Coppermine Photo Gallery v1.6.x: Documentation and Manual

Testing Coppermine

This section of the documentation has been created while the package was in alpha stage. It remained in the package and applied as well when the package reached beta stage. When cpg1.5.3 came out as a release candidate, this part of the documentation remained inside the package and still was valid. Finally when cpg1.5.4 was released as stable release the testing document still remained, as it partly still applies: cpg1.5.x now is in a state where it can be recommended for production use, yet there probably still are a lot of bugs in it (this is the case for every piece of non-trivial software), so if you think that you have found a genuine bug, please read this section thoroughly, especially to find out how to create a valid testing/bug report. When in doubt, don't post a bug report, but post a "regular" support request on the corresponding support board.

While testing cpg1.5.x, please make certain to note any odd behavior you encounter. This could include typographical errors, misleading instructions, or any other out-right error. If you encounter a major error, please switch the debug mode to "on" in the configuration panel and copy the text from the debug window of Coppermine into your posting if a supporter or developer explicitely asks for it. This will greatly aid the development team in hunting down the problem.

No support for alpha and beta versions

The coppermine group is readily supplying support on the official Coppermine forum for versions that have officially been released. However, there is no support for versions that are in alpha or beta stage, i.e. under development. Only stable releases are being supported.

If you need support, you should use the most recent stable release.

Of course you're welcome to post your test report when using a version that is still under development. However, it's a thin line between a valid test report and asking for support: if you post something in relation to a development version and your posting clearly shows that you haven't even bothered to read the provided documentation and search the board first, you will get a harsh answer or no answer at all.

Areas to be particularly mindful of

• Please test every facet of CPG, from the installation on to every feature available (and in as many themes and languages as possible).
• If you have the ability to test GD and ImageMagick, please test all of them.
• Particularly the features that are new in this version of coppermine (compared to the previous version) need to be tested thoroughly.

Please report your test results to the testing board, but before starting a new thread please make sure that the potential bug you're going to report hasn't been posted before.

Feature list

This is an incomplete list of features (taken from the changelog) that are new or have been changed dramatically in cpg1.5.x and therefore need close reviewing. You don't have to review all of them (of course, the more reviews the better). There is another list of new features in cpg1.5.x that you might want to browse as well.

The report format should include

• Server OS
• Web Server Software (Apache, IIS etc.)
• GD2 or ImageMagick Test
• PHP Version
• BB Integration / Bridging (if any)
• Themes fully tested (by fully tested, we mean as many different features as possible using that theme)
• Major Errors
• Client OS and Browser(s)
• Fresh install or upgrade (if upgrade, from which version of cpg)
• Source: did you install using a package (if yes: which one), a SVN tarball, a SVN checkout (if yes: which revision)
• Browser language / tested coppermine language

If you can and your testbed can be accessed publicly, provide a link to your testbed. If you can't, do that, it usually helps to attach screenshots to your report. It's much better though to provide a link to your testbed.

Your test results will not merely be used to fix problems but will also be used to tout the compatibility of Coppermine with multiple browsers and operating systems. That is why this information is important even if you find that nothing is wrong - we'd love to hear your success stories as well.

Thanks for your participation and your time in making Coppermine the premiere open-source photo gallery!

One issue per thread!

Example test reports

To give you an idea how your test report could look like, here's an example (make sure that you populated the stuff in red with actual content from your case):

Here's another example of the same test report:

Above mentioned examples are meant to give you an idea how your report could look like - you should provide more data depending on the type of issue you report:

• When reporting a spelling mistake, you don't have to go through all that data, as the operating system won't have an impact on the spelling, so a valid bug report that deals with a spelling mistake only could just be something like
  Using the SVN checkout rev 1234 of lang/english.php the line $foo = 'Helo world'; should actually read $foo = 'Hello world';
  or
  When clicking on the login link, the word "Helo" on the login screen should actually be "Hello". I am using the package cpg1.5.4
• When reporting a layout glitch, provide more details about your browser, your resolution etc.
• When reporting upload issues, make sure that you have done exactly as suggested in "Asking for support on upload issues". Wannabe-bug reports that show you haven't done as suggested there are invalid and will be ignored.

Invalid test reports

We'd really see your test report for the brand new version, so don't get discouraged if there are some rules to follow. What we certainly don't need are reports like this:

I have downloaded the new version. It doesn't work.

Please do yourself and us a favor: don't file such silly reports, as they will only lead to frustration and will be ignored or deleted, and of course you will be laughed at.

If you have no idea why this example report is bad, then you should not even consider testing the new version in the first place. Instead, you should use the stable release.

For all who have read on to this point, here are some more hints for you: released packages have version numbers. Files have revision numbers. There's a reason for that. Don't post crap like "I have the latest version". Post the actual version or revision number. And don't just post that something "doesn't work". We need to know what actually happened ("after doing X, Y happens"), as detailed as possible.

If you think that the rules here are totally obvious, then think again: we wouldn't be writing them down if they were obvious for everyone. In fact, we used to have a hard time in the past when we were flooded with invalid test reports. That's why we needed to clarify the rules.

Availability

When testing, make sure that your SVN checkout is up-to-date.