HTTP not found on Alert Obj

[rrajeevan]

I faced this in the alert object but I suspect it occurs across all objects.

Issue: Per documentation, the check to see if alert exists only works if the alert exists.
If it doesn't, it throws httplib.NOT_FOUND(404) exception from here. Traceback below.

All actions including Alert creation/modification should be idempotent. So DELETE and PUT is the way to go. We just need a better mechanism for handling the error.
May be instead of raise, just catch the exception and gently let the calling function know? Thoughts?

Exception:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "alert.py", line 32, in <module>
    alertobj = argus.alerts.get_user_alert(user, alert_name, shared=False)
  File "client.py", line 473, in get_user_alert
    alerts = self.argus._request("get", "alerts/meta", params=dict(alertname=alertName, ownername=ownerName, shared=shared))
  File "client.py", line 555, in with_retry
    return f(*args, **kwargs)
  File "client.py", line 588, in with_auth_token
    return f(*args, **kwargs)
  File "client.py", line 708, in _request
    return self._request_no_auth(method, path, params, dataObj, encCls, decCls)
  File "client.py", line 730, in _request_no_auth
    res = check_success(resp, decCls)
  File "client.py", line 744, in check_success
    raise ArgusException("Object not found at endpoint: %s message: %s" % (resp.request.url, resp.text))
argusclient.client.ArgusException: Object not found at endpoint: 
https://<argus_url>/argusws/alerts/meta?shared=False&ownername=<owner_name>&alertname=<alert_name> 
message: {"status":404,"message":"Not Found"}

[hdara-sfdc]

So DELETE and PUT is the way to go.

Not sure what you mean by this, are you suggesting to use one of these methods instead of GET ?

We just need a better mechanism for handling the error.May be instead of raise, just catch the exception and gently let the calling function know?

Perhaps you have something like returning a None to the caller in mind, but throwing an exception is in general better and consistent with many other APIs. However, instead of a generic ArgusException, it could throw a special exception meant to indicate this very condition, say ArgusObjectNotFoundException. The caller can then catch this and handle it appropriately, which is similar to checking for a None return value.

[rrajeevan]

1. I meant whatever we are trying to do with lookup to see if alert exists and delete it and then recreate is the right way.

2. +1 to the idea of the new Exception. I'll send you a PR soon, let me know what you think.

[hdara-sfdc]

Sure, please send the PR, thank you. You will need to update the unit tests too.