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Bugzilla 3.6 Released

Bringing a new extensions system and plenty of usability enhacements

Apr 14, 2010 11:08 GMT  ·  By
Bugzilla 3.6 is out
   Bugzilla 3.6 is out

The Bugzilla Project is announcing that Bugzilla 3.6 has been released and is now available for install or upgrade. With Bugzilla 3.6, the development team focused on improving the existing components and features, but it also comes with a few big, new features. Notable is the new extensions system that enables developers to quickly build new functionality on top of the existing features. Usability has also been one of the things emphasized in this release, but further changes in this area should be coming with future versions.

"The focus of the 3.6 release is on improving usability and ‘polishing up’ all our features (by adding some pieces that were ‘missing’ or always wanted, although we also have a few great new features for you, as well!," the official announcement read.

"A scientific usability study was done on Bugzilla by researchers from Carnegie-Mellon University... As a result, you will see many small improvements in Bugzilla's usability," it added. Many of these improvements are just making things easier for the user, by having the same lingo in various areas and generally being more explicit. Further changes are planned based on the results of the study.

"Bugzilla has a brand-new Extensions system. The system is consistent, fast, and fully documented. It makes it possible to easily extend Bugzilla's code and user interface to add new features or change existing features," the announcement also said. The Extensions system is the biggest new feature and could prove to be a major improvement for developers looking to deploy a customized bug-tracking system for their apps.

Another interesting, new tool enables users to switch from other bug-tracking software to Bugzilla. The framework makes it easy to import the data from other systems, but, for now, only the GNATS bug-tracking system has been implemented. The developers say that implementing migration tools from other systems shouldn't be too difficult. You can read a more thorough overview of the changes in the release notes.

Bugzilla 3.6 is available for download here.