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20 All Emacs Lisp code contained in this document may be used,
21 distributed, and modified without restriction.
22 INFO-DIR-SECTION Emacs
24 * Debbugs: (debbugs). A library for communication with Debbugs.
28 File: debbugs.info, Node: Top, Next: Installation, Up: (dir)
30 Debbugs Programmer's Manual
31 ***************************
33 Debbugs is a bugtracking system (BTS) that was initially written for
34 the Debian project but currently used also by the GNU project. The
35 main distinctive feature of Debbugs is that it's mostly email-based.
36 All actions on bug reports: opening, closing, changing the status,
37 commenting, forwarding are performed via email by sending specially
38 composed letters to the particular mail addresses. However, searching
39 the bug reports, querying bug report status and viewing comments have
40 been web-based for a long time. To overcome this inconvenience the
41 Debbugs/SOAP service was introduced.
43 The Debbugs/SOAP service provides the means for developers to write
44 client applications that can send the queries with certain search
45 criteria to the Debbugs server and retrieve a set of bug reports that
46 match them. The developer may also ask the Debbugs server for
47 additional information about every bug report (e.g. subject, date,
48 originator, tags and etc.) and get all comments and attachments.
50 'debbugs', described in this document, is the Emacs library that
51 exposes to developers the available functions provided by the Debbugs
52 server. 'debbugs' uses Emacs' SOAP client library for communication
53 with the Debbugs server. In tandem with Emacs' email facilities,
54 'debbugs' provides a solution for building applications that interact
55 with the Debbugs BTS directly from Emacs without addressing Debbugs'
58 The user interface for accessing the Debbugs server for GNU
59 projects is described in *note Debbugs User Guide: (debbugs-ug)Top.
63 * Installation:: Getting and installing 'debbugs'.
64 * Configuration:: Configuring 'debbugs'.
65 * Requesting bug numbers:: How to request bug report numbers.
66 * Requesting bugs statuses:: How to request the status of bug reports.
67 * Requesting messages:: How to get messages from bug reports.
68 * Requesting user tags:: How to request tags set by users.
71 File: debbugs.info, Node: Installation, Next: Configuration, Prev: Top, Up: Top
76 Installation on Emacs 24 or later
77 ---------------------------------
79 Install 'debbugs' from the *note ELPA repository: (elisp)Packaging.
81 Installation on Emacs 22 and Emacs 23
82 -------------------------------------
84 If you want to install 'debbugs' on Emacs 22/23, you will need to
85 install the 'soap-client' library first. It can be downloaded from
86 the Emacs SOAP client project page
87 (http://code.google.com/p/emacs-soap-client/).
89 Compile the library and add it into your 'load-path':
91 (add-to-list 'load-path "/path/to/emacs-soap-client/")
93 'debbugs' library can be downloaded from the ELPA repository
94 (http://elpa.gnu.org/packages/). Compile it and set the 'load-path':
96 (add-to-list 'load-path "/path/to/debbugs/")
98 Installation on Emacs 21
99 ------------------------
101 We have not tried yet to install 'debbugs' on Emacs 21. We would
102 definitely say that the installation will require even more additional
103 libraries than needed for installation on Emacs 22/23.
106 File: debbugs.info, Node: Configuration, Next: Requesting bug numbers, Prev: Installation, Up: Top
111 'debbugs' is already configured to work with two main ports of Debbugs
112 BTS: <http://bugs.debian.org> and <http://debbugs.gnu.org>. So if you
113 intend to use one of these ports, you don't need to configure
114 'debbugs'. If you want to interact with a Debbugs port other than
115 those listed, you have to configure 'debbugs' by adding a new server
116 specifier to the 'debbugs-servers' variable. The actual port can be
117 selected by the 'debbugs-port' variable.
119 -- Variable: debbugs-servers
120 List of Debbugs server specifiers. Each entry is a list that
121 contains a string identifying the port name and the server
122 parameters in keyword-value form. The list initially contains
123 two predefined and configured Debbugs servers: '"gnu.org"' and
129 Location of WSDL. The value is a string with the URL that
130 should return the WSDL specification of the Debbugs/SOAP
131 service. This keyword is intended for future use, it is
135 The URL of the server script ('bugreport.cgi' in the default
136 Debbugs installation) that provides the access to mboxes
137 with messages from bug reports.
139 Example. Add a new Debbugs port with name "foobars.net":
144 :wsdl "http://bugs.foobars.net/cgi/soap.cgi?WSDL"
145 :bugreport-url "http://bugs.foobars.net/cgi/bugreport.cgi"))
147 -- Variable: debbugs-port
148 This variable holds the name of the currently used port. The
149 value of the variable corresponds to the Debbugs server to be
150 accessed, either '"gnu.org"' or '"debian.org"', or a user defined
154 File: debbugs.info, Node: Requesting bug numbers, Next: Requesting bugs statuses, Prev: Configuration, Up: Top
156 3 Requesting bug numbers
157 ************************
159 In Debbugs BTS, the bug number is the unique identifier of a bug
160 report. The functions described in this section return from the
161 Debbugs server the list of bug numbers that match a user's query.
163 -- Function: debbugs-get-bugs &rest query
164 This function returns a list of bug numbers that match the QUERY.
165 QUERY is a sequence of keyword-value pairs where the values are
166 strings, i.e. :KEYWORD "VALUE" [:KEYWORD "VALUE"]*
168 The keyword-value pair is a subquery. The keywords are allowed
169 to have multiple occurrence within the query at any place. The
170 subqueries with the same keyword form the logical subquery, which
171 returns the union of bugs of every subquery it contains.
173 The result of the QUERY is an intersection of results of all
179 The value is the name of the package a bug belongs to, like
180 '"emacs"', '"coreutils"', '"gnus"', or '"tramp"'.
183 This is used to retrieve bugs that belong to source with
187 This is the severity of the bug. The exact set of available
188 severities depends on the policy of a particular Debbugs
191 Debian port: '"critical"', '"grave"', '"serious"',
192 '"important"', '"normal"', '"minor"', '"wishlist"', and
195 GNU port: '"serious"', '"important"', '"normal"', '"minor"',
199 An arbitrary string the bug is annotated with. Usually,
200 this is used to mark the status of the bug. The list of
201 possible tags depends on the Debbugs port.
203 Debian port: '"patch"', '"wontfix"', '"moreinfo"',
204 '"unreproducible"', '"fixed"', '"potato"', '"woody"',
205 '"sid"', '"help"', '"security"', '"upstream"', '"pending"',
206 '"sarge"', '"sarge-ignore"', '"experimental"', '"d-i"',
207 '"confirmed"', '"ipv6"', '"lfs"', '"fixed-in-experimental"',
208 '"fixed-upstream"', '"l10n"', '"etch"', '"etch-ignore"',
209 '"lenny"', '"lenny-ignore"', '"squeeze"',
210 '"squeeze-ignore"', '"wheezy"', '"wheezy-ignore"'. The
211 actual list of tags can be found on
212 <http://www.debian.org/Bugs/Developer#tags>.
214 GNU port: '"fixed"', '"notabug"', '"wontfix"',
215 '"unreproducible"', '"moreinfo"', '"patch"', '"pending"',
216 '"help"', '"security"', '"confirmed"'. See
217 <http://debbugs.gnu.org/Developer.html#tags> for the actual
221 This is used to identify bugs by the owner's email address.
222 The special email address '"me"' is used as pattern,
223 replaced with the variable 'user-mail-address' (*note
224 (elisp)User Identification::).
227 With this keyword it is possible to filter bugs by the
228 submitter's email address. The special email address '"me"'
229 is used as pattern, replaced with the variable
233 This is used to find bugs of the packages which are
234 maintained by the person with the given email address. The
235 special email address '"me"' is used as pattern, replaced
236 with 'user-mail-address'.
239 This allows to find bug reports where the person with the
240 given email address has participated. The special email
241 address '"me"' is used as pattern, replaced with
245 With this keyword it is possible to find bugs which affect
246 the package with the given name. The bugs are chosen by the
247 value of field 'affects' in bug's status. The returned bugs
248 do not necessary belong to this package.
251 Status of bug. Valid values are '"done"', '"forwarded"' and
255 A keyword to filter for bugs which are already archived, or
256 not. Valid values are '"0"' (not archived), '"1"'
257 (archived) or '"both"'. If this keyword is not given in the
258 query, ':archive "0"' is assumed by default.
260 Example. Get all opened and forwarded release critical bugs for
261 the packages which are maintained by '"me"' and which have a
264 (let ((debbugs-port "debian.org"))
265 (debbugs-get-bugs :maint "me" :tag "patch"
270 :severity "serious"))
272 -- Function: debbugs-newest-bugs amount
273 This function returns a list of bug numbers, according to AMOUNT
274 (a number) of latest bugs.
276 Example. Get the latest six bug report numbers from Debian BTS:
278 (let ((debbugs-port "debian.org"))
279 (debbugs-newest-bugs 6))
280 => (633152 633153 633154 633155 633156 633157)
283 File: debbugs.info, Node: Requesting bugs statuses, Next: Requesting messages, Prev: Requesting bug numbers, Up: Top
285 4 Requesting bugs statuses
286 **************************
288 Bug status is a collection of fields that holds the information about
289 the state and importance of the bug report, about originator, owner
290 and various aspects of relationship with other bug reports.
292 -- Function: debbugs-get-status &rest bug-numbers
293 Return a list of status entries for the bug reports identified by
294 BUG-NUMBERS. Every returned entry is an association list with
295 the following attributes:
302 A list of package names the bug belongs to.
305 The severity of the bug report. Possible values are the
306 same as for ':severity' in 'debbugs-get-bugs' (*note
307 Requesting bug numbers::).
310 The status of the bug report, a list of strings. Possible
311 values are the same as for ':tags' in 'debbugs-get-bugs'
312 (*note Requesting bug numbers::).
315 The string '"pending"', '"forwarded"' or '"done"'.
318 Subject/Title of the bugreport.
321 The E-mail address of the bug report submitter.
324 A list of bug numbers this bug was merged with.
327 Source package name of the bug report.
330 Date of bug creation. Encoded as UNIX time.
334 Date of last update. Encoded as UNIX time.
338 Date of bug report / bug fix (empty for now). Encoded as
342 The E-mail address of the worker who has closed the bug (if
346 't' if the bug is archived, 'nil' otherwise.
349 The date the bug has been unarchived, if ever. Encoded as
354 List of version strings.
357 A URL or an E-mail address.
360 A list of bug numbers this bug blocks.
363 A list of bug numbers this bug is blocked by.
366 The message id of the initial bug report.
369 Who is responsible for fixing.
372 Always the string '"db-h"' or '"archive"'.
375 A list of package names.
380 Example. Get the status of bug number #10 from GNU BTS:
382 (let ((debbugs-port "gnu.org"))
383 (debbugs-get-status 10))
385 (((source . "unknown") (found_versions) (done) (blocks)
386 (date . 1203606305.0) (fixed) (fixed_versions) (mergedwith)
387 (found) (unarchived) (blockedby) (keywords) (summary)
388 (msgid . "<87zltuz7eh.fsf@freemail.hu>") (id . 10)
389 (forwarded) (severity . "wishlist")
390 (owner . "Magnus Henoch <*****@freemail.hu>")
391 (log_modified . 1310061242.0) (location . "db-h")
392 (subject . "url-gw should support HTTP CONNECT proxies")
393 (originator . "Magnus Henoch <*****@freemail.hu>")
394 (last_modified . 1310061242.0) (pending . "pending") (affects)
395 (archived) (tags) (fixed_date) (package "emacs") (found_date)
398 -- Function: debbugs-get-attribute bug-or-message attribute
399 General accessor that returns the value of key ATTRIBUTE.
400 BUG-OR-MESSAGE must be a list element returned by either
401 'debbugs-get-status' or 'debbugs-get-bug-log' (*note Requesting
404 Example. Return the originator of the last submitted bug report:
406 (let ((debbags-port "gnu.org"))
407 (debbugs-get-attribute
408 (car (apply 'debbugs-get-status (debbugs-newest-bugs 1)))
410 => "Jack Daniels <jack@daniels.com>"
413 File: debbugs.info, Node: Requesting messages, Next: Requesting user tags, Prev: Requesting bugs statuses, Up: Top
415 5 Requesting messages
416 *********************
418 -- Function: debbugs-get-bug-log bug-number
419 Returns a list of messages related to BUG-NUMBER. Every message
420 is an association list with the following attributes:
423 The number of the message inside the bug log. The numbers
424 are ascending, newer messages have a higher number.
426 The header lines from the E-mail messages, as arrived at the
431 A list of possible attachments, or 'nil'. Not implemented
434 -- Function: debbugs-get-message-numbers messages
435 Returns the message numbers of MESSAGES. MESSAGES must be the
436 result of a 'debbugs-get-bug-log' call.
438 Example. Get message numbers from bug report #456789 log from
441 (let ((debbugs-port "debian.org"))
442 (debbugs-get-message-numbers (debbugs-get-bug-log 456789)))
445 -- Function: debbugs-get-message messages message-number
446 Returns the message MESSAGE-NUMBER of MESSAGES. MESSAGES must be
447 the result of a 'debbugs-get-bug-log' call. The returned message
448 is a list of strings. The first element are the header lines of
449 the message, the second element is the body of the message.
450 Further elements of the list, if any, are attachments of the
451 message. If there is no message with MESSAGE-NUMBER, the
452 function returns 'nil'.
454 Example: Return the first message of the last submitted bug
457 (let* ((debbugs-port "gnu.org")
458 (messages (apply 'debbugs-get-bug-log
459 (debbugs-newest-bugs 1))))
462 (car (debbugs-get-message-numbers messages))))
464 -- Function: debbugs-get-mbox bug-number mbox-type &optional filename
465 Download mbox with all messages from bug report BUG-NUMBER.
466 MBOX-TYPE specifies a type of mbox and can be one of the
470 Download mbox folder, i.e. mbox with messages as they
471 arrived at the Debbugs server.
474 Download maintainer's mbox, i.e. mbox with messages as they
475 are resent from the Debbugs server.
479 Download status mbox. The use of either symbol depends on
480 the actual Debbugs server configuration. For '"gnu.org"',
481 use the former; for '"debian.org' - the latter.
483 FILENAME, if non-'nil', is the name of the file to store mbox.
484 If FILENAME is 'nil', the downloaded mbox is inserted into the
487 Note, that mbox downloading will work only if the
488 ':bugreport-url' field of the 'debbugs-servers' variable is
489 specified (*note Configuration::).
492 File: debbugs.info, Node: Requesting user tags, Prev: Requesting messages, Up: Top
494 6 Requesting user tags
495 **********************
497 A user tag is a string, a user has assigned to one or several bugs.
498 The user is identified by an email address. The port '"gnu.org"' uses
499 also package names as user identification.
501 -- Function: debbugs-get-usertag &rest query
502 Return a list of bug numbers which match QUERY.
504 QUERY is a sequence of keyword-value pairs where the values are
505 strings, i.e. :KEYWORD "VALUE" [:KEYWORD "VALUE"]*
510 The value is the name of the package a bug belongs to, like
511 '"emacs"', '"coreutils"', or '"tramp"'. It can also be an
512 email address of a user who has applied a user tag. The
513 special email address '"me"' is used as pattern, replaced
514 with 'user-mail-address'. There must be at least one such
515 entry; it is recommended to have exactly one.
518 A string applied as user tag. Often, it is a subproduct
519 identification, like '"cedet"' or '"tramp"' for the package
522 If there is no ':tag' entry, no bug numbers will be returned but
523 a list of existing user tags for ':user'.
525 Example. Get all user tags for the package '"emacs"':
527 (let ((debbugs-port "gnu.org"))
528 (debbugs-get-usertag :user "emacs"))
529 => ("www" "solaris" "ls-lisp" "cygwin")
531 Get all bugs tagged by package '"emacs"' with '"www"' or
534 (let ((debbugs-port "gnu.org"))
535 (debbugs-get-usertag :user "emacs" :tag "www" :tag "cygwin"))
542 Node: Installation
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543 Node: Configuration
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544 Node: Requesting bug numbers
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545 Node: Requesting bugs statuses
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546 Node: Requesting messages
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547 Node: Requesting user tags
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