ietfdata - Access the IETF Datatracker and related resources

This project contains Python 3 libraries to interact with, and access, the IETF datatracker, RFC index, and related resources.

Getting started

The project uses Pipenv for dependency management. To begin, run:

pipenv install --dev -e .

to create a Python virtual environment with appropriate packages install. Then, run:

pipenv shell

to start the virtual environment, within which you can run the scripts.

Once the virtual environment is started, running:

python3 tests/test_datatracker.py 

will run the test suite for the datatracker module. Running:

python3 tests/test_rfcindex.py

Will test the rfcindex module.

Caching

The ietfdata library can use a MongoDB instance as a cache. Using a cache reduces the number of requests that are made directly to the Datatracker, improving performance, and reducing the impact on the IETF's infrastructure. While using a cache is optional when accessing the Datatracker, it is required when accessing the mail archive.

The hostname, port, username, and password for the MongoDB instance that is to be used as the cache can be set when instantiated the DataTracker or MailArchive objects. Alternatively, the following environment variables can be set:

• IETFDATA_CACHE_HOST (defaults to localhost when accessing the mail archive)
• IETFDATA_CACHE_PORT (defaults to 27017)
• IETFDATA_CACHE_USER (optional)
• IETFDATA_CACHE_PORT (optional)

Release Process

• Edit CHANGELOG.md and ensure up-to-date
• Edit setup.py to ensure the correct version number is present
• Edit pyproject.toml to ensure the correct version number is present
• Edit ietfdata/datatracker.py to fix version number in DataTracker::ua
• Run make test to run the test suite. If any tests fail, fix then restart the release process
• Commit changes and push to GitHub
• Check that the GitHub Continuous Integration run succeeds, and fix any problems (this runs with a fresh cache, so can sometimes catch problems that aren't found by local tests).
• Run python3 setup.py sdist bdist_wheel to prepare the package
• Run python3 -m twine upload dist/* to upload the package
• Commit the packages files in dist/* push to GitHub
• Tag the release in GitHub