Bonsai

Bonsai is an interface into the CVS system that allows queries using a web browser. You can choose a module, such as Bugzilla, and enter search criteria.

The main benefit of Bonsai is that you can determine who changed what and when the change was made.

A search returns records of updates to source such as those shown in Figure 17.7. When Bonsai lists search results, the columns returned are

• When the file was updated

• Who updated the file

• Which file (the fully qualified file name) was updated

• The file's new revision number (the old revision number incremented by one)

• The branch of the product/version

• +/-, which is the number of lines added and the number of lines removed with this change

• A description of what was changed, why, and any bug reference numbers

Figure 17.7. Using Firefox's Find helps you locate the information desired if a large number of records is returned.

Figure 17.7 shows a fix for bug 299713. This fix modified two files in Firefox: utilityOverlay.js and aboutDialog.xul.

Bonsai is useful when something is broken that worked in the past. Looking at Bonsai's output, you can gather clues to what might have happened.