Logging oddity: handlers mandatory in every single logger?

[Masklinn]

When trying to load the following config file, I get an error ``ConfigParser.NoOptionError: No option 'handlers' in section: 'logger_0'`` (in both Python 2.6.4 and  Python 3.1.1 on OSX, obviously ConfigParser is spelled configparser in 3.1):

    [loggers]
    keys=root,0
    [handlers]
    keys=console
    [formatters]
    keys=simple
    [logger_root]
    handlers=console
    [logger_0]
    level=DEBUG
    qualname=0
    [handler_console]
    class=StreamHandler
    formatter=simple
    args=()
    [formatter_simple]
    format=%(asctime)s:%(levelname)-8s:%(name)s::%(message)s

the goal is simply to have a logging level different on ``0`` than it is on ``root``, but to get it I have to include a handler on ``0`` and stop propagation (or messages are displayed on both root and 0).

Do note that this behavior (of mandating handlers) does *not* happen when loggers are configured programmatically.

Should this be considered a bug? Worthy of opening a request on the tracker?

And while I'm at it, a few other oddities/annoyances I noticed in logging:

* have to specify the `root` logger in loggers/keys, even though it's mandatory to configure the root logger, or I get the following error::

    Traceback (most recent call last):
      File "test.py", line 6, in <module>
        logging.config.fileConfig('logging.conf')
      File "/opt/local/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.1/lib/python3.1/logging/config.py", line 82, in fileConfig
        _install_loggers(cp, handlers, disable_existing_loggers)
      File "/opt/local/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.1/lib/python3.1/logging/config.py", line 183, in _install_loggers
        llist.remove("root")
    ValueError: list.remove(x): x not in list

* the ``args`` option is required when defining a handler, even in the example above where the handler doesn't take any argument (mandatory ones, anyway)

* Logger.log() doesn't take level names, only numerical levels, even after having called ``addLevelName``. This makes logging with custom levels much less clear as one has to write something along the lines of ``logging.log(100, 'Houston, we have a problem')`` instead of the clearer ``logging.log('PANTS_ON_FIRE', 'Houston, we have a problem')``. Note that since the introduction of _checkLevel fixing that is trivial:

diff -r dafc54104884 Lib/logging/__init__.py
--- a/Lib/logging/__init__.py	Sun Jan 31 14:17:25 2010 +0100
+++ b/Lib/logging/__init__.py	Mon Feb 01 22:21:03 2010 +0100
@@ -1146,13 +1146,14 @@
 
         logger.log(level, "We have a %s", "mysterious problem", exc_info=1)
         """
-        if not isinstance(level, int):
+        try:
+            rv = _checkLevel(level)
+        except (TypeError, ValueError):
             if raiseExceptions:
-                raise TypeError("level must be an integer")
-            else:
-                return
-        if self.isEnabledFor(level):
-            self._log(level, msg, args, **kwargs)
+                raise
+
+        if self.isEnabledFor(rv):
+            self._log(rv, msg, args, **kwargs)
 
     def findCaller(self):
         """