#!perl
use strict;
use warnings;
use OptArgs qw/dispatch/;
eval { dispatch(qw/run App::bif/) };
if ($@) {
print STDERR $@;
exit 1;
}
1;
__END__
=encoding utf-8
=head1 NAME
bif - distributed project management tool
=head1 VERSION
0.1.0_27 (2014-09-10)
=head1 SYNOPSIS
bif COMMAND [...]
=head1 STATUS
Although functional, bif is still under active development.
Documentation and tests are incomplete, and the database schema changes
regularly. B<DO NOT USE BIF FOR REAL DATA!>
=head1 DESCRIPTION
Bif is a project management tool with a command-line interface. It
helps you track tasks, issues and bugs using a local database,
exchanging updates with remote databases on demand. The tool has
several features of interest to distributed project teams:
=over
=item Offline Operation
Many bif actions work offline; you can create and update tasks and
issues while disconnected from the network.
=item Inter-project Cooperation
Bif issues (and tasks) can be linked with (or copied to) multiple
projects, mirroring the inter-project relationships that exist in the
real world.
=back
This document is the bif manual and includes design background,
terminology, general usage and a tutorial. Those who are impatient to
get started may prefer to begin with one of the following:
=over
=item L<bif-doc>
The table of contents for all bif documentation.
=item L<bif-doc-intro>
A very quick hands-on introduction to bif.
=item L<bif-doc-faq>
A list of common questions and answers.
=back
Reference documents for bif commands have titles like
I<bif-command-name>.
=head2 Design Background
Communication is a core component of project management. For
decentralized projects up to a certain scale, email often fulfills the
communication requirements. Tasks, issues, feature requests and the
like can exist in multiple inboxes as shared conversation topics.
Unfortunately, email on its own provides no solution for managing the
various types of structured meta-data (status, priority, due-date, etc)
that we may want to assign and query throughout a project's lifetime.
Managing structured data is exactly what relational databases are
designed for, and bif takes advantage of SQLite for this purpose. A
database schema helps ensure the integrity of the data, and relevant
and insightful queries can be created using the full power of SQL. In
addition, SQLite gives us fulltime local reporting and data
modification - a wonderful independence from the network when we need
it.
However a database on its own is not a decentralized communication
tool. Database implementations generally do not have a built-in
functionality for the efficient exchange of updates. Distributed
Version Control Systems (DVCS) on the other hand do provide a useful
information exchange model, but the techniques of mapping textual
differences to tree structures unfortunately don't translate well to
row-based relational data sets.
Bif therefore is an attempt at applying some DVCS I<princples> to a
standard Create, Retrieve, Update and Delete (CRUD) database
application. The end goal is a distributed communication system that
carries both conversations and structured meta-data. The finer details
of the advantages and trade-offs with regards the bif design can be
found in L<bif-doc-design>(3) and L<bif-doc-faq>(3).
=head2 Terminology
=over
=item Repository
A bif repository is simply a configuration file and an SQLite database
inside a directory named F<.bif>. All bif commands find the "current"
repository by searching upwards through the file-system for such a
directory. The database contains the history, status and relationships
of a set of topics. The terms repository and database are often used
interchangeably.
=item Topic
Topic is is a catch-all term for any task, issue, bug or feature etc
which has a conversation (the history) plus associated meta data
(status). Topics are identified by an integer ID which is unique to the
local repository. Some topic types (issues for example) can be
associated with multiple projects in which case they have multiple IDs
and multiple status values.
=item Project
A project is also considered a topic, but one that comes with some
extra functionality. The key property of a project is that it is a
container for grouping together other topics and the status they can
have. Multiple projects can be managed within a repository, and can be
defined hierarchically. Projects are identified by their path name
(which includes the parent's path), an at symbol "@" and their hub
name.
=item Hub
A bif hub is conceptually synonymous with a project organisation. It
consists of one or more repositories that act as synchronisation points
for exchanging project activities. Hub repositories are usually located
on remote servers and accessed through a L<ssh>(1) tunnel. A hub can be
referred to by its globally unique name (typically an organisation's
domain name) after it has been registered with the local repository.
=back
=head2 Command Structure
Bif commands are structured where possible the same way an English
speaker describes actions, verb followed by an optional type and a
subject. For example:
bif list topics
bif update issue 34
The top level bif commands are as follows:
drop remove an item from the database
init initialize a new repository in .bif
list list various things in the database
log review change history and comments
new create a new topic
pull import something from elsewhere
push export something to somewhere else
show summarize the current status of a topic
signup sign up with a hub provider
sql run an SQL command against the database
sync exchange updates with a hub
update update or comment a topic
upgrade upgrade a repository
In addition, a couple of useful aliases are created by default:
ls # bif list projects plan define run
ll # bif list topics --status open
lls # bif list topics --status stalled
=head2 Global Options
The following options are common to all commands:
=over
=item --debug, -D
Turn on debugging statements, which are included in the I<stdout>
stream.
=item --help, -h
Print a full usage message and exit. Some arguments and options are
only shown when this option is used; a normal usage/error message may
keep some rarely used options hidden.
=item --no-pager
Do not pipe a command's output to a pager.
=item --user-repo
Run commands against the user repository instead of the current
repository.
=back
=head2 Command Interaction
=over
=item Input
Some arguments and options not supplied on the command line are
prompted for. An editor based on the C<$EDITOR> or C<$VISUAL>
environment variables may also be invoked for certain types of input.
=item Output
Normal output is printed to I<stdout> or sometimes paged with
L<less>(1) when I<stdout> is connected to a terminal. Error messages
are sent to I<stderr>.
=item Connectivity
The only commands that (may) involve network communication are C<pull>,
C<push>, and C<sync>. Everything else is a local action.
=item Exit Status
An exit value of zero indicates success.
=back
=head1 TUTORIAL
=head2 Initialization
Bif commands that make changes to a repository need to know your
identity. Bif stores your name and email address in a special user
repository which will be created the first time you run L<bif-init>.
#!sh
bif init
# Initialising repository: /home/..../bif-user (v323)
# Creating "self" identity:
# Name: [Your Name]
# Contact Method: [email]
# Contact Email: [your@email.adddr]
# Identity created: 1
# Initialising repository: /home/.../.bif (v323)
# Importing identity from /home/.../bif-user
The local (or current working) bif repository is created in
F<$PWD/.bif/>. You do not have to remember the repository location
when you are working in a subdirectory as it will be found
automatically. An initialized repository always starts out empty;
there is no bif equivalent of the git-clone command.
=head2 Scenario 1 - Standalone Project Management
The first scenario we present is for an individual wanting to keep
track of their personal activities.
=begin graph-easy
(Local Repository [projects],[issues],[tasks])
# [issue] -- [project] # [task] -- [project]
=end graph-easy
+ - - - - - - - - - -+
' Local Repository '
' '
' +----------------+ '
' | issues | '
' +----------------+ '
' +----------------+ '
' | projects | '
' +----------------+ '
' +----------------+ '
' | tasks | '
' +----------------+ '
' '
+ - - - - - - - - - -+
=head3 Creating Projects
The L<bif-new-project> command asks for a project path (like a name for
identification), a title, and an initial comment. That information can
be given on the command line if desired, otherwise it will be prompted
for.
#!sh
bif new project
# Path: [] todo
# Title: [] Things to do
# An editor is invoked for the comment
Projects can be nested by defining them with a parent path and a "/":
#!sh
bif new project
# Path: [] todo/today
# Title: [] Things to do today
# An editor is invoked for the comment
Apart from visual organisation, the main impact of having nested
projects is that child projects are included when importing or
exporting them to hubs. Also, child projects will not be displayed in
list commands if the parent project will not be displayed.
A project has three different types of status associated with it.
Project status is for the status of the project itself. Task and issue
status is obviously for the status of tasks and issues associated with
the project. New projects can be created using different status
templates, given specific initial status, or copied/forked from other
projects.
=head3 Creating Tasks and Issues
Tasks and issues are created similarly to projects, with a summary and
a comment. As they exist only in the context of a project they may
also require a project path if more than one project exists in the
repository.
#!sh
bif new task
# Project: [todo] todo/today
# Title: Take out the rubbish
# editor invoked - describe the task in more detail
A task or an issue, like a project, is created with the default status
for that type according to the project. An different initial status can
be set with the C<--status> option:
#!sh
bif new issue --status needinfo
# Project: [todo] todo/today
# Title: Don't feel like taking out the rubbish
# editor invoked - describe the task in more detail
A comment can be provided directly with the C<--message> option if
desired instead of having the editor invoked.
=head3 Template Projects
Do you have repeatable projects?
=head3 Retrieving Information
Tasks and issues can be viewed, commented on and updated with the
appropriate commands:
=head3 Updating Topics
You can add comments to a topic with the L<bif-update> command.
bif update ID [--message MESSAGE]
If the C<--message> option is not used an editor will be invoked. A
second argument can also be used to change the status of the topic, and
a C<--title> option can be used to modify the topic summary.
bif update ID [STATUS] [--title TITLE]
Comments on a topic can also be nested. That is, you can use
L<bif-reply> to respond to a previous update (or a previous reply).
bif reply UPDATE_ID [--message MESSAGE]
The C<UPDATE_ID> argument is actually a full C<ID.UPDATE_ID> value that
you see with the L<bif-log> command. L<bif-reply> cannot modify a
topic's status or title.
=head3 Editing
There is no mechanism for editing available in bif at this time. Be as
wild in your comments as you like, but as with the rest of the
internet, once your changes have been shared, you most likely can't
alter them or take them back. First rule of commenting is: take a deep
breath first.
=head3 Deletion
Of course, even after taking a deep breath you may anyway make a change
to your repository that you didn't mean to. You are not alone; this
happens to all of us. As long as you have not already synchronised
your changes with a hub, they can be removed[1].
The L<bif-drop> command can be used to remove a particular comment, or
an entire topic.
[1] There is nothing magical or otherwise to stop you from dropping any
change. However you will find that as soon as you re-synchronise with a
hub that has those changes they will return to haunt you like the
undead.
=head2 Scenario 2 - External User Support
The above scenario only uses local operations. However the real value
of bif comes from its collaboration capabilities with others via the
internet. The second scenario presents the situation where a user has
an issue they want to report to a project team.
=begin graph-easy
(Local Repository [issue])
(Remote Hub [project])
[issue] --> [project]
=end graph-easy
+ - - - - - - - - - -+ +- - - - - - - +
' Local Repository ' ' Remote Hub '
' ' ' '
' +----------------+ ' ' +----------+ '
' | issue | ' --> ' | project | '
' +----------------+ ' ' +----------+ '
' ' ' '
+ - - - - - - - - - -+ +- - - - - - - +
=head3 Signing up with a provider
As previously mentioned, a remote repository known as a hub is the
mechanism for exchanging updates with others. You can either self host
a hub on a server you control, or you can use a commercial provider.
Regardless of who is hosting, the communication with the server is via
ssh, for which you will want your own ssh keypair.
Read the L<ssh-keygen>(1) manpage for how to create a keypair, and
L<ssh-copy-id>(1) for how to transfer the public key to your own
server. Commercial providers will probably use another method (such as
the L<bifhub>(1) tool) for transfering the public key during their
signup process.
=head3 Registering With A Hub
The reason for registering with a hub is to obtain the list of projects
hosted there.
#!sh
bif pull hub my.org@provider.com
By default the C<my.org> part of the provider address can be used as
the hub name in other commands. To view the list of projects we give
the hub alias to the L<bif-list-projects> command:
#!sh
bif list projects my.org
Registering a project brings in a shallow copy - only the project and
its status types are visible. The local user can create issues against
this project just as if the project was local.
=head3 Synchronising & Reviewing Updates
Updates such as new topics or updates to existing topics are not
exchanged until you run the L<bif-sync> command.
bif sync
What is useful after a L<bif-sync> call is to review what updates were
transfered from the hub to the local repository. The L<bif-log> command
(an alias for L<bif-log-repo> does just that.
#!sh
bif log repo
=head2 Scenario 3 - Project Team
Project team members probably want to know about every issue and task
in a project.
=begin graph-easy
(Local [issue],[task],[project])
(Remote [issues],[tasks],[projects])
[issue] -- [project]
[task] -- [project]
[issues] -- [projects]
[tasks] -- [projects]
[issue] -- [issues]
[task] -- [tasks]
[project] -- [projects]
(Local Repository [project],[issues],[tasks])
(Remote Hub [project],[issues],[tasks])
[projects] -- [project]
=end graph-easy
+ - - - - - - + + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -+
' Local ' ' Remote '
' ' ' '
' +---------+ ' ' +--------+ +----------+ '
' | issue | ' --- ' | issues | --- | projects | ---+ '
' +---------+ ' ' +--------+ +----------+ | '
' ' ' | '
' ' + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - | '
' | ' | ' | '
' | ' | ' | '
' | ' | ' | '
' +---------+ ' | ' | '
' | project | '------------------------+ ' | '
' +---------+ ' ' | '
' | ' ' | '
' | ' ' | '
' | ' ' | '
' ' + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - | '
' ' ' | '
' +---------+ ' ' +--------+ | '
' | task | ' --- ' | tasks | --------------------+ '
' +---------+ ' ' +--------+ '
' ' ' '
+ - - - - - - + + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -+
=head3 Importing Projects
A developer must also sign up and register a hub as described
previously. They can then import an entire project into their local
repository using the L<bif-pull-project> command.
#!sh
bif pull project devel@bifax.org
Importing a project is a one-time activity. Updates to a project that
occur after an import have occured are exchanged with the L<bif-sync>
command. Any new issues or tasks added to the project anywhere will
now synchronise locally. Likewise, any topics added locally will be
distributed to the hub.
The nice thing about pulling projects is that you only get the data
that you want to see locally. As time goes on and projects are created
and then completed, their relevance becomes less and less. New team
members are not forced to download the entire project history to work
on the current project.
=head3 Inter-Project Issue Collaboration
There are occasions when an issue reported in a project is also, or
perhaps only in the domain of another project. Bif therefore has the
ability to fork/copy/move individual issues.
The L<bif-push-issue> command is the way to manually ask another
project for support on a particular issue. The L<bif-push-issue>
command asks for (or can be given) an update message the same way that
a L<bif-update> command does:
#!sh
bif push issue 13 todo2 \
--action fork \
--message "also present in todo v2"
The C<--action> option determines the relationship between the issue
and its old and new projects. Note that this command is still local -
the change will be propagated during the next L<bif-sync> call.
As was mentioned in the introduction, issue status is tracked on a
per-project basis. This means one project can consider the issue solved
and another project can still consider the issue to be blocking. When
an issue is pushed somewhere it therefore gains an extra topic ID, and
can show up in multiple times in the output of the L<bif-list-topics>
command. The L<bif-show-issue> command reveals the details:
#!sh
bif show issue 13
=head3 Task Collaboration?!?
It does not make sense to distribute tasks across projects the same way
issues can be. A single task cannot have multiple status: it is either
done or it is not, regardless of which projects are interested in the
outcome.
There are however reasons for migrating tasks from one project to
another. The obvious one is simply that they can be defined (by
accident or circumstance) in the wrong place. The default
L<bif-push-task> action therefore results in a I<move>.
Alternatively the C<--action copy> option to L<bif-push-task> does what
it says on the label, which can be useful if you have a template task
in a project that you regularly want to use in other projects. Once
again however, L<bif-new-project> probably has more interesting
mechanisms for copying template-style projects.
=head3 Synchronising Updates
Even after you have imported or exported a project, updates will not be
exchanged until you run the L<bif-sync> command.
bif sync [ID] [HUB]
By default all topics will be synchronised to all relevant hubs, but
you can limit that as desired.
#!sh
bif sync unstable # ignore all other projects
[TODO: describe the merge algorithm for meta data]
=head2 Scenario 4 - Project Manager
=head3 Exporting Projects
How did a project get up to a hub in the first place? Well the inverse
of L<bif-pull-project> is L<bif-push-project>. To mirror the todo
project I<from> the local repository I<to> the bifax.org hub for
example we would run the following:
#!sh
bif push project todo bifax.org
As with importing, exporting a project is a one-off activity; further
updates are exchanged with the L<bif-sync> command.
=head3 Making New Releases
Consider what happens when a software team makes a new stable release
from their development version. This is effectively an internal fork -
a new project that kicks off as the first project continues along the
same path. At the time of the fork both projects will have exactly the
same set of issues. From that point on the issue status may diverge
based on project activities, but the issues they have in common have
themselves not inherently changed.
The C<--dup> option to the L<bif-new-project> command lets us deal with
the above situation, which specifies an existing project from which to
copy the project title and status names from. We can also specify that
issues should be copied, moved, or forked with the C<--copy-issues>,
C<--move-issues> and C<--fork-issues> options, each of which takes a
status argument and can be called multiple times.
#!sh
bif new project v2 \
--dup devel \
--fork-issues open,stalled \
--move-issues closed
There are similar copy/move options for tasks. In contrast to a copy,
comments made on forked issues in one project will propagate to other
projects, as if there was only a single issue, which is in fact the
case.
=head3 Inter-hub Collaboration
There are times when an issue may be reported to one organisation, but
should actually be resolved by a different organisation. This
situation is often encountered by operating system distributors and
also occurs when software has external dependencies. To address this
bif makes it possible (under certain conditions) to collaborate on an
issue across multiple hubs. [to be implemented]
=head3 Hub Administration
Bif is also used to create and manage hub repositories hosted by a hub
provider. However to keep I<this> document focused on local repository
operations the documentation for hub management is maintained
separately in L<bifhub>.
=head2 Repository Administration
New versions of bif will necessarily require changes to the database
structure, and possibly the data itself. The L<bif-upgrade> command
exists to advance the database status to match that required by the bif
software version. It is safe (but pointless) to run L<bif-upgrade> when
the versions already match. When and how this command is run should be
described in the release notes of newer versions of bif.
One other command which is more about the repository than project
management is L<bif-sql>. This is more of a developer or debugging aide
for querying the database directly. This is needed as the bif software
architecture prevents the SQLite command-line tool C<sqlite3> from
working for some statements.
=head1 FILES
=over
=item F<.bif/config>
Repository configuration file.
=item F<.bif/db.sqlite3>
Repository SQLite database.
=item F<$HOME/.local/share/bif-user/config>
User configuration file.
=back
=head1 SEE ALSO
L<bifhub>(1), L<bifsync>(1)
=head1 SUPPORT
Bif is community supported software, and the community expects (and
should offer) respectful communication with all of its members.
=over
=item Website:
L<http://bifax.org/bif/>
=item Code Repository:
git://bifax.org/bif.git/
=item Issue Tracker:
Doesn't exit yet.
=item Mailing List:
Subscribe via L<http://www.freelists.org/list/bif-devel> and then send
mail to <bif-devel@freelists.org>.
=back
If you have an issue with bif please first make the effort to read the
documentation and/or search for an answer to your issue in the
internet. If you are still stuck send us a message as if you were
answering the following questions:
=over
=item * What does C<bif show VERSION> print?
=item * What are goal you trying to achieve?
=item * What commands are you running?
=item * What (output) did you expect (to see)?
=item * What (output) actually occured?
=back
We will most likely need to ask for more information from you. You can
possibly speed things along by already running your commands with the
C<--debug> flag turned on.
=head1 AUTHOR
Mark Lawrence E<lt>nomad@null.netE<gt>
=head1 COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
Copyright 2013-2014 Mark Lawrence <nomad@null.net>
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at your
option) any later version.