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

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

Connecting to Short.io Data

Connecting to Short.io 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

Short.io uses API Key authentication. To obtain your API key:

1. Log in to your Short.io account
2. Navigate to Settings > Integrations & API > API
3. Click Create API Key and copy your API key

After obtaining the API key, you are ready to connect:

• AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
• APIKey: Set this to your Short.io API key obtained from Settings > Integrations & API > API.

Example connection string:

Profile=C:\profiles\ShortIo.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_key';

Available Tables

The Short.io profile provides access to the following tables:

• Domains - Short.io domains associated with the authenticated account
• Links - Short links for a domain
• LinkExpand - Expand a short link by domain and path
• LinksByOriginalUrl - Retrieve multiple short links matching a given original destination URL
• Folders - Link folders within a specific domain
• LinkPermissions - Permission records for a specific link within a domain
• CountryTargeting - Country-based redirect targeting rules for a specific short link
• RegionTargeting - Region-based redirect targeting rules for a specific short link
• Regions - List of available regions/states for a given country code
• DomainStatistics - Aggregated click and traffic statistics for a Short.io domain
• LinkStatistics - Aggregated click and traffic statistics for a specific Short.io link

Follow the procedure below to install SQLAlchemy and start accessing Short.io 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 Short.io Data in Python

You can now connect with a connection string. Use the create_engine function to create an Engine for working with Short.io 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\ShortIo.apip&AuthScheme=APIKey&ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_key'")

Declare a Mapping Class for Short.io 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 Domains 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 Domains(base):
	__tablename__ = "Domains"
	 = Column(String,primary_key=True)
	 = Column(String)
	...

Query Short.io 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\ShortIo.apip&AuthScheme=APIKey&ProfileSettings='APIKey=your_api_key'")
factory = sessionmaker(bind=engine)
session = factory()
for instance in session.query(Domains).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

Domains_table = Domains.metadata.tables["Domains"]
for instance in session.execute(Domains_table.select().where(Domains_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 Short.io data. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.