Python to use a non open source bug tracker?

[A.M. Kuchling]

On 04 Oct 2006 06:44:24 -0700, 
	Paul Rubin <> wrote:
> Right now there is not even agreement on what the goal is.  

The goal is a new tracker for python.org that the developers like
better; the original call lists 3 reasons (bad interface; lack of
reliability; lack of workflow controls).

> The surprise people are expressing is because they thought one of the
> goals of a big open source project would be to avoid reliance on
> closed tools.

I don't think Python has ever had this as a goal.  Python's license
lets it be embedded in closed-source products; Windows binaries are
built using closed-source tools (MS Visual C), and on some platforms
we use a closed-source system compiler; python.org used to be a
Solaris box, and now uses SourceForge which runs on top of DB/2...

IMHO, using Jira presents risks that are manageable:

* A data export is available if we decide to switch.  Writing a script to
  take this export and convert to a new tracker is non-trivial, but the 
  same is true of any other tracker we might choose; switching from 
  Roundup to Trac or Trac to Launchpad is also going to require some
  effort.  Therefore, I don't think our data is locked-in any more 
  than any other tracker.

* The offer of hosting means this won't consume very much
  administrative time. Perhaps the hosting offered will be found to be
  unreliable.  If that's the case, we can reconsider the choice of
  tracker, or (less likely) host Jira ourselves.

* There are no Bitkeeper-like licensing issues like the non-compete
  clause, so that isn't a factor; Roundup and Trac developers can file
  bugs and use the tracker just like anyone else.

* The interface is very flexible and lots of customization can be done
  through the web.  This means we don't have to hack the code at all,
  and upgrades should theoretically go smoothly.

It would be nice to have the additional tick-box feature 'is open
source', but the upsides are large enough that I can let go of 
that issue with only slight regret.

--amk