Welcome!!

This README covers the following topics:

   1. What is PRepS
   2. Why did I create it
   3. How to install it
   4. The prepsdb_tool druid
   5. PRepS command line options
   6. Adding Users


1. What is PRepS

PRepS is a simple Problem Reporting System.  PRepS is designed around the
bug tracking needs of small to medium sized software projects.  However, 
PRepS may be flexible enough to be used for other types of problem or
status tracking.  For example, PRepS could be setup to track things 
that need fixing around the house.  Be creative.


2. Why did I create it

I created PRepS for a couple of reasons:
   o I needed a simple bug tracker for myself, and gnats seemed like
     it was overkill for what I needed.
   o I wanted to get some more experience working with relational 
     databases.
   o I thought it sounded like fun (for the most part, it was).

Note that PRepS is best suited to small and medium sized projects where
all of the developers are under one roof (so to speak).  If you need
to do things like support remote users sending in problems via e-mail,
I stronly suggest that you use a system like gnats.


3. How to install it

See the INSTALL file for detailed instructions.


4. The prepsdb_tool druid

The prepsdb_tool druid is used to create or update a PRepS database.  This
tool uses the Gnome "druid" widget, which is a paradigm similar to that of
the "wizard" in MS-Windows.  The tools will walk you through the steps.

See the INSTALL file for details.


5. Command line options

Besides the options that GTK understands (see the GTK documentation for
details), PRepS understands the following options.

-d database_name
   PRepS will look for a database named 'myprs' (no quotes) by default.  If
   the database that you want to access has a different name, you will need
   to supply it with -d option.

   For example, if you have a PRepS database called 'project_xyz' that you
   want to access, you will need to launch PRepS as follows:

   preps -d project_xyz

   If you do not use the -d option, PRepS will attempt to access the 'myprs'
   database.

   If PRepS fails to log in to the database, it will assume that you need to
   provide an username and password, and will thus display a login dialog.  If
   that login fails, you will get an error message explaining why.  PRepS will
   continue displaying the login dialog until you either login successfully, or
   cancel the login.  If you cancel, PRepS will exit.

-h
   Show a simple help message and exit.

-l
   Force the display of the login dialog instead of attempting to login
   to the database right away.  This can be useful if the information in
   the database configuration file is currently incorrect but valid, or
   if the user knows they will need to supply some information anyhow.

-v 
   Show version information and exit.

6. Adding Users

One special note on this.  Users must be setup on PostgreSQL and in PRepS.

Setting up new users in PRepS should be fairly self explanitory from the
user interface.

See 'man createuser' for details on setting up a PostgreSQL user.

Once the user is setup in PostgreSQL AND PRepS, they can start using the
system.

Note that the PostgreSQL user id and the ID given to PRepS should match.


enjoy!


$Id: README,v 1.7 2004/09/12 21:33:46 stuffle Exp $