set_default_project living inside each service module is confusing

[jgeewax]

Looks like inside each service module (let's say datastore and pubsub) we import _helpers.set_default_project.

If that's the case, I'd expect the following code snippet to have different projects set for the different services:

from gcloud import datastore, pubsub
datastore.set_default_project('datastore-project')
pubsub.set_default_project('pubsub-project')

assert 'datastore-project' == datastore.get_default_project()
assert 'pubsub-project' == pubsub.get_default_project()

If that's not the case, we need to figure out some other way of doing this... maybe moving the helper method into the top level as gcloud.set_default_project()...

[dhermes]

@jgeewax It seems you're just concerned with the fact that the method lives in each sub-package?

We discussed the idea of a library-wide default project with you at a standup meeting and you signed off on it. (@tseaver noted this immediately after.)

The method is only defined in one place gcloud._helpers but it is imported as a public method (i.e. no import ... as rename) in both storage.__init__ and pubsub.__init__.

This is so that we can call it from set_defaults() in each of those packages.

---

1. An easy (partial) way to address your concern will just be

from gcloud._helpers import set_default_project as _set_default_project 

2. A remaining issue will be "confusion" if someone does something explicit / declarative like

from gcloud import pubsub
from gcloud import storage
...
pubsub.set_defaults(connection=conn2, project='proj2')
storage.set_defaults(connection=conn1, project='proj1')

because the value 'proj1' will become the global (not just pubsub only) default. A "wrong global" would not be that big an issue for storage since the project is seldom used. It would be a huge issue for pubsub since a project is sent in every request.
3. We could address the above point by either removing project= from set_defaults or by making the default project local to each sub-package.

[jgeewax]

You're correct in the case of (2) -- we expose the method under each service, but it's not specific to the service. That's pretty confusing to me -- I'd expect a separate default for the service in which I called the method...

Option 4 might be to have a gcloud.get_default_project() and then service specific ones that override the global one... But that's getting pretty tricky...

[dhermes]

Yeah I had thought of Option 4. It would be a lot of code for a non-crucial feature.

[jgeewax]

It seems you're just concerned with the fact that the method lives in each sub-package?

This is correct.

This brings about a further issue that I'm curious about:

from gcloud import pubsub
from gcloud import storage
...
pubsub.set_defaults(connection=conn2, project='proj2')
storage.set_defaults(connection=conn1, project='proj1')

What is the default connection used when talking to Pub Sub here? I think it's conn1 (even though I set the "pubsub connection" to be conn2)...

So:

1. Why do we need set_defaults as separate methods inside each module?
2. If we don't have a great reason, are there any objections to just... pulling it out?

If we had the defaults pulled out:

import gcloud
gcloud.set_defaults(connection=conn, project='project')
# No way to set any 'module-specific' defaults.

Assigning back to you to take a look :)

[dhermes]

We don't have any cross-package objects / data other than the project string. The connections in each sub-package are only able to talk to their own service.

[jgeewax]

Yep, so pubsub.set_defaults() does the exact same thing as storage.set_defaults()... Is there a reason for that? Legacy?

[dhermes]

No. They both set a global project (which I am uneasy with and is the point of this) but the connection is only package specific.

The interface is the same but the internals are different.

[jgeewax]

OK so the connection is package specific... Totally misread.

So, Option 3 above has two pieces:

1. remove the project= from the defaults
2. make project specific to a connection

Do you have a preference?

[dhermes]

"make project specific to a connection" makes sense for pubsub but not for storage. In storage only 2 out of 34 API requests use the project.

I was a fan of having the default project by package specific, but @tseaver was more enthusiastic about having it be a global than I was about having it be package specific. I can be persuaded either way.