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diff --git a/_articles/2020-09-06-diy-an-offline-bug-tracker-with-text-files-git-and-email.md b/_articles/2020-09-06-diy-an-offline-bug-tracker-with-text-files-git-and-email.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0eff520 --- /dev/null +++ b/_articles/2020-09-06-diy-an-offline-bug-tracker-with-text-files-git-and-email.md @@ -0,0 +1,106 @@ +--- + +title: DIY an offline bug tracker with text files, Git and email + +date: 2020-11-07 + +layout: post + +lang: en + +ref: diy-an-offline-bug-tracker-with-text-files-git-and-email + +published: false + +--- + +When [push comes to shove][youtube-dl-takedown-notice], the operational aspects +of governance of a software project matter a lot. And everybody likes to chime +in with their alternative of how to avoid single points of failure in project +governance, just like I'm doing right now. + +The most valuable assets of a project are: + +1. source code +2. discussions +3. documentation +4. builds +5. tasks and bugs + +For **source code**, Git and other DVCS solve that already: everybody gets a +full copy of the entire source code. + +If your code forge is compromised, moving it to a new one takes a couple of +minutes, if there isn't a secondary remote serving as mirror already. In this +case, no action is required. + +If you're having your **discussions** by email, +"[taking this archive somewhere else and carrying on is effortless][sourcehut-ml]". + +Besides, make sure to backup archives of past discussions so that the history is +also preserved when this migration happens. + +The **documentation** should +[live inside the repository itself][writethedocs-in-repo][^writethedocs-in-repo], +so that not only it gets first class treatment, but also gets distributed to +everybody too. Migrating the code to a new forge already migrates the +documentation with it. + +[^writethedocs-in-repo]: Described as "the ultimate marriage of the two". Starts + at time 31:50. + +As long as you keep the **builds** vendor neutral, the migration should only +involve adapting how you call your `tests.sh` from the format of +`provider-1.yml` uses to the format that `provider-2.yml` accepts. It isn't +valuable to carry the build history with the project, as this data quickly +decays in value as weeks and months go by. + +But for **tasks and bugs** many rely on a vendor-specific service, where you +register and manage those issues via a web browser. Some provide an +[interface for interacting via email][todos-srht-email] or an API for +[bridging local bugs with vendor-specific services][git-bug-bridges]. But +they're all layers around the service, that disguises it as being a central +point of failure, which when compromised would lead to data loss. When push comes +to shove, you'd loose data. + +[youtube-dl-takedown-notice]: https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2020/10/2020-10-23-RIAA.md +[sourcehut-ml]: https://sourcehut.org/blog/2020-10-29-how-mailing-lists-prevent-censorship/ +[writethedocs-in-repo]: https://podcast.writethedocs.org/2017/01/25/episode-3-trends/ +[todos-srht-email]: https://man.sr.ht/todo.sr.ht/#email-access +[git-bug-bridges]: https://github.com/MichaelMure/git-bug#bridges + +## Alternative: text files, Git and email + +Why not do the same as documentation, and move tasks and bugs into the +repository itself? + +It requires no extra tool to be installed, and fits right in the already +existing workflow for source code and documentation. + +I like to keep a [`TODOs.org`][todos-org] file at the repository top-level, with +two relevant sections: "tasks" and "bugs". Then when building the documentation +I'll just [generate an HTML file from it][org-mode-to-html], and +[publish][published-todos] it alonside the static website. All that is done on +the main branch. + +Any issues discussions are done in the mailing list, and a reference to a +discussion could be added to the ticket itself later on. External contributors +can file tickets by sending a patch. + +The good thing about this solution is that it works for 99% of projects out +there. + +For the other 1%, having Fossil's "[tickets][fossil-tickets]" could be an +alternative, but you may not want to migrate your project to Fossil to get those +niceties. + +Even though I keep a `TODOs.org` file on the main branch, you may pick any name +you like, or use a dedicated branch just for that, split tasks and bugs into +different files, or have one file for each. + +These tools are familliar enough that you can adjust it to fit your workflow. + +[todos-org]: https://git.euandreh.xyz/mediator/tree/TODOs.org +[org-mode-to-html]: https://git.euandreh.xyz/mediator/tree/scripts/build-site.sh?id=db4a727bc24b54b50158827b34502de21dbf8948#n14 +[published-todos]: https://mediator.euandreh.xyz/tasks-and-bugs.html +[fossil-tickets]: https://fossil-scm.org/home/doc/trunk/www/bugtheory.wiki |