I seem to be seeing more and more need for a Squeak-native
source/version/goodie/library/bug manager -- perhaps something along the
lines of the Smalltalk-80 Version Manager described in the Green Book.
This was a set of inter-related tools that communicated through the
version manager to a code repository -- it brought together bug reports,
bug fixes, enhancements, versioning, etc into a few simple browsers.
Each type of item had a corresponding "form" that could be filled out
and "sent" to a repository.

My ideas on this are not even lightly warmed, never mind half baked, but
I _would_ like to see a show of hands of anyone working on something
like this and what your thoughts and plans are.

It would be great if those who have had lots of experience with the
various Smalltalk code managers would share their views to enlighten the
rest of us about what works and what doesn't and what you would like to
see. There are even a few on this list who used the above mentioned
Version Manager.

IMHO, I think it should be almost as transparent as the .changes file
and change sorters to a single user (if desired) while giving control
over image rollback and "version" checkpointing and re-creation
(answering at least some of the desires for improved image modularity
and management). Something simple and easy to use that doesn't get in
the way or impose a particular way of working. The various types of
individual items could all be handled through minor extensions of the
fileout format. Goodies, enhancements, bug reports and/or fixes could
all be browsed directly on a central server this way -- without actually
filing them in (the "repository" could just be a group of fileouts in a
directory in this case). It could be used locally or over the net - or
create your own local copy of any such "repository" or any portions
thereof on your local system - perhaps into a single file similar to the
..changes file, if a bit more sophisticated in structure (hmmm, .delta
file has a nice ring to it) -- perhaps eventually supplanting the
..changes file (but the simple linear .change log can be very nice to
have around the house for emergencies - so maybe not). 

I began considering this need when Dan described the laborious process
by which Squeak Central handles bug fixes and enhancements. Then there
are all the concerns about duplication of effort and finding, getting,
examining, and checking code in goodies and enhancements in general.

Thoughts? Comments?

-- Dwight