Home API Notes

Database and SQLAlchemy

In this blog we will explore using programs with data, focused on Databases. We will use SQLite Database to learn more about using Programs with Data. Use Debugging through these examples to examine Objects created in Code.

  • College Board talks about ideas like

    • Program Usage. "iterative and interactive way when processing information"
    • Managing Data. "classifying data are part of the process in using programs", "data files in a Table"
    • Insight "insight and knowledge can be obtained from ... digitally represented information"
    • Filter systems. 'tools for finding information and recognizing patterns"
    • Application. "the preserve has two databases", "an employee wants to count the number of book"
  • PBL, Databases, Iterative/OOP

    • Iterative. Refers to a sequence of instructions or code being repeated until a specific end result is achieved
    • OOP. A computer programming model that organizes software design around data, or objects, rather than functions and logic
    • SQL. Structured Query Language, abbreviated as SQL, is a language used in programming, managing, and structuring data

Imports and Flask Objects

Defines and key object creations

  • Comment on where you have observed these working? Provide a defintion of purpose.
    1. Flask app object
    2. SQLAlchemy db object
"""
These imports define the key objects
"""

from flask import Flask
from flask_sqlalchemy import SQLAlchemy

"""
These object and definitions are used throughout the Jupyter Notebook.
"""

# Setup of key Flask object (app)
app = Flask(__name__)
# Setup SQLAlchemy object and properties for the database (db)
database = 'sqlite:///sqlite.db'  # path and filename of database
app.config['SQLALCHEMY_TRACK_MODIFICATIONS'] = False
app.config['SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI'] = database
app.config['SECRET_KEY'] = 'SECRET_KEY'
db = SQLAlchemy()


# This belongs in place where it runs once per project
db.init_app(app)

Model Definition

Define columns, initialization, and CRUD methods for users table in sqlite.db

  • Comment on these items in the class, purpose and defintion.
    • class User
    • db.Model inheritance
    • init method
    • @property, @<column>.setter
    • create, read, update, delete methods
""" database dependencies to support sqlite examples """
import datetime
from datetime import datetime
import json

from sqlalchemy.exc import IntegrityError
from werkzeug.security import generate_password_hash, check_password_hash


''' Tutorial: https://www.sqlalchemy.org/library.html#tutorials, try to get into a Python shell and follow along '''

# Define the User class to manage actions in the 'users' table
# -- Object Relational Mapping (ORM) is the key concept of SQLAlchemy
# -- a.) db.Model is like an inner layer of the onion in ORM
# -- b.) User represents data we want to store, something that is built on db.Model
# -- c.) SQLAlchemy ORM is layer on top of SQLAlchemy Core, then SQLAlchemy engine, SQL
class User(db.Model):
    __tablename__ = 'users'  # table name is plural, class name is singular

    # Define the User schema with "vars" from object
    id = db.Column(db.Integer, primary_key=True)
    _name = db.Column(db.String(255), unique=False, nullable=False)
    _uid = db.Column(db.String(255), unique=True, nullable=False)
    _password = db.Column(db.String(255), unique=False, nullable=False)
    _dob = db.Column(db.Date)

    # constructor of a User object, initializes the instance variables within object (self)
    def __init__(self, name, uid, password="123qwerty", dob=datetime.today()):
        self._name = name    # variables with self prefix become part of the object, 
        self._uid = uid
        self.set_password(password)
        if isinstance(dob, str):  # not a date type     
            dob = date=datetime.today()
        self._dob = dob

    # a name getter method, extracts name from object
    @property
    def name(self):
        return self._name
    
    # a setter function, allows name to be updated after initial object creation
    @name.setter
    def name(self, name):
        self._name = name
    
    # a getter method, extracts uid from object
    @property
    def uid(self):
        return self._uid
    
    # a setter function, allows uid to be updated after initial object creation
    @uid.setter
    def uid(self, uid):
        self._uid = uid
        
    # check if uid parameter matches user id in object, return boolean
    def is_uid(self, uid):
        return self._uid == uid
    
    @property
    def password(self):
        return self._password[0:10] + "..." # because of security only show 1st characters

    # update password, this is conventional method used for setter
    def set_password(self, password):
        """Create a hashed password."""
        self._password = generate_password_hash(password, method='sha256')

    # check password parameter against stored/encrypted password
    def is_password(self, password):
        """Check against hashed password."""
        result = check_password_hash(self._password, password)
        return result
    
    # dob property is returned as string, a string represents date outside object
    @property
    def dob(self):
        dob_string = self._dob.strftime('%m-%d-%Y')
        return dob_string
    
    # dob setter, verifies date type before it is set or default to today
    @dob.setter
    def dob(self, dob):
        if isinstance(dob, str):  # not a date type     
            dob = date=datetime.today()
        self._dob = dob
    
    # age is calculated field, age is returned according to date of birth
    @property
    def age(self):
        today = datetime.today()
        return today.year - self._dob.year - ((today.month, today.day) < (self._dob.month, self._dob.day))
    
    # output content using str(object) is in human readable form
    # output content using json dumps, this is ready for API response
    def __str__(self):
        return json.dumps(self.read())

    # CRUD create/add a new record to the table
    # returns self or None on error
    def create(self):
        try:
            # creates a person object from User(db.Model) class, passes initializers
            db.session.add(self)  # add prepares to persist person object to Users table
            db.session.commit()  # SqlAlchemy "unit of work pattern" requires a manual commit
            return self
        except IntegrityError:
            db.session.remove()
            return None

    # CRUD read converts self to dictionary
    # returns dictionary
    def read(self):
        return {
            "id": self.id,
            "name": self.name,
            "uid": self.uid,
            "dob": self.dob,
            "age": self.age,
        }

    # CRUD update: updates user name, password, phone
    # returns self
    def update(self, name="", uid="", password=""):
        """only updates values with length"""
        if len(name) > 0:
            self.name = name
        if len(uid) > 0:
            self.uid = uid
        if len(password) > 0:
            self.set_password(password)
        db.session.commit()
        return self

    # CRUD delete: remove self
    # None
    def delete(self):
        db.session.delete(self)
        db.session.commit()
        return None
    

Initial Data

Uses SQLALchemy db.create_all() to initialize rows into sqlite.db

  • Comment on how these work?
    1. Create All Tables from db Object
    2. User Object Constructors
    3. Try / Except
"""Database Creation and Testing """


# Builds working data for testing
def initUsers():
    with app.app_context():
        """Create database and tables"""
        db.create_all()
        """Tester data for table"""
        u1 = User(name='Thomas Edison', uid='toby', password='123toby', dob=datetime(1847, 2, 11))
        u2 = User(name='Nikola Tesla', uid='niko', password='123niko')
        u3 = User(name='Alexander Graham Bell', uid='lex', password='123lex')
        u4 = User(name='Eli Whitney', uid='whit', password='123whit')
        u5 = User(name='Indiana Jones', uid='indi', dob=datetime(1920, 10, 21))
        u6 = User(name='Marion Ravenwood', uid='raven', dob=datetime(1921, 10, 21))


        users = [u1, u2, u3, u4, u5, u6]

        """Builds sample user/note(s) data"""
        for user in users:
            try:
                '''add user to table'''
                object = user.create()
                print(f"Created new uid {object.uid}")
            except:  # error raised if object nit created
                '''fails with bad or duplicate data'''
                print(f"Records exist uid {user.uid}, or error.")
                
initUsers()
Created new uid toby
Created new uid niko
Created new uid lex
Created new uid whit
Created new uid indi
Created new uid raven

Check for given Credentials in users table in sqlite.db

Use of ORM Query object and custom methods to identify user to credentials uid and password

  • Comment on purpose of following
    1. User.query.filter_by
    2. user.password
def find_by_uid(uid):
    with app.app_context():
        user = User.query.filter_by(_uid=uid).first()
    return user # returns user object

# Check credentials by finding user and verify password
def check_credentials(uid, password):
    # query email and return user record
    user = find_by_uid(uid)
    if user == None:
        return False
    if (user.is_password(password)):
        return True
    return False
        
#check_credentials("indi", "123qwerty")

Create a new User in table in Sqlite.db

Uses SQLALchemy and custom user.create() method to add row.

  • Comment on purpose of following
    1. user.find_by_uid() and try/except
    2. user = User(...)
    3. user.dob and try/except
    4. user.create() and try/except
def create():
    # optimize user time to see if uid exists
    uid = input("Enter your user id:")
    user = find_by_uid(uid)
    try:
        print("Found\n", user.read())
        return
    except:
        pass # keep going
    
    # request value that ensure creating valid object
    name = input("Enter your name:")
    password = input("Enter your password")
    
    # Initialize User object before date
    user = User(name=name, 
                uid=uid, 
                password=password
                )
    
    # create user.dob, fail with today as dob
    dob = input("Enter your date of birth 'YYYY-MM-DD'")
    try:
        user.dob = datetime.strptime(dob, '%Y-%m-%d').date()
    except ValueError:
        user.dob = datetime.today()
        print(f"Invalid date {dob} require YYYY-mm-dd, date defaulted to {user.dob}")
           
    # write object to database
    with app.app_context():
        try:
            object = user.create()
            print("Created\n", object.read())
        except:  # error raised if object not created
            print("Unknown error uid {uid}")
        
create()
Found
 {'id': 7, 'name': 'Ethan', 'uid': 'ethan123', 'dob': '05-09-2006', 'age': 16}

Reading users table in sqlite.db

Uses SQLALchemy query.all method to read data

  • Comment on purpose of following
    1. User.query.all
    2. json_ready assignment, google List Comprehension
# SQLAlchemy extracts all users from database, turns each user into JSON
def read():
    with app.app_context():
        table = User.query.all()
    json_ready = [user.read() for user in table] # "List Comprehensions", for each user add user.read() to list
    return json_ready

read()
[{'id': 1,
  'name': 'Thomas Edison',
  'uid': 'toby',
  'dob': '02-11-1847',
  'age': 176},
 {'id': 2,
  'name': 'Nikola Tesla',
  'uid': 'niko',
  'dob': '03-14-2023',
  'age': 0},
 {'id': 3,
  'name': 'Alexander Graham Bell',
  'uid': 'lex',
  'dob': '03-14-2023',
  'age': 0},
 {'id': 4,
  'name': 'Eli Whitney',
  'uid': 'whit',
  'dob': '03-14-2023',
  'age': 0},
 {'id': 5,
  'name': 'Indiana Jones',
  'uid': 'indi',
  'dob': '10-21-1920',
  'age': 102},
 {'id': 6,
  'name': 'Marion Ravenwood',
  'uid': 'raven',
  'dob': '10-21-1921',
  'age': 101},
 {'id': 7, 'name': '', 'uid': 'ethan123', 'dob': '03-14-2023', 'age': 0}]

Hacks

  • Add this Blog to you own Blogging site. In the Blog add notes and observations on each code cell.
  • Change blog to your own database.
  • Add additional CRUD
    • Add Update functionality to this blog.
    • Add Delete functionality to this blog.

My Hacks

Lesson Notes

  • db.Model: Inheritance - capable to make the class utilize database attributes and methods (getters and setters)
  • Init method instantiate an object from user class
  • Setters allow attributes to be changed
  • Getters enable the retrieval of a given object
"""
These imports define the key objects
"""

from flask import Flask
from flask_sqlalchemy import SQLAlchemy

"""
These object and definitions are used throughout the Jupyter Notebook.
"""

# Setup of key Flask object (app)
app = Flask(__name__)
# Setup SQLAlchemy object and properties for the database (db)
database = 'sqlite:///cars.db'  # path and filename of database
app.config['SQLALCHEMY_TRACK_MODIFICATIONS'] = False
app.config['SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI'] = database
app.config['SECRET_KEY'] = 'SECRET_KEY'
db = SQLAlchemy()


# This belongs in place where it runs once per project
db.init_app(app)
from sqlalchemy import Column, Integer, Text, String, Boolean
from sqlalchemy.exc import IntegrityError

class Car(db.Model):
    __tablename__ = "cars"
    __table_args__ = {'extend_existing': True}
    id = db.Column(db.Integer, primary_key=True)
    _make = db.Column(db.String(255), nullable=False, unique = False)
    _model = db.Column(db.String(255), nullable=False, unique = False)
    _price = db.Column(db.Integer, nullable=False, unique = False)
    _year = db.Column(db.Integer, nullable=False, unique = False)
    _desc = db.Column(db.String(255), nullable=False, unique = True)
    _engine = db.Column(db.String(255), nullable=False, unique = False)
    _body_style = db.Column(db.String(255), nullable=False, unique = False)
    _owner = db.Column(db.String(255), nullable=False, unique = False)
    
    def __init__(self, make, model, price, year, desc, body_style, engine, owner):
        # Adding instance attributes
        self._make = make
        self._model = model
        self._price = price
        self._year = year
        self._desc = desc
        self._body_style = body_style
        self._engine = engine
        self._owner = owner
        
    # Add getters and setters for make, model, price, year
    @property
    def make(self):
        return self._make
    
    @make.setter
    def make(self, make):
        self._make = make

    @property
    def model(self):
        return self._model
    
    @model.setter
    def model(self, model):
        self._model = model

    @property
    def price(self):
        return self._price
    
    @price.setter
    def price(self, price):
        self._price = price

    @property
    def year(self):
        return self._year
    
    @year.setter
    def year(self, year):
        self._year = year
    
    @property
    def desc(self):
        return self._desc
    
    @desc.setter
    def desc(self, desc):
        self._desc = desc

    @property
    def body_style(self):
        return self._body_style
    
    @body_style.setter
    def body_style(self, body_style):
        self._body_style = body_style

    @property
    def engine(self):
        return self._engine
    
    @engine.setter
    def engine(self, engine):
        self._engine = engine

    @property
    def owner(self):
        return self._owner

    @owner.setter
    def owner(self, owner):
        self._owner = owner
    

    def dictionary(self):
        dict = {
            "make" : self.make,
            "model" : self.model,
            "price" : self.price,
            "year" : self.year,
            "desc" : self.desc,
            "body_style" : self.body_style,
            "engine" : self.engine,
            "owner" : self.owner
        }
        return dict 

    def __str__(self):
        return json.dumps(self.dictionary)

    def create(self):
        try:
            # creates a Car object from Car(db.Model) class, passes initializers
            db.session.add(self)  # add prepares to persist person object to Users table
            db.session.commit()  # SqlAlchemy "unit of work pattern" requires a manual commit
            return self
        except IntegrityError:
            db.session.remove()
            return None

    # CRUD read converts self to dictionary
    # returns dictionary
    def read(self):
        return {
            "id" : self.id,
            "make" : self.make,
            "model" : self.model,
            "price" : self.price,
            "year" : self.year,
            "desc" : self.desc,
            "body_style" : self.body_style,
            "engine" : self.engine,
            "owner" : self.owner        
        }

    # CRUD update: updates attributes
    # returns self
    def update(self, make="", model="", price="", year="", desc="", body_style="", engine="", owner=""):
        """only updates values with length"""
        if len(make) > 0:
            self.make = make
        if len(model) > 0:
            self.model = model
        if price > 0:
            self.price(price)
        if year > 0:
            self.year(year)
        if desc >= 0:
            self.desc(desc)
        if len(body_style) > 0:
            self.body_style(body_style)
        if len(engine) > 0:
            self.engine(engine)
        if len(owner) > 0:
            self.owner(owner)
        db.session.commit()
        return self  
    
    # CRUD delete: remove self
    # None
    def delete(self):
        db.session.delete(self)
        db.session.commit()
        return None

# Function to initialize the Cars
def initCars():
    with app.app_context():
        """Create database and tables"""
        # db.init_app(app)
        db.create_all()

        """Data for table"""
        car1 = Car(make="BMW", model="2 Series", price=34000, year=2021, desc="The BMW 2 series is a stylish sports coupe that drives just as well as it looks.", body_style="coupe", engine="2.0L four-cylinder", owner="John Doe")

        cars = [car1]

        """Builds sample user/note(s) data"""
        for car in cars:
            try:
                car.create()
            except IntegrityError:
                '''fails with bad or duplicate data'''
                db.session.remove()
                print(f"Records exist, duplicate car, or error: {car.id}")

initCars()

Create a new car

import sqlite3

database = 'instance/cars.db'

def create():
    make = input("Enter the make of the car:")
    model = input("Enter the model:")
    price = input("Enter the price:")
    year = input("Enter the year:")
    desc = input("Enter a description of the car:")
    body_style = input("Enter the body style of the car:")
    engine = input("Enter the engine type:")
    owner = input("Who's the owner of the car?")
        
    # Connect to the database file
    conn = sqlite3.connect(database)

    # Create a cursor object to execute SQL commands
    cursor = conn.cursor()

    try:
        # Execute an SQL command to insert data into a table
        cursor.execute("INSERT INTO cars (_make, _model, _price, _year, _desc, _body_style, _engine, _owner) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)", (make, model, price, year, desc, body_style, engine, owner))
        
        # Commit the changes to the database
        conn.commit()
        print(f"A new car has been added")
                
    except sqlite3.Error as error:
        print("Error while executing the INSERT:", error)


    # Close the cursor and connection objects
    cursor.close()
    conn.close()
    
create()
A new car has been added

Read existing records

def read():
    with app.app_context():
        table = Car.query.all()
    json_ready = [car.read() for car in table] # "List Comprehensions", for each user add user.read() to list
    return json_ready

read()
[{'id': 1,
  'make': 'BMW',
  'model': '2 Series',
  'price': 34000,
  'year': 2021,
  'desc': 'The BMW 2 series is a stylish sports coupe that drives just as well as it looks.',
  'body_style': 'coupe',
  'engine': '2.0L four-cylinder',
  'owner': 'John Doe'},
 {'id': 2,
  'make': 'Lotus',
  'model': 'Evora',
  'price': 68000,
  'year': 2019,
  'desc': 'NEW DESCRIPTION!!',
  'body_style': 'Coupe',
  'engine': 'V6',
  'owner': 'John Doe II'},
 {'id': 3,
  'make': 'Toyota',
  'model': 'Sienna',
  'price': 40000,
  'year': 2019,
  'desc': 'Reliable Van',
  'body_style': 'Van',
  'engine': 'Van',
  'owner': 'Johnny Doe'},
 {'id': 4,
  'make': '',
  'model': '',
  'price': '',
  'year': '',
  'desc': '',
  'body_style': '',
  'engine': '',
  'owner': ''}]

Update an existing record

import sqlite3

database = 'instance/cars.db'

# Take the inputs for each attribute
def update():
    id = input("Enter the id of the car:")
    make = input("Enter the make of the car:")
    model = input("Enter the model:")
    price = input("Enter the price:")
    year = input("Enter the year:")
    desc = input("Enter a description of the car:")
    body_style = input("Enter the body style of the car:")
    engine = input("Enter the engine type:")
    owner = input("Who's the owner of the car?")

    # Connect to the database file
    conn = sqlite3.connect(database)

    # Create a cursor object to execute SQL commands
    cursor = conn.cursor()

    try:
        # Execute an SQL command to update data in a table
        # Trying to add dob right now...
        cursor.execute("UPDATE cars SET _make = ?, _model = ?, _price = ?, _year = ?, _desc = ?,  _body_style = ?,  _engine = ?,  _owner = ?  WHERE id = ?", (make, model, price, year, desc, body_style, engine, owner, id))
        if cursor.rowcount == 0:
            # Car ID not found
            print(f"No id was found in the table")
        
        # Commit new data
        else: 
            print(f"Car with the id {id} has been updated")
            conn.commit()

    except sqlite3.Error as error:
        print("Error while updating the record:", error)
    
    # Close the cursor and connection objects
    cursor.close()
    conn.close()
    
update()
Car with the id 2 has been updated

Check the update

Read to check if the record has truly been updated

read()
[{'id': 1,
  'make': 'BMW',
  'model': '2 Series',
  'price': 34000,
  'year': 2021,
  'desc': 'The BMW 2 series is a stylish sports coupe that drives just as well as it looks.',
  'body_style': 'coupe',
  'engine': '2.0L four-cylinder',
  'owner': 'John Doe'},
 {'id': 2,
  'make': 'Lotus',
  'model': 'Evora',
  'price': 68000,
  'year': 2019,
  'desc': 'NEW DESCRIPTION!!',
  'body_style': 'Coupe',
  'engine': 'V6',
  'owner': 'John Doe II'},
 {'id': 3,
  'make': 'Toyota',
  'model': 'Sienna',
  'price': 40000,
  'year': 2019,
  'desc': 'Reliable Van',
  'body_style': 'Van',
  'engine': 'Van',
  'owner': 'Johnny Doe'},
 {'id': 4,
  'make': '',
  'model': '',
  'price': '',
  'year': '',
  'desc': '',
  'body_style': '',
  'engine': '',
  'owner': ''}]

Delete an existing record

import sqlite3

def delete():

    id = input("Select the ID of the car you wish to remove: ")
    
    # Connect to the database file
    conn = sqlite3.connect(database)

    # Create a cursor object to execute SQL commands
    cursor = conn.cursor()

    # Validate the input
    try:
        id = int(id)
    except ValueError:
        print("Invalid input: ID must be an integer.")
        return

    try:
        # Use a parameterized query to prevent SQL injection
        c = conn.cursor()
        c.execute("DELETE FROM cars WHERE id = ?", (id,))
        conn.commit()
        print(f"Row with ID {id} has been deleted.")
    except sqlite3.Error as e:
        print(f"Error deleting row with ID {id}: {e}")
    finally:
        # Close the connection
        cursor.close
        conn.close()

delete()
Row with ID 2 has been deleted.

Run a read to check if the record has truly been deleted

read()
[{'id': 1,
  'make': 'BMW',
  'model': '2 Series',
  'price': 34000,
  'year': 2021,
  'desc': 'The BMW 2 series is a stylish sports coupe that drives just as well as it looks.',
  'body_style': 'coupe',
  'engine': '2.0L four-cylinder',
  'owner': 'John Doe'},
 {'id': 3,
  'make': 'Toyota',
  'model': 'Sienna',
  'price': 40000,
  'year': 2019,
  'desc': 'Reliable Van',
  'body_style': 'Van',
  'engine': 'Van',
  'owner': 'Johnny Doe'},
 {'id': 4,
  'make': '',
  'model': '',
  'price': '',
  'year': '',
  'desc': '',
  'body_style': '',
  'engine': '',
  'owner': ''}]