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==Objective==
To write some PERL code that can query Bonsai and use the information available in the place of CVS (as CVS lacks changesets).
==Description==
The project itself needs, for the most part, three features from the repository: checkin details over a certain period of time, history of files (through revisions), and the ability to extract diffs to see what changed between two versions of a source file.
This code would use a two-step approach: queries would be pulled using Bonsai, code would be checked out using a pure-CVS wrapper (akin to the style Richard used for SVN).
==Why Bonsai?==
Lots of functionality is pre-baked, only needing to be extracted somehow.
==History/What We Tried==
<i>This was also published on the main [[Delta debugging framework]] project page</i>.
* Initially was going for a straight wrapper around CVS ala the style Richard used for SVN.
* Tried to find some functionality within Bonsai that could make it easier.
* Talked to Reed Loden, he set up a repository for us to try with. Thanks Reed!
* Thought that there may be some additional (read: unpublished) tools that could be worked with. Got in contact with some of the "Project Participants" listed on [http://www.mozilla.org/projects/bonsai/]. Was told the person in particular wasn't a contributor (just submitted a bug report). They in turn pointed me to [irc://irc.mozilla.org/#mozwebtools #mozwebtools].
* Lurked on [irc://irc.mozilla.org/#mozwebtools #mozwebtools] for a few weeks. Talked to 'justdave' about Bonsai. Reed Loden chimed up and informed me that Bonsai can output to XML using ?xml=1 on the query (score! thanks again).
* Researched some PERL parsing utilities. Tried out XML::LibXML for DOM-style parsing.
* Explored a live installation of Bonsai using [http://bonsai.mozilla.org/cvsqueryform.cgi The Mozilla Project's Bonsai Installation]. Tried to map the various pages and parameters (of the querystrings) to the functionality behind.
* Downloaded The Bonsai Project source code. See [http://www.mozilla.org/projects/bonsai/ this page] for details on getting the Bonsai source. Unfortunately there wasn't as much documentation as we had hoped for.
* Poked and prodded around, finding the CGIs of interest (and their respective params).
==Exploring Bonsai==
The particular CGIs in the Bonsai project are of interest to this project.
<table border="1" cellpadding="3">
<tr><th>CGI File</th><th>Description</th><th>Possible Benefit</th></tr>
<tr><td>cvsblame.cgi</td><td>Can see who did changed what in the repository.</td><td>May be useful to find out who introduced problem code.</td></tr>
<tr><td>cvslog.cgi</td><td>A web interface for "cvs log"</td><td>Good for extracting commentary on the what/why a change was made.</td></tr>
<tr><td>cvsquery.cgi</td><td>Displays the results of querying a module with certain critera (who, dates, files, etc.).</td><td>Good for querying high-level results; can see all checkins.</td></tr>
<tr><td><strike>cvsqueryform.cgi</strike></td><td>Main screen of Bonsai that you use to query with.</td><td>'''Not necessary as the PERL script simulates this action.'''</td></tr>
<tr><td>cvsview2.cgi</td><td>View CVS diffs.</td><td>To extract the changes between two versions of a file.</td></tr>
<tr><td>moduleanalyse.cgi</td><td>Show directories in a module.</td><td>Good to map out the module if not known ahead.</td></tr>
<tr><td>multidiff.cgi</td><td>Show ALL of the diffs.</td><td>Don't have to circumvent pesky pagination with the query results!</td></tr>
<tr><td>rview.cgi</td><td>Lets you browse the contents of a directory.</td><td>Perhaps useful in the discovery of the project contents in question.</td></tr>
<tr><td>showcheckins.cgi</td><td>Show some set of checkins in a bonsai hook.</td><td>Of questionable benefit at the current time.</td></tr>
</table>
==Of Interest to the Delta Debugging Framework==
==What was Discovered/How it can be done/particulars==
==Roadblocks==
No previous exposure to Bonsai, CVS or source repository concepts in addition to a total absence of PERL skills.
To write some PERL code that can query Bonsai and use the information available in the place of CVS (as CVS lacks changesets).
==Description==
The project itself needs, for the most part, three features from the repository: checkin details over a certain period of time, history of files (through revisions), and the ability to extract diffs to see what changed between two versions of a source file.
This code would use a two-step approach: queries would be pulled using Bonsai, code would be checked out using a pure-CVS wrapper (akin to the style Richard used for SVN).
==Why Bonsai?==
Lots of functionality is pre-baked, only needing to be extracted somehow.
==History/What We Tried==
<i>This was also published on the main [[Delta debugging framework]] project page</i>.
* Initially was going for a straight wrapper around CVS ala the style Richard used for SVN.
* Tried to find some functionality within Bonsai that could make it easier.
* Talked to Reed Loden, he set up a repository for us to try with. Thanks Reed!
* Thought that there may be some additional (read: unpublished) tools that could be worked with. Got in contact with some of the "Project Participants" listed on [http://www.mozilla.org/projects/bonsai/]. Was told the person in particular wasn't a contributor (just submitted a bug report). They in turn pointed me to [irc://irc.mozilla.org/#mozwebtools #mozwebtools].
* Lurked on [irc://irc.mozilla.org/#mozwebtools #mozwebtools] for a few weeks. Talked to 'justdave' about Bonsai. Reed Loden chimed up and informed me that Bonsai can output to XML using ?xml=1 on the query (score! thanks again).
* Researched some PERL parsing utilities. Tried out XML::LibXML for DOM-style parsing.
* Explored a live installation of Bonsai using [http://bonsai.mozilla.org/cvsqueryform.cgi The Mozilla Project's Bonsai Installation]. Tried to map the various pages and parameters (of the querystrings) to the functionality behind.
* Downloaded The Bonsai Project source code. See [http://www.mozilla.org/projects/bonsai/ this page] for details on getting the Bonsai source. Unfortunately there wasn't as much documentation as we had hoped for.
* Poked and prodded around, finding the CGIs of interest (and their respective params).
==Exploring Bonsai==
The particular CGIs in the Bonsai project are of interest to this project.
<table border="1" cellpadding="3">
<tr><th>CGI File</th><th>Description</th><th>Possible Benefit</th></tr>
<tr><td>cvsblame.cgi</td><td>Can see who did changed what in the repository.</td><td>May be useful to find out who introduced problem code.</td></tr>
<tr><td>cvslog.cgi</td><td>A web interface for "cvs log"</td><td>Good for extracting commentary on the what/why a change was made.</td></tr>
<tr><td>cvsquery.cgi</td><td>Displays the results of querying a module with certain critera (who, dates, files, etc.).</td><td>Good for querying high-level results; can see all checkins.</td></tr>
<tr><td><strike>cvsqueryform.cgi</strike></td><td>Main screen of Bonsai that you use to query with.</td><td>'''Not necessary as the PERL script simulates this action.'''</td></tr>
<tr><td>cvsview2.cgi</td><td>View CVS diffs.</td><td>To extract the changes between two versions of a file.</td></tr>
<tr><td>moduleanalyse.cgi</td><td>Show directories in a module.</td><td>Good to map out the module if not known ahead.</td></tr>
<tr><td>multidiff.cgi</td><td>Show ALL of the diffs.</td><td>Don't have to circumvent pesky pagination with the query results!</td></tr>
<tr><td>rview.cgi</td><td>Lets you browse the contents of a directory.</td><td>Perhaps useful in the discovery of the project contents in question.</td></tr>
<tr><td>showcheckins.cgi</td><td>Show some set of checkins in a bonsai hook.</td><td>Of questionable benefit at the current time.</td></tr>
</table>
==Of Interest to the Delta Debugging Framework==
==What was Discovered/How it can be done/particulars==
==Roadblocks==
No previous exposure to Bonsai, CVS or source repository concepts in addition to a total absence of PERL skills.
