? General information about IRC: http://www.irchelp.org/
9.3. Using Bugzilla
Fedora consists of thousands of packages, with complex interactions between the packages. To keep track of bugs and problem reports, Fedora uses the Bugzilla bug-tracking database. You can directly query this database to get information about past and present issues, to submit bug reports of your own, and to add information to existing bug reports.
9.3.1. How Do I Do That?
You can access the Fedora Bugzilla system with a web browser by visiting http://bugzilla.redhat.com .
Figure 9-6 shows the main Bugzilla page, on which you will find a Quick Seach field. There, you can enter a bug number that you have heard mentioned elsewhere, or you can enter some keywords related to an issue or bug.
Figure 9-6. Bugzilla main page
In the Bugzilla system, the word
The Query tab provides a more precise way of searching, as shown in Figure 9-7 . Using that interface, you can narrow your search to a specific package in a particular version of Fedora Core or Fedora Extras. For options that are even more detailed, click on the Advanced tab.
Figure 9-7. Bugzilla query page
Your query will yield a list of matching bugs with their summaries, as shown in Figure 9-8 . Clicking on a bug number will display a detailed description of the bug, as in Figure 9-9. The description includes the product, version, and package information, plus a detailed text description of the bug. Additional comments may be added by the originator of the report, the maintainer of the package in question, or any other registered user of Bugzilla.
Figure 9-8. Query results
Figure 9-9. Bug detail page
If your query produces no matches, Bugzilla will helpfully inform you that 'Zarro boogs' were found.
9.3.1.1. Creating a Bugzilla account
In order to add to the comments on existing bugs or to report new bugs, you must have a Bugzilla account. To create an account, click the New Account link in the upper-right corner of the page, and then enter your email address and your full name.
You may want to use a disposable email address because the address will be made public (see Lab 7.6, 'Configuring the sendmail Server,' for more on disposable email addresses).
Bugzilla will send you an email containing a temporary password:
From: [email protected]
Subject: Your Bugzilla password.
Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 05:37:36 -0400
To use the wonders of Bugzilla, you can use the following:
E-mail address:
Password:
To change your password, go to:
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/userprefs.cgi
Follow the link in the email to set your password to a sane value. When you revisit Bugzilla, you can log in to your account using your email address and password.
9.3.1.2. Reporting a new bug
If you have searched for reports of a particular issue and have not found any existing bugs, you can open a new bug report by clicking the New tab in the gray bar. You will be presented with a list of products, as shown in Figure 9-10 ; select the appropriate one from the Fedora portion of the list.
Figure 9-10. Bugzilla product list
Bugzilla will then present you with the main bug-entry form, as shown in Figure 9-11. Select the product version that you are using, and then select the component (package).
Figure 9-11. Bugzilla new bug-detail form
If the package you want is not in the component list, you may have selected the wrong productfor example, you may have selected Fedora Core for a package that is actually in Fedora Extras. Use the Back button on your browser to return to the product list and try another product.
Select a platform and severity (the default is usually correct for both), and then enter a summary (title) for the bug. Choose one that succinctly describes the bug.
Now enter the bug Description. Use as many of the preplaced headings as possible ('Description of problem,' 'How reproducable,' 'Steps to reproduce,' 'Expected results,' 'Actual results'). Ideally you should provide clear, step-by-step instructions that will reliably provoke symptoms that demonstrate the bug, as well as
