Announce: BZ::Client 1.0

[Jochen Wiedmann]

Hi,

I'd like to announce the availability of BZ::Client on CPAN.
BZ::Client is a client library for the Bugzilla Webservices API. It
provides an object oriented API, which is relatively close to the
server side API, but hides the XML-RPC related details completely.

Jochen

--
Base64 decoding, 300% faster than sun.misc.BASE64Decoder:
http://archive.netbsd.se/?ml=commons-dev&a=2008-05&t=7522166
-
To view or change your list settings, click here:
<http://bugzilla.org/cgi-bin/mj_wwwusr?user=lists@...>

[Max Kanat-Alexander]

Jochen Wiedmann wrote:
> I'd like to announce the availability of BZ::Client on CPAN.
> BZ::Client is a client library for the Bugzilla Webservices API. It
> provides an object oriented API, which is relatively close to the
> server side API, but hides the XML-RPC related details completely.

        Great!! Maybe in the future Bugzilla itself will actually use this
module to access other Bugzillas. :-)

        -Max
--
http://www.everythingsolved.com/
Competent, Friendly Bugzilla and Perl Services. Everything Else, too.
-
To view or change your list settings, click here:
<http://bugzilla.org/cgi-bin/mj_wwwusr?user=lists@...>

[Aaron Trevena]

Hi Jochen,

> I'd like to announce the availability of BZ::Client on CPAN.
> BZ::Client is a client library for the Bugzilla Webservices API. It
> provides an object oriented API, which is relatively close to the
> server side API, but hides the XML-RPC related details completely.

That sounds good - I've been thinking about how to move some of the
functionality you see in tracs version control/bug integration into
Padre (http://padre.perlide.org/), so that, for instance, you could
close a bug on commit, etc - this would be very helpful for that.

Having said that it would be nice if it installed cleanly through CPAN
- there are several problems I spotted that would be worth spending a
little time fixing :
 - looking at the Makefile.PL I don't see any dependancies, and when I
try to install I get errors as it "Can't locate XML/Parser.pm" amongst
other modules (they should be listed in PREREQ_PM)
 - tests will never pass when using the cpan client as they are done
via the command line, and don't skip or prompt the user (I'd prefer
skipping unless environment variables were set)
- I couldn't easily find an example of actually using the Bugzilla API
through it - a worked example of closing or updating a bug would be
immensely helpful.

I'd recommend reading
http://www.perlfoundation.org/perl5/index.cgi?cpan_packaging for more
advice.

It's a good start, it means I can make a start on my padre plugin
quickly, but wouldn't be happy releasing a plugin that uses it until
it installs halfway reliably via cpan.

I've replied to list in the hope that other bugzilla users/hackers who
want to write CPAN modules can pick up some tips too - even if you
don't upload to CPAN there is plenty of good practice that still
applies to packaging perl applications and libraries in general.

Cheers,

A.

--
Aaron J Trevena, BSc Hons
http://www.aarontrevena.co.uk
LAMP System Integration, Development and Consulting
-
To view or change your list settings, click here:
<http://bugzilla.org/cgi-bin/mj_wwwusr?user=lists@...>

[Jochen Wiedmann]

On Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 4:57 PM, Aaron Trevena<aaron.trevena@...> wrote:

>  - looking at the Makefile.PL I don't see any dependancies, and when I
> try to install I get errors as it "Can't locate XML/Parser.pm" amongst
> other modules (they should be listed in PREREQ_PM)

Fixed in 1.01, thank you! I'll upload it as soon as pause.cpan.org is
online again.


>  - tests will never pass when using the cpan client as they are done
> via the command line, and don't skip or prompt the user (I'd prefer
> skipping unless environment variables were set)

I can't follow you here. The command line is only used to configure
the Makefile. Absent any
command line parameters, tests are skipped. Should be perfectly CPAN compliant.


> - I couldn't easily find an example of actually using the Bugzilla API
> through it - a worked example of closing or updating a bug would be
> immensely helpful.

Examples of closing or updating a bug are hard to give: That
functionality is still missing
on the server side.


Jochen
-
To view or change your list settings, click here:
<http://bugzilla.org/cgi-bin/mj_wwwusr?user=lists@...>

[Aaron Trevena]

>>  - looking at the Makefile.PL I don't see any dependancies, and when I
>> try to install I get errors as it "Can't locate XML/Parser.pm" amongst
>> other modules (they should be listed in PREREQ_PM)
>
> Fixed in 1.01, thank you! I'll upload it as soon as pause.cpan.org is
> online again.

Nice work. Thanks.

>
>>  - tests will never pass when using the cpan client as they are done
>> via the command line, and don't skip or prompt the user (I'd prefer
>> skipping unless environment variables were set)
>
> I can't follow you here. The command line is only used to configure
> the Makefile. Absent any
> command line parameters, tests are skipped. Should be perfectly CPAN compliant.

Ah ok - I missed that - I saw the command line arguments and the tests
failing and jumped to the wrong conclusion.

>> - I couldn't easily find an example of actually using the Bugzilla API
>> through it - a worked example of closing or updating a bug would be
>> immensely helpful.
>
> Examples of closing or updating a bug are hard to give: That
> functionality is still missing
> on the server side.

OMG.

If I can't close or update a bug, what on earth can I do - what kind
of webservice is that?

That puts bugzilla back down to the same "hey you can always
screenscrape" level solution as Trac that I wanted to avoid.

Somebody let me know when bugzilla lets you do useful things via a
webservice as I'll give up on integration until at least one
bugtracking system can provide a useful webservice as an alternative
to webscraping.

*sigh*

A.

--
Aaron J Trevena, BSc Hons
http://www.aarontrevena.co.uk
LAMP System Integration, Development and Consulting
-
To view or change your list settings, click here:
<http://bugzilla.org/cgi-bin/mj_wwwusr?user=lists@...>

[Emmanuel Seyman-2]

* Aaron Trevena [11/08/2009 11:11] :
>
> If I can't close or update a bug, what on earth can I do - what kind
> of webservice is that?

Get comments, Get bug info, Get bug history, Search for bugs,
Create a bug, Add a comment, Update the "See Also" field.

Emmanuel

-
To view or change your list settings, click here:
<http://bugzilla.org/cgi-bin/mj_wwwusr?user=lists@...>

[Mads Bondo Dydensborg]

Tirsdag 11 august 2009 skrev Aaron Trevena:

> > Examples of closing or updating a bug are hard to give: That
> > functionality is still missing
> > on the server side.
>
> OMG.
>
> If I can't close or update a bug, what on earth can I do - what kind
> of webservice is that?

I agree it is limited. But, you can actually use it to create bugs, display
lists of bugs and a number of other things.

I wrote a C# proxy for it, which interesstingly, was usuable outside my own
organization:

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/vb/BugZillaImporter.aspx

> That puts bugzilla back down to the same "hey you can always
> screenscrape" level solution as Trac that I wanted to avoid.

Yes, this is a pain.
>
> Somebody let me know when bugzilla lets you do useful things via a
> webservice

You can always follow the bugs at https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/query.cgi -
select Product Bugzilla, component WebService.

You may even want to contribute some code/time towards the goal.

Regards

Mads

--
Mads Bondo Dydensborg   mads@...   http://www.madsdydensborg.dk/

Philosopher's syndrome: mistaking a failure of imagination for an insight
into necessity.
      - Daniel Dennett (could also be said of others than philosphers)
-
To view or change your list settings, click here:
<http://bugzilla.org/cgi-bin/mj_wwwusr?user=lists@...>

[Aaron Trevena]

2009/8/11 Mads Bondo Dydensborg <mbd@...>:
> I agree it is limited. But, you can actually use it to create bugs, display
> lists of bugs and a number of other things.

I know - that's a bit better than Trac, but not what I was hoping for.

> I wrote a C# proxy for it, which interesstingly, was usuable outside my own
> organization:
>
> http://www.codeproject.com/KB/vb/BugZillaImporter.aspx
>
>> That puts bugzilla back down to the same "hey you can always
>> screenscrape" level solution as Trac that I wanted to avoid.
>
> Yes, this is a pain.

Yes, I've basically given up on the padre plugin now, as I have plenty
of things I'd sooner do that write code to screenscrape bugtrackers
that haven't managed to crawl into the 21st century ;p

>> Somebody let me know when bugzilla lets you do useful things via a
>> webservice
>
> You can always follow the bugs at https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/query.cgi -
> select Product Bugzilla, component WebService.
>
> You may even want to contribute some code/time towards the goal.

That's part of the problem - I could do that but it would require
anybody who wants to use the code I write that uses the new webservice
features to get their bugzilla updated to the release it eventually
makes it to, so it would solve my current problem in 18 months, 3 or 4
years - depending on how often the majority of the userbase updates
bugzilla.

I was looking for something that would give an immediate "wow" factor
to the padre IDE, this avenue looks like a dead end until at least one
bug tracker manages to provide actual interactive webservices - much
as it's tempting to write an extension that does it, it would still
not help as most bugzilla users would never have any input on when the
server get's updated or any extra bits installed.

oh well.

A.

--
Aaron J Trevena, BSc Hons
http://www.aarontrevena.co.uk
LAMP System Integration, Development and Consulting
-
To view or change your list settings, click here:
<http://bugzilla.org/cgi-bin/mj_wwwusr?user=lists@...>

[Aaron Trevena]

2009/8/11 Aaron Trevena <aaron.trevena@...>:
> I was looking for something that would give an immediate "wow" factor
> to the padre IDE, this avenue looks like a dead end until at least one
> bug tracker manages to provide actual interactive webservices - much
> as it's tempting to write an extension that does it, it would still
> not help as most bugzilla users would never have any input on when the
> server get's updated or any extra bits installed.

Fortunately it looks like somebody else decided to screenscrape it.

WWW::Bugzilla on CPAN, and it has a nicer API than the webservice
client (sorry).

I'll give that a go until the bugzilla webservices can match it's functionality.

A.

--
Aaron J Trevena, BSc Hons
http://www.aarontrevena.co.uk
LAMP System Integration, Development and Consulting
-
To view or change your list settings, click here:
<http://bugzilla.org/cgi-bin/mj_wwwusr?user=lists@...>