How to use SQLAlchemy ORM to access Nuclia 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 Nuclia-connected Python applications and scripts. This article shows how to use SQLAlchemy to connect to Nuclia data to query Nuclia data.

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

Connecting to Nuclia Data

Connecting to Nuclia 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.

Using API Key Authentication

Nuclia uses API key authentication for accessing Knowledge Box data. To obtain an API key:

1. Log in to the Nuclia Cloud Dashboard at https://nuclia.cloud
2. Navigate to your Knowledge Box settings
3. Go to the Service Accounts section
4. Create a new service account or copy an existing API key

After obtaining your API key, set the following connection properties:

• AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
• APIKey: Set this to your Nuclia service account API key.
• KbId: Set this to your Knowledge Box UUID.
• Zone: Set this to your Nuclia deployment zone (e.g., aws-us-east-2-1).

Example Connection String

Profile=C:\profiles\Nuclia.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;APIKey=your_service_account_key;KbId=your_kb_uuid;Zone=aws-us-east-2-1;

Connecting to Nuclia

Once the authentication is configured, you can connect to Nuclia and query data from any of the available tables such as Resources, KnowledgeBox, LabelSets, and ProcessingStatus.

Follow the procedure below to install SQLAlchemy and start accessing Nuclia 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 Nuclia Data in Python

You can now connect with a connection string. Use the create_engine function to create an Engine for working with Nuclia 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\Nuclia.apip&AuthScheme=APIKey&APIKey=your_service_account_key&KbId=your_kb_uuid&Zone=aws-us-east-2-1")

Declare a Mapping Class for Nuclia 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 KnowledgeBox 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 KnowledgeBox(base):
	__tablename__ = "KnowledgeBox"
	 = Column(String,primary_key=True)
	 = Column(String)
	...

Query Nuclia 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\Nuclia.apip&AuthScheme=APIKey&APIKey=your_service_account_key&KbId=your_kb_uuid&Zone=aws-us-east-2-1")
factory = sessionmaker(bind=engine)
session = factory()
for instance in session.query(KnowledgeBox).filter_by(=""):
	print(": ", instance.)
	print(": ", instance.)
	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

KnowledgeBox_table = KnowledgeBox.metadata.tables["KnowledgeBox"]
for instance in session.execute(KnowledgeBox_table.select().where(KnowledgeBox_table.c. == "")):
	print(": ", instance.)
	print(": ", instance.)
	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 Nuclia data. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.