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How to use SQLAlchemy ORM to access Zoho Inventory Data in Python
Create Python applications and scripts that use SQLAlchemy Object-Relational Mappings of Zoho Inventory data.
The rich ecosystem of Python modules lets you get to work quickly and integrate your systems effectively. With the CData Python Connector for Zoho Inventory and the SQLAlchemy toolkit, you can build Zoho Inventory-connected Python applications and scripts. This article shows how to use SQLAlchemy to connect to Zoho Inventory data to query, update, delete, and insert Zoho Inventory data.
With built-in optimized data processing, the CData Python Connector offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Zoho Inventory data in Python. When you issue complex SQL queries from Zoho Inventory, the CData Connector pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Zoho Inventory and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations).
Connecting to Zoho Inventory Data
Connecting to Zoho Inventory 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.
In order to connect to Zoho Inventory, set the following connection properties:
- OrganizationId: set this to the ID associated with your specific Zoho Inventory organization
- InitiateOAuth: set the to "GETANDREFRESH"
- AccountsServer (Optional): set this full Account Server URL (only when manually refreshing the OAuth token)
The connectors use OAuth to authenticate with Zoho Inventory. For more information, refer to the Getting Started section of the Help documentation.
Follow the procedure below to install SQLAlchemy and start accessing Zoho Inventory 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 Zoho Inventory Data in Python
You can now connect with a connection string. Use the create_engine function to create an Engine for working with Zoho Inventory 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("zohoinventory:///?OrganizationId=YourOrganizationId&AccountsServer=YourAccountServerURL&InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH&OAuthSettingsLocation=/PATH/TO/OAuthSettings.txt")
Declare a Mapping Class for Zoho Inventory 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 Contacts 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 Contacts(base):
__tablename__ = "Contacts"
Id = Column(String,primary_key=True)
CustomerName = Column(String)
...
Query Zoho Inventory 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("zohoinventory:///?OrganizationId=YourOrganizationId&AccountsServer=YourAccountServerURL&InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH&OAuthSettingsLocation=/PATH/TO/OAuthSettings.txt")
factory = sessionmaker(bind=engine)
session = factory()
for instance in session.query(Contacts).filter_by(FirstName="Katherine"):
print("Id: ", instance.Id)
print("CustomerName: ", instance.CustomerName)
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
Contacts_table = Contacts.metadata.tables["Contacts"]
for instance in session.execute(Contacts_table.select().where(Contacts_table.c.FirstName == "Katherine")):
print("Id: ", instance.Id)
print("CustomerName: ", instance.CustomerName)
print("---------")
For examples of more complex querying, including JOINs, aggregations, limits, and more, refer to the Help documentation for the extension.
Insert Zoho Inventory Data
To insert Zoho Inventory data, define an instance of the mapped class and add it to the active session. Call the commit function on the session to push all added instances to Zoho Inventory.
new_rec = Contacts(Id="placeholder", FirstName="Katherine")
session.add(new_rec)
session.commit()
Update Zoho Inventory Data
To update Zoho Inventory data, fetch the desired record(s) with a filter query. Then, modify the values of the fields and call the commit function on the session to push the modified record to Zoho Inventory.
updated_rec = session.query(Contacts).filter_by(SOME_ID_COLUMN="SOME_ID_VALUE").first()
updated_rec.FirstName = "Katherine"
session.commit()
Delete Zoho Inventory Data
To delete Zoho Inventory data, fetch the desired record(s) with a filter query. Then delete the record with the active session and call the commit function on the session to perform the delete operation on the provided records (rows).
deleted_rec = session.query(Contacts).filter_by(SOME_ID_COLUMN="SOME_ID_VALUE").first()
session.delete(deleted_rec)
session.commit()
Free Trial & More Information
Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData Python Connector for Zoho Inventory to start building Python apps and scripts with connectivity to Zoho Inventory data. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.
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