repository_tool and repository_lib modify log handlers

[jku]

Just importing repository_tool affects all of tuf logging (because it runs add_console_handler() and set_console_log_level()).

Probably because of this many tests and repo.py call some version of disable_console_log_messages().

This feels fragile and easy to accidentally misuse. I think the idea is that repository_tool.py is intended for "devops" use in an interactive python session... but then the same script is used in e.g. tests very much like a normal library.

If the interactive helper functionality is seen as important, I wonder if we should separate the use cases: keep the "library functionality" (that would not modify logging or even provide functions for doing that) and then provide a separate tool for interactive use, maybe something like this

repo_tool:

#!/bin/sh
python3 -i repo_tool_helper.py

repo_tool_helper.py

import tuf.repository_tool as repo_tool
import tuf.log

# setup tuf logging here as appropriate for this tool

now running repo_tool would give you an interactive python session with modules imported and logging setup appropriately.

[jku]

Closing this issue as it was filed against (what is now known as) the legacy codebase: issue seems to not be relevant anymore. Please re-open or file a new issue if you feel that the issue is revelant to current python-tuf.

More details

Current source code (and upcoming 1.0 release) only contains the modern components

• a low-level Metadata API (tuf.api) and
• tuf.ngclient that implements the client workflow,

Legacy components (e.g. tuf.client, tuf.repository_tool, tuf.repository_lib as well as the repo and client scripts) are no longer included. See announcement and API reference for more details.