Frequently Asked Questions about LogDigger

What is LogDigger?

LogDigger is a set of tools for web application developers and testers. It simplifies issue reporting (defects or feedback in general), and increases the quality of the information in reports, resulting in more efficient development and bug fixing.

What LogDigger does:

  • It collects data about web application usage.
  • It allows testers to easily report issues, automatically including related contextual information.
  • This allows developers to spend less time tracking down problems.

What can I do with LogDigger?

If you are testing the software:

  • Spend less time explaining what you did and how you reached a certain state in the application being tested – LogDigger keeps a track of your actions.
  • Submit an annotated screenshot to the issue tracker with just a few clicks. When you’re reporting an issue, LogDigger captures the current page to an image that you can annotate and upload to your issue tracker automatically.

If you are a software developer:

  • Get rich issue reports from your testers, containing annotated screen captures and application usage history, with triggered URLs, HTTP request parameters, etc.
  • Collect HTTP request-scoped server logs tied to the application usage track. Supported for Java (with logging via Log4j), PHP (FirePHP compatible) and Python (FirePython compatible).
  • Monitor server logs during development.  Currently supported for Java applications (with Log4j).

How does LogDigger work?

The LogDigger ecosystem consists of the following elements:

  • LogDigger Server is the heart or the system. It collects information and provides an overview of application usage sessions, interfacing with your choice of external issue tracker.
  • web browser extensions (which we also call LogDigger Clients). These track the usage of the web app and automatically upload the collected data to the LogDigger Server.
  • Optional web application components (LogDigger Connectors) can be used to collect additional runtime information on the server side, such as request-related application logs, statistics, etc.

LogDigger Server runs in your development environment, so all the data collected is under your control.

LogDigger is not a replacement for your issue tracker, but an extension of it.

How do I get started with LogDigger?

If you are a software tester:

  1. Download and install the LogDigger browser extension.
  2. Ask your software development team to enable LogDigger Server for the application you’re testing.
  3. Access the application and enable LogDigger usage tracking for the site. Start using the application. When asked, accept session tracking and, if needed, provide the login credentials for the issue tracker that your team is using.
  4. To report an issue, click the LogDigger button. A new browser window will open, with an issue submission form and a screenshot of the application.
  5. You can click the screenshot to add annotation elements (text, pointers, freehand drawings).
  6. After you finish the issue report, all data is automatically submitted and uploaded to your issue tracker, including a link to LogDigger Server where developers can see your application usage session.

If you are a software developer:

  1. Download and install LogDigger Server and connect it to your issue tracker.
  2. Create a project in LogDigger Server associated with a project in the issue tracker. Each project must have a logging key, so the server will create one for you if you don’t specify it.
  3. In the web root of your application, create a configuration file called logdigger.xml containing a URL to the LogDigger Server and the project logging key. (If your application is in Java and you are using Log4j, you have the additional benefit of collecting server logs. Just use the LogDigger Connector for Java instead of creating the configuration file.)
  4. Make sure that logdigger.xml is accessible from the web. Open http://yourapp/logdigger.xml, and you should be able to see the content of your configuration file.

How does LogDigger lower my software development costs?

Manual software testing is a time-consuming task. No matter how experienced the tester is, providing good input for developers takes time. Reporting an issue may include activities such as describing the problem, listing recent actions, quoting form parameters, taking and editing a screenshot, uploading the file(s) to the issue tracker, etc. All of this may or may not be relevant to the problem in question, and typically the tester has to decide whether it is necessary and worth his time. LogDigger removes a good part of this burden from testers, so they can keep their focus on testing the application.

On the other side, in order to fix an issue, developers need as much detail as possible. Questions like “How did they manage to do this?” come up in developers’ minds too often when reading bug reports. LogDigger comes to the rescue, providing a history of actions that the developer can use to reproduce the issue. Combined with the possibility of having application logs matched with user actions, LogDigger represents an invaluable tool in tracking down application defects.

In short, having LogDigger in the software development loop will make your testers and developers more efficient.

Do I need to change my development or testing process in order to use LogDigger?

Most likely – no. LogDigger tools are designed to easily fit into an existing software development environment.

  • LogDigger integrates with your existing issue tracker. (The list of currently supported issue trackers can be found below.)
  • Access control rights are inherited from the issue tracker.
  • The issue reporting form is taken from the issue tracker. (Fields such as priority, assignee, component, and even your custom fields, are collected from your issue tracker’s report form and included in the form presented by LogDigger.)
  • You handle and manage issues in your issue tracker in the same manner as you did before.

We do not lock you in to LogDigger in any way. You can use it for a single project, or for all of your projects. You can also stop using it at any time without it affecting your process.

The only change in the process that you will see after starting to use LogDigger is faster issue reporting, with more details for developers.

What are the system requirements for LogDigger?

  • LogDigger Server can run on any modern OS with the Java 5 Runtime available. It requires at least 256MB of RAM.
  • Browser extensions are available and compatible with Firefox 3.0+ and Internet Explorer 7+.
  • The screenshot annotation feature requires Flash Player 9 or higher.

Which programming languages are supported by LogDigger?

LogDigger can record the usage session of any website (application), regardless of the programming language used to develop it. In fact, by enabling LogDigger in your browser and providing manual settings, you can record a usage track for any third-party sites on the Internet.

The feature that depends on the programming language is the collection of application logs. This is currently supported for Java (using Log4j), PHP (FirePHP compatible) and Python (FirePython compatible), and is subject to the log access control that was established by the application’s developers.

Can I use LogDigger without an external issue tracker?

Yes, LogDigger Server can be installed without an issue tracker. In that case, all the data on the server is freely accessible. A master password will still be required for administrative tasks. Even when an issue tracker is present, individual projects can be created on LogDigger Server without a reference to a project on the tracker.

In this “no-tracker” mode, LogDigger Server may be suitable for developers using it as a real-time debugging tool.

Which issue trackers are supported by LogDigger?

LogDigger Server currently provides integration with the following third-party issue tracking software:

Do you plan to support SomeOther issue tracker?

We plan to add support for other popular issue trackers in the near future. If we see a lot of interest from our users for a particular package, it will get priority.

You can give your vote either:

Feel free to create a request if your issue tracking software isn’t listed, or vote for an existing one.

If you have your own proprietary issue tracking system that you’d like to integrate with LogDigger Server, please contact us.

Does LogDigger support automated testing tools?

At this time, LogDigger does not support integration with automated testing tools.

What is the price of LogDigger?

LogDigger Server is licensed per installation. Commercial licenses start from $320 for the Standard Edition and go up to $1250 for the Enterprise Edition. (Note that these are introductory prices for early adopters and may change in the following weeks/months.) There is also a free Community Edition. See the licensing page for details and comparison between editions.

LogDigger browser extensions are free for an unlimited number of users.

LogDigger application libraries (connectors) are free to use and distribute.

Do you offer software maintenance, and how much does it cost?

All non-free licenses include 12 months of software maintenance (support and all product updates). Beyond this initial 12 month period, you may renew your maintenance subscription for another 12 months at no more than 40% of your license cost.

Purchasing a LogDigger license during the introductory period ensures that your maintenance cost will not be affected by price changes – unless prices go down – and that you will be able to enjoy all the latest features at the lowest possible price.

Renewing the maintenance subscription is entirely optional.

Can I get the LogDigger source code?

LogDigger Server and the LogDigger browser extensions are closed source applications, made available under the terms of the EULA.

Source code for components that you may install and re-distribute with your applications (such as connectors for Java and Grails, as well as the LogDigger Client in Java) is available under The Apache License 2.0.

How does LogDigger Server control access to collected application usage data?

Each LogDigger Server instance can be tied to one external issue tracker. Instead of having its own user database, LogDigger Server authenticates users via the issue tracker, and collects details about their permissions (on a project level). This greatly simplifies administration, because you only have to maintain user permissions in one place – your issue tracker.

This is how the permission system in LogDigger Server works:

  • The user has to log in using the credentials of the issue tracker.
  • If the user can administer the issue tracker’s global settings, he can also add or delete a project in the LogDigger Server.
  • If the user can edit project settings in the issue tracker, he can also edit the project in the LogDigger Server.
  • If the user has project view permissions in the issue tracker, he can view the project tracks in the LogDigger Server.
  • If the user can submit an issue for the project in the issue tracker, he can do the same via the LogDigger Server.

In addition to issue tracker users, LogDigger Server has its own master user that can log in and administer the LogDigger Server, even if communication between the Server and the issue tracker fails for any reason.

How does LogDigger handle my issue tracker password?

LogDigger asks you to provide login credentials for the issue tracker that LogDigger Server is tied to. LogDigger Server uses your login credentials to establish a session with the issue tracker, but they are not stored by LogDigger at any point.

The “remember login” function makes LogDigger Server try to get the issue tracker to keep your session alive, if the option is available. Usually this means that a cookie will be saved in your browser.

Logging out of LogDigger Server ends your session in the issue tracker. All related cookies will be destroyed.

How does LogDigger integrate with issue trackers?

Currently, all of the most popular issue trackers are web applications (or at least have a web interface). Therefore, we’ve naturally decided to implement integration via HTTP. LogDigger Server accesses the issue tracker as an HTTP client (web browser), sends data that needs to be sent, and parses the response page, collecting the necessary information.

LogDigger doesn’t work with my issue tracker although it’s supported. What should I do?

Please, check the troubleshooting page in the manual.

Can I try LogDigger before buy?

Sure! Go ahead to free downloads!

About

We are a micro-ISV, founded around a common passion – to improve the process of issue reporting, so that even occasional testers (such as customers and managers) can easily provide developers with the sort of input that we, personally, always wanted to have. We wish to eliminate boring manual tasks from the process, so that developers and testers can enjoy what they do a lot more.

Copyright © 2009. LogDigger. All Rights Reserved.