changelogs for initial 3.0 and 4.0 version

Changes-3.0.md

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+## Tapper release 3.0 2011-03-02 (first public release)
+
+Tapper is an infrastructure for all aspects of testing inclusive
+Operating Systems and Virtualization.
+
+## Tapper contains
+
+* Automation
+* Machine Scheduling
+* Command line utils
+* Web Frontend application
+* Support for writing tests
+* Powerful result evaluation API
+* Testplan support with TaskJuggler
+* Many use-cases from tracking test results to benchmarking to full OS testing including virtualization
+
+## Feature overview
+
+### Automation
+
+* Network boot (PXE + TFTP + NFS)
+* Machine self-setup driven by abstract specfiles
+* Image-based or kickstart/autoyast based installation
+* Lightweight status API to easily plug in foreign installers
+* Support for virtualization setups (Xen and KVM)
+* Inject packages, programs, files into hosts/guests
+* Control execution of test scripts in hosts/guests
+* Interdependent setup and sync of co-operating machines
+* Complex timeout handling for complete test cycle, inclusive virtualizated guest
+* Reboot handling
+* Console logging
+* Hardware reset
+
+### Scheduling
+
+* Optimize utilization of pools with "not enough" machines for "too many use-cases"
+* Multiplex queues of freely definable use-cases (e.g., Xen, KVM, baremetal kernels, ad-hoc tests, benchmarks) with different bandwidths
+* Pluggable core scheduling algorithm (default "Weighted Fair Queuing")
+* Feature driven host matching (by memory, cores, vendor, etc. or complex combinations)
+* Dynamic queue and host management (add, delete, de/activate)
+* Host/queue binding for dedicated scheduling
+* Auto re-queuing for continuous testing
+* Multi-host scenarios
+
+### Web Application
+
+* Frontend to 2 databases: testruns and reports
+* Providing a "management view" and high-level test result evaluation
+* Overview lists and detailed zoom-in, GREEN/YELLOW/RED coloring
+* Filters over time, testsuites, machines, success status
+* RSS feeds on such filters
+* Visualize groups of connected results (virtualized neighbour guests)
+* Control start of testruns
+
+### Result Evaluation
+
+* Programmable complement to the web frontend
+* Allow complex queries on the test result database
+* No client side toolchain neccessary
+* Easy API to send and get back queries embedded in templates
+* API allows SQL and XPath like queries in an abstract way
+* Presentation about the query interface at the YAPC::Europe 2009
+
+### Testplan Support
+
+* Testplans combine many Tapper features into concise points of interest
+* Manage testplan hierarchy allowing specfile reuse for complex testplan matrix
+* Interoperation with TaskJuggler on dedicated QA tasks for automatic scheduling and reporting
+* Consequently a complete focused QA life cycle of planning, execution and reporting
+
+### Support for writing tests
+
+* Format test results based on standard Test Anything Protocol (TAP)
+* Existing standard TAP toolchains available for about 20 programming languages
+* Dedicated Tapper support for Shell, Perl, Python available
+
+### Many use-cases
+
+* Kernel testing (stress, function, reboot)
+* Virtualization Testing (Xen, KVM)
+* Test matrix of host/guest combinations
+* Distribution testing (like OS or compilers)
+* Multi-machine scenarios
+* Complex result evaluation
+
+### Technology
+
+* Test Anything Protocol (TAP)
+* Core system written in Perl and CPAN
+* DB independent via OR mapper, developed on MySQL and SQLite
+* HTML/CSS, cautious Javascript
+* Language agnostic testing (e.g, Perl/Python/Shell test suites)
+* PXE, GRUB, TFTP, NFS boot automation
+* Strong decoupling of functional layers (webgui, testsuites, automation) to allow you amalgamate own infrastructures
+
+## Correlation to autotest.kernel.org
+
+The main focus of autotest.kernel.org project is on testing the Linux
+kernel. It provides a broad coverage of kernel functionality testing
+and wrappers of many existing test suites.
+
+Tapper provides many complex scenarios, like virtualization (Xen/KVM),
+distribution testing (RHEL, SLES, Debian), SimNow testing and
+benchmarking. Tapper can schedule them all multiplexed with according
+bandwidths over large or small machine pools. The autotest.kernel.org
+client can be used in a Tapper infrastructure via a thin wrapper that
+utilizes the TAP export we provided to the autotest project. Tapper
+then complements it with Testplan support, a result database and a
+homogeneous result evaluation API.  More information about Tapper:
+Downloading Tapper
+
+* https://github.com/amd
+* search.cpan.org/~amd
+
+## Tapper Support
+
+* IRC: #tapper (irc.freenode.net)
+* Mailing List: tapper@amd64.org

Changes-4.0.md

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+* She's mad at everybody. She's even mad at the ice cream man.
+  "Why does the ice cream truck have to come just before lunch
+  or just before dinner, spoil the children's appetite?"
+  I have to listen to that. I hear that 3 time a week, you know
+  that's 12 times a month.
+
+  Columbo, "The Most Crucial Game" (1972)
+
+## Tapper release 4.0 codename "Columbo" 2012-05-16
+
+### Automation
+
+* better linux32 chroot/exec support
+* persistent automation layer, based on event-queues
+  (Tapper::MCP, Tapper::MCP::MessageReceiver)
+* introduce SSH-connect to test without complete machine setup
+* support suspend/resume testing;
+  via abstract central 'actions' to be called from remote clients
+  (Tapper::Action)
+* conditionally trigger notifications on incoming results
+  (Tapper::Notification)
+* keep-alive mechanics for broken hosts
+* much better scriptability everywhere to support strangest
+  requirements
+* reworked TaskJuggler/Testplan bridge
+  (Tapper::Testplan)
+
+### Testsuites
+
+* Tapper-autotest wrapper:
+* now send+upload virtually all result details+files
+* allow use snapshots to not suffer from upstream changes
+* Tapper-autoreport: better virtualization support (probably the
+  world's current best Xen/KVM host/guest detection heuristics,
+  really)
+* better Perl::Formance benchmarking integration
+
+### Reports database
+
+* store attachments bzip2 compressed (optionally compress already
+  existing attachments)
+
+### Reports API
+
+* allow passthrough of incoming results to 3rd party applications
+  (e.g. extract benchmark results and pass them along them to external
+  graph rendering - aka. "level 2 receivers")
+* more robust TAP::Archive support
+
+### Query API
+
+* easier attachment downloading
+* QueryAPI now available in testplan template to allows generate
+  testruns based on older results (think of "use last successful
+  aka. known-good Xen changeset for another complicated test")
+
+### Web GUI
+
+* user authentication (via PAM)
+* reworked filter framework
+* better show current scheduling state
+* configurable site customizations for non-OSRC instances
+
+### CLI
+
+* new frontend tool 'tapper'
+* more subcommands for user/notification/testplan handling
+* testplan development support
+
+### misc
+
+* better configurable control over grub entry writing
+* utils to fake/test the automation layer (Tapper::Fake)
+
+### Hacking on Tapper
+
+* we now use Dist::Zilla to author Perl libs
+* plugins:
+  * Dist::Zilla::PluginBundle::AMD
+  * PodWeaver::PluginBundle::AMD
+  * Task::BeLike::AMD
+