October 2018 Summaries

Rollbar has introduced a new user interface for its stacktrace feature that includes code context, allowing users to view additional lines of code around each stack frame when debugging, which can be particularly beneficial for those using GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket. This enhancement simplifies the debugging process by reducing the need for developers to switch back and forth between Rollbar and their code editor to understand where exceptions occur. The code context provides immediate insight into what happens before and after a problematic line of code, thereby decreasing mental load and improving workflow efficiency. An example shared by an engineer illustrates how this feature helped quickly identify and fix a bug in the SCMRepoNotAccessible exception by allowing a continuous view of the code directly within the stacktrace. This improvement not only saves time but also eliminates the need for cumbersome navigation across multiple files, offering a more streamlined debugging experience. New users can explore this feature by signing up for a Rollbar free trial, with setup instructions available for integrating code context into their projects.

Magento, a widely-used open-source eCommerce platform, is utilized by over 250,000 merchants, yet it poses challenges due to its complexity with custom plugins, extensions, and site behavior. To address issues like errors and performance problems that can affect customer trust and sales, it is crucial for teams to have visibility into these problems and resolve them promptly. This text explains how to enable exception printing in Magento 2 and monitor errors using both its native exception log and the error monitoring solution Rollbar. Rollbar offers a comprehensive overview of errors, helping prioritize the most critical ones by providing real-time alerts and stack traces for debugging. The text details the steps to integrate Rollbar with Magento 2, highlighting how it can simplify error tracking and enhance user experience by offering insights into affected users and browsers. This setup ensures that teams can efficiently trace and resolve errors, thereby improving store reliability and customer satisfaction.

Rollbar has introduced an enhancement to their Versions feature by updating the Deploys API, allowing developers to notify Rollbar at the start and completion of a code deployment. This update ensures that notifications about new versions include comprehensive details, such as the number of commits and the user initiating the deploy. The process can be executed using a Bash script with tools like curl and jq, which can send HTTP requests to Rollbar's API. Developers can set the deploy status as "succeeded" or "failed" at the end of the deployment, with automatic timeouts applied if no updates occur within a specified period. This feature is designed to assist in tracking and managing deployments more effectively, with the option for new users to sign up for a 14-day free trial to explore its benefits.