NetBSD has switched from the BSD bugfiler to GNU GNATS to maintain our
bug database.  This change will allow NetBSD developers to track bugs
throughout their life cycle ("open", "analyzed", ... "closed"), assign
them to the appropriate people to fix, and provide an reliable archive
of bugs and their fixes.

It is hoped that a better bug tracking system will allow "core"
developers to make NetBSD even better than it is today.


What does the switch mean to users?

* Bug reports should be submitted with the "send-pr" program.

* Bug reports will be automatically filed into the appropriate database
  category, and the appropriate people working will be notified about
  the new bug.

* Access to the bug database is a lot easier than with the bugfiler.
  Hopefully, convienent access will encourage NetBSD developers to
  keep up to date with the current bug list.  If this occurs, the 
  bugs you submit may be fixed faster.


At the present time, there are only a few categories of bugs: "lib",
for library bugs; "bin", for userlevel bugs; and "kern", for kernel
bugs.  More categories will be added as needed.


In the near future, I will be enabling an interface so that the bug
database can be queryed via email.  This will allow users to see that
their bugs have been filed, fixed, suspended, or in the odd case, been
rejected as "not a bug".

	--jtc

--
J.T. Conklin
NetBSD Bug Database Administrator

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