on Emacs 22 and Emacs 23

If you want to install @code{debbugs} on Emacs 22/23, you will need to
install the @code{soap-client} library first.  It can be downloaded from
the @uref{http://code.google.com/p/emacs-soap-client/, Emacs SOAP client
project page}.

Compile the library and add it into your @code{load-path}:

@example
(add-to-list 'load-path "/path/to/emacs-soap-client/")
@end example

@code{debbugs} library can be downloaded from the
@uref{http://elpa.gnu.org/packages/, ELPA repository}.  Compile it and
set the @code{load-path}:

@example
(add-to-list 'load-path "/path/to/debbugs/")
@end example

@subheading Installation on Emacs 21

We have not tried yet to install @code{debbugs} on Emacs 21.  We would
definitely say that the installation will require even more additional
libraries than needed for installation on Emacs 22/23.

@node Configuration
@chapter Configuration

@code{debbugs} is already configured to work with two main ports of
Debbugs BTS: @uref{http://bugs.debian.org} and
@uref{http://debbugs.gnu.org}.  So if you intend to use one of these
ports, you don't need to configure @code{debbugs}.  If you want to
interact with a Debbugs port other than those listed, you have to
configure @code{debbugs} by adding a new server specifier to the
@code{debbugs-servers} variable.  The actual port can be selected by
the @code{debbugs-port} variable.

@defvar debbugs-servers
List of Debbugs server specifiers.  Each entry is a list that contains a
string identifying the port name and the server parameters in
keyword-value form.  The list initially contains two predefined and
configured Debbugs servers: @code{"gnu.org"} and @code{"debian.org"}.

Valid keywords are:

@table @code
@item :wsdl
Location of WSDL.  The value is a string with the URL that should
return the WSDL specification of the Debbugs/SOAP service.  This
keyword is intended for future use, it is ignored currently.

@item :bugreport-url
The URL of the server script (@code{bugreport.cgi} in the default
Debbugs installation) that provides the access to mboxes with messages
from bug reports.
@end table

Example.  Add a new Debbugs port with name "foobars.net":

@example
(add-to-list
 'debbugs-servers
 '("foobars.net"
   :wsdl "http://bugs.foobars.net/cgi/soap.cgi?WSDL"
   :bugreport-url "http://bugs.foobars.net/cgi/bugreport.cgi"))
@end example
@end defvar

@defvar debbugs-port
This variable holds the name of the currently used port.  The value of
the variable corresponds to the Debbugs server to be accessed, either
@code{"gnu.org"} or @code{"debian.org"}, or a user defined port name.
@end defvar

@node Requesting bug numbers
@chapter Requesting bug numbers

In Debbugs BTS, the bug number is the unique identifier of a bug
report.  The functions described in this section return from the
Debbugs server the list of bug numbers that match a user's query.

@defun debbugs-get-bugs &rest query
This function returns a list of bug numbers that match the
@var{query}. @var{query} is a sequence of keyword-value pairs where the
values are strings, i.e. :KEYWORD ``VALUE'' [:KEYWORD ``VALUE'']*

The keyword-value pair is a subquery.  The keywords are allowed to
have multiple occurrence within the query at any place.  The
subqueries with the same keyword form the logical subquery, which
returns the union of bugs of every subquery it contains.

The result of the @var{query} is an intersection of results of all
subqueries.

Valid keywords are:

@table @code
@item :package
The value is the name of the package a bug belongs to, like @code{"emacs"},
@code{"coreutils"}, @code{"gnus"}, or @code{"tramp"}.

@item :src
This is used to retrieve bugs that belong to source with given name.

@item :severity
This is the severity of the bug.  The exact set of available severities
depends on the policy of a particular Debbugs port:

Debian port:
@code{"critical"}, @code{"grave"}, @code{"serious"},
@code{"important"}, @code{"normal"}, @code{"minor"}, @code{"wishlist"},
and @code{"fixed"}.

GNU port:
@code{"serious"}, @code{"important"}, @code{"normal"}, @code{"minor"},
@code{"wishlist"}.

@item :tag
An arbitrary string the bug is annotated with.  Usually, this is used
to mark the status of the bug.  The list of possible tags depends on
the Debbugs port.

Debian port: @code{"patch"}, @code{"wontfix"}, @code{"moreinfo"},
@code{"unreproducible"}, @code{"fixed"}, @code{"potato"},
@code{"woody"}, @code{"sid"}, @code{"help"}, @code{"security"},
@code{"upstream"}, @code{"pending"}, @code{"sarge"},
@code{"sarge-ignore"}, @code{"experimental"}, @code{"d-i"},
@code{"confirmed"}, @code{"ipv6"}, @code{"lfs"},
@code{"fixed-in-experimental"}, @code{"fixed-upstream"}, @code{"l10n"},
@code{"etch"}, @code{"etch-ignore"}, @code{"lenny"},
@code{"lenny-ignore"}, @code{"squeeze"}, @code{"squeeze-ignore"},
@code{"wheezy"}, @code{"wheezy-ignore"}. The actual list of tags can be
found on @uref{http://www.debian.org/Bugs/Developer#tags}.

GNU port: @code{"fixed"}, @code{"notabug"}, @code{"wontfix"},
@code{"unreproducible"}, @code{"moreinfo"}, @code{"patch"},
@code{"pending"}, @code{"help"}, @code{"security"}, @code{"confirmed"}.
See @url{http://debbugs.gnu.org/Developer.html#tags} for the actual list
of tags.

@item :owner
This is used to identify bugs by the owner's email address.  The
special email address @code{"me"} is used as pattern, replaced with
the variable @code{user-mail-address} (@pxref{(elisp)User
Identification}).

@item :submitter
With this keyword it is possible to filter bugs by the submitter's
email address.  The special email address @code{"me"} is used as
pattern, replaced with the variable @code{user-mail-address}.

@item :maint
This is used to find bugs of the packages which are maintained by the
person with the given email address.  The special email address
@code{"me"} is used as pattern, replaced with @code{user-mail-address}.

@item :correspondent
This allows to find bug reports where the person with the given email
address has participated.  The special email address @code{"me"} is used
as pattern, replaced with @code{user-mail-address}.

@item :affects
With this keyword it is possible to find bugs which affect the package
with the given name.  The bugs are chosen by the value of field
@code{affects} in bug's status.  The returned bugs do not necessary
belong to this package.

@item :status
Status of bug.  Valid values are @code{"done"}, @code{"forwarded"} and
@code{"open"}.

@item :archive
A keyword to filter for bugs which are already archived, or not.  Valid
values are @code{"0"} (not archived), @code{"1"} (archived) or
@code{"both"}.  If this keyword is not given in the query,
@code{:archive "0"} is assumed by default.
@end table

Example.  Get all opened and forwarded release critical bugs for the
packages which are maintained by @code{"me"} and which have a patch:

@example
(let ((debbugs-port "debian.org"))
  (debbugs-get-bugs :maint "me" :tag "patch"
                    :severity "critical"
                    :status "open"
                    :severity "grave"
                    :status "forwarded"
                    :severity "serious"))
@end example
@end defun

@defun debbugs-newest-bugs amount
This function returns a list of bug numbers, according to @var{amount}
(a number) of latest bugs.

Example.  Get the latest six bug report numbers from Debian BTS:

@example
(let ((debbugs-port "debian.org"))
  (debbugs-newest-bugs 6))
@result{} (633152 633153 633154 633155 633156 633157)
@end example
@end defun

@node Requesting bugs statuses
@chapter Requesting bugs statuses

Bug status is a collection of fields that holds the information about
the state and importance of the bug report, about originator, owner and
various aspects of relationship with other bug reports.

@defun debbugs-get-status &rest bug-numbers
Return a list of status entries for the bug reports identified by
@var{bug-numbers}.  Every returned entry is an association list with the
following attributes:

@table @code
@item id
@itemx bug_num
The bug number.

@item package
A list of package names the bug belongs to.

@item severity
The severity of the bug report.  Possible values are the same as for
@code{:severity} in @code{debbugs-get-bugs} (@pxref{Requesting bug
numbers}).

@item tags
The status of the bug report, a list of strings.  Possible values are the
same as for @code{:tags} in @code{debbugs-get-bugs} (@pxref{Requesting
bug numbers}).

@item pending
The string @code{"pending"}, @code{"forwarded"} or @code{"done"}.

@item subject
Subject/Title of the bugreport.

@item originator
The E-mail address of the bug report submitter.

@item mergedwith
A list of bug numbers this bug was merged with.

@item source
Source package name of the bug report.

@item date
Date of bug creation.  Encoded as UNIX time.

@item log_modified
@itemx last_modified
Date of last update.  Encoded as UNIX time.

@item found_date
@itemx fixed_date
Date of bug report / bug fix (empty for now).  Encoded as UNIX time.

@item done
The E-mail address of the worker who has closed the bug (if done).

@item archived
@code{t} if the bug is archived, @code{nil} otherwise.

@item unarchived
The date the bug has been unarchived, if ever.  Encoded as UNIX time.

@item found_versions
@itemx fixed_versions
List of version strings.

@item forwarded
A URL or an E-mail address.

@item blocks
A list of bug numbers this bug blocks.

@item blockedby
A list of bug numbers this bug is blocked by.

@item msgid
The message id of the initial bug report.

@item owner
Who is responsible for fixing.

@item location
Always the string @code{"db-h"} or @code{"archive"}.

@item affects
A list of package names.

@item summary
Arbitrary text.
@end table

Example.  Get the status of bug number #10 from GNU BTS:

@example
(let ((debbugs-port "gnu.org"))
  (debbugs-get-status 10))
@result{}
(((source . "unknown") (found_versions) (done) (blocks)
  (date . 1203606305.0) (fixed) (fixed_versions) (mergedwith)
  (found) (unarchived) (blockedby) (keywords) (summary)
  (msgid . "<87zltuz7eh.fsf@@freemail.hu>") (id . 10)
  (forwarded) (severity . "wishlist")
  (owner . "Magnus Henoch <*****@@freemail.hu>")
  (log_modified . 1310061242.0) (location . "db-h")
  (subject . "url-gw should support HTTP CONNECT proxies")
  (originator . "Magnus Henoch <*****@@freemail.hu>")
  (last_modified . 1310061242.0) (pending . "pending") (affects)
  (archived) (tags) (fixed_date) (package "emacs") (found_date)
  (bug_num . 10)))
@end example
@end defun

@defun debbugs-get-attribute bug-or-message attribute
General accessor that returns the value of key @var{attribute}.
@var{bug-or-message} must be a list element returned by either
@code{debbugs-get-status} or @code{debbugs-get-bug-log}
(@pxref{Requesting messages}).

Example.  Return the originator of the last submitted bug report:

@example
(let ((debbags-port "gnu.org"))
  (debbugs-get-attribute
   (car (apply 'debbugs-get-status (debbugs-newest-bugs 1)))
   'originator))
@result{} "Jack Daniels <jack@@daniels.com>"
@end example
@end defun

@node Requesting messages
@chapter Requesting messages

@defun debbugs-get-bug-log bug-number
Returns a list of messages related to @var{bug-number}.  Every message is
an association list with the following attributes:

@table @code
@item msg_num
The number of the message inside the bug log.  The numbers are ascending,
newer messages have a higher number.
@item header
The header lines from the E-mail messages, as arrived at the bug
tracker.
@item body
The message body.
@item attachments
A list of possible attachments, or @code{nil}.  Not implemented yet server
side.
@end table
@end defun

@defun debbugs-get-message-numbers messages
Returns the message numbers of @var{messages}.  @var{messages} must be
the result of a @code{debbugs-get-bug-log} call.

Example.  Get message numbers from bug report #456789 log from Debian
BTS:

@example
(let ((debbugs-port "debian.org"))
   (debbugs-get-message-numbers (debbugs-get-bug-log 456789)))
@result{} (5 10 12)
@end example
@end defun

@defun debbugs-get-message messages message-number
Returns the message @var{message-number} of
@var{messages}.  @var{messages} must be the result of a
@code{debbugs-get-bug-log} call.  The returned message is a list of
strings.  The first element are the header lines of the message, the
second element is the body of the message.  Further elements of the list,
if any, are attachments of the message.  If there is no message with
@var{message-number}, the function returns @code{nil}.

Example: Return the first message of the last submitted bug report to
GNU BTS:

@example
(let* ((debbugs-port "gnu.org")
       (messages (apply 'debbugs-get-bug-log
			(debbugs-newest-bugs 1))))
  (debbugs-get-message
   messages
   (car (debbugs-get-message-numbers messages))))
@end example
@end defun

@defun debbugs-get-mbox bug-number mbox-type &optional filename
Download mbox with all messages from bug report
@var{bug-number}.  @var{mbox-type} specifies a type of mbox and can be
one of the following symbols:

@table @code
@item mboxfolder
Download mbox folder, i.e. mbox with messages as they arrived at the
Debbugs server.

@item mboxmaint
Download maintainer's mbox, i.e. mbox with messages as they are resent
from the Debbugs server.

@item mboxstat
@itemx mboxstatus
Download status mbox.  The use of either symbol depends on the actual
Debbugs server configuration.  For @code{"gnu.org"}, use the former;
for @code{"debian.org} - the latter.
@end table

@var{filename}, if non-@code{nil}, is the name of the file to store
mbox.  If @var{filename} is @code{nil}, the downloaded mbox is
inserted into the current buffer.

Note, that mbox downloading will work only if the
@code{:bugreport-url} field of the @code{debbugs-servers} variable is
specified (@pxref{Configuration}).
@end defun

@node Requesting user tags
@chapter Requesting user tags

A user tag is a string, a user has assigned to one or several bugs.
The user is identified by an email address.  The port @code{"gnu.org"}
uses also package names as user identification.

@defun debbugs-get-usertag &rest query
Return a list of bug numbers which match @var{query}.

@var{query} is a sequence of keyword-value pairs where the values are
strings, i.e. :KEYWORD ``VALUE'' [:KEYWORD ``VALUE'']*

Valid keywords are:

@table @code
@item :user
The value is the name of the package a bug belongs to, like
@code{"emacs"}, @code{"coreutils"}, or @code{"tramp"}.  It can also be
an email address of a user who has applied a user tag.  The special
email address @code{"me"} is used as pattern, replaced with
@code{user-mail-address}.  There must be at least one such entry; it
is recommended to have exactly one.

@item :tag
A string applied as user tag.  Often, it is a subproduct
identification, like @code{"cedet"} or @code{"tramp"} for the package
@code{"emacs"}.
@end table

If there is no @code{:tag} entry, no bug numbers will be returned but
a list of existing user tags for @code{:user}.

Example.  Get all user tags for the package @code{"emacs"}:

@example
(let ((debbugs-port "gnu.org"))
  (debbugs-get-usertag :user "emacs"))
@result{} ("www" "solaris" "ls-lisp" "cygwin")
@end example

Get all bugs tagged by package @code{"emacs"} with @code{"www"} or
@code{"cygwin"})):

@example
(let ((debbugs-port "gnu.org"))
  (debbugs-get-usertag :user "emacs" :tag "www" :tag "cygwin"))
@result{} (807 1223 5637)
@end example
@end defun

@bye