Network required for wallet init

[ala-mode]

Running the same invocation

./zcash-devtool wallet init --name "generic_name" --identity ./age_id.txt --connection direct --network test -s zecrocks works with a network connection, but fails without it:

INFO zcash_devtool::remote: Connecting to testnet.zec.rocks:443
Error: transport error

Caused by:
    0: dns error
    1: dns error
    2: failed to lookup address information: Name or service not known

Omitting the -s zecrocks defaults to lightwalletd.testnet.electriccoin.co:9067 (which also has an identified issue).

I think, minimally, wallet initialization should be allowed without a network connection for security (and potentially privacy) issues.

I have not investigated other aspects of zcash-devtool to see what other systems require the network, but wallet initialization seems clear to me there should be an option to do without.

Perhaps consider adding a --connection none option to explicitly disallow network access?

[linear]

COR-1073

[nuttycom]

Note: zcash-devtool is a tool for developers; it is not intended to function as a command-line wallet for general purpose usage. I'm sympathetic to the request but I want to understand what development purpose this change is intended to serve.

The reason that a network connection is required is that the light client server is consulted to establish a wallet birthday height.

[ala-mode]

Requiring connecting to the network could introduce a range of complications, and doesn't seem to be neccessary at its core.

Querying a server to establish a birthday height as a prerequisite for wallet creation means, of course, that no offline or strictly firewalled development or testing could be done that involves this action.

This setup seems to imply having an accurate birthday height is a critical concern for this operation, which I don't think is the case: a birthday height isn't bundled with a seed phrase used to generate keys.

The idea is, it's a separation of concerns. Connecting to a server as a default seems sane enough, but requiring it forced me to stop and evaluate how I was trying to use the tool, which was disallowed by design. As a developer I might not want to connect to a lightwallet service at all (perhaps I don't want to leak information to zecrocks), or rely on someone's infrastructure not to break... or run my own, just to make a wallet.

Thank you for taking the time to look at this issue. I've tried to articulate some good reasons, but if it's not in line with the intended use of the tool, I of course also respect that decision.