How to use SQLAlchemy ORM to access FormSite Data in Python

The rich ecosystem of Python modules lets you get to work quickly and integrate your systems effectively. With the CData API Driver for Python and the SQLAlchemy toolkit, you can build FormSite-connected Python applications and scripts. This article shows how to use SQLAlchemy to connect to FormSite data to query FormSite data.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData Python Connector offers unmatched performance for interacting with live FormSite data in Python. When you issue complex SQL queries from FormSite, the CData Connector pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to FormSite and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations).

Connecting to FormSite Data

Connecting to FormSite data looks just like connecting to any relational data source. Create a connection string using the required connection properties. For this article, you will pass the connection string as a parameter to the create_engine function.

Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the FormSite Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\FormSite.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for FormSite (see below).

FormSite API Profile Settings

Log into your Formsite account and visit the Admin Portal to generate or retrieve your API key. Your

ServerNumber

is the numeric part of your server URL and

UserDirectory

is your account's directory path.

Follow the procedure below to install SQLAlchemy and start accessing FormSite through Python objects.

Install Required Modules

Use the pip utility to install the SQLAlchemy toolkit and SQLAlchemy ORM package:

pip install sqlalchemy
pip install sqlalchemy.orm

Be sure to import the appropriate modules:

from sqlalchemy import create_engine, String, Column
from sqlalchemy.ext.declarative import declarative_base
from sqlalchemy.orm import sessionmaker

Model FormSite Data in Python

You can now connect with a connection string. Use the create_engine function to create an Engine for working with FormSite data.

NOTE: Users should URL encode the any connection string properties that include special characters. For more information, refer to the SQL Alchemy documentation.

engine = create_engine("api:///?Profile=C:\profiles\FormSite.apip&ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_key&ServerNumber=your_server_number&UserDirectory=your_user_directory'")

Declare a Mapping Class for FormSite Data

After establishing the connection, declare a mapping class for the table you wish to model in the ORM (in this article, we will model the FormItems table). Use the sqlalchemy.ext.declarative.declarative_base function and create a new class with some or all of the fields (columns) defined.

base = declarative_base()
class FormItems(base):
	__tablename__ = "FormItems"
	Id = Column(String,primary_key=True)
	Label = Column(String)
	...

Query FormSite Data

With the mapping class prepared, you can use a session object to query the data source. After binding the Engine to the session, provide the mapping class to the session query method.

Using the query Method

engine = create_engine("api:///?Profile=C:\profiles\FormSite.apip&ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_key&ServerNumber=your_server_number&UserDirectory=your_user_directory'")
factory = sessionmaker(bind=engine)
session = factory()
for instance in session.query(FormItems).filter_by(Position="1"):
	print("Id: ", instance.Id)
	print("Label: ", instance.Label)
	print("---------")

Alternatively, you can use the execute method with the appropriate table object. The code below works with an active session.

Using the execute Method

FormItems_table = FormItems.metadata.tables["FormItems"]
for instance in session.execute(FormItems_table.select().where(FormItems_table.c.Position == "1")):
	print("Id: ", instance.Id)
	print("Label: ", instance.Label)
	print("---------")

For examples of more complex querying, including JOINs, aggregations, limits, and more, refer to the Help documentation for the extension.

Free Trial & More Information

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData API Driver for Python to start building Python apps and scripts with connectivity to FormSite data. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.