> Bugzilla is quite nice, it's easy to set up and easy to use. Bugzilla
> also is under heavy development so it's maintained and is constantly
> getting new features and fixes. I use it every day.
>
> Downsides: Some people don't seem to like is the fact that there's no
> email interface for it. It's all web based. It's available under the
> MPL which is a free software license. Some people might not like the
> fact that it's not distributed under the GPL.
>
> I highly recommend Bugzilla over anything else that's out there.
I have quite a bit of experience with these issues. Currently, Bugzilla
is the best open source bug tracking option. Email notification of bug
deltas can either be added as a separate--but already existing--script,
or may have been rolled into the product by now. Buzilla is what the
Tigris project is using as its bug tracking system until Scarab is
ready. On the down side, the maintainers of Bugzilla don't really do a
large amount of work on it. Upgrades are difficult and dangerous to
manage, especially if you've done any configuration or hacks. The look
and feel and "database layer" are fully coupled with the business
logic. The current implementation is in Perl--in a rather obfuscated
style--and is extremely difficult to follow. Additionally, Bugzilla
requires the installation of like 12 third party Perl modules from
CPAN. Scarab (http://scarab.tigris.org) will remove these issues by
providing clear separation between the presentation, business logic, and
database layers (and even better, it's written in Java!). Until it is
ready, Bugzilla is the best there is. I'll chime in again when I hear
that Scarab has reached a useable state--it will *not* be vaporware. ;)
--
Daniel Rall ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
