We will use Neon Serverless Postgres as our database and use SQLAlchemy as our ORM. We will follow these tutorials:
https://neon.tech/docs/guides/sqlalchemy
https://docs.sqlalchemy.org/en/20/tutorial/
SqlAlchemy is a popular Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) library in Python that provides a way to interact with databases using Python objects rather than writing raw SQL queries.
However, I can provide you with a general explanation of the advantages of using SQLAlchemy or any ORM in a Python project, which can be applied to various databases.
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Abstraction of Database Complexity: ORMs like SQLAlchemy abstract away the underlying database complexities. Developers can work with Python classes and objects, which are more intuitive and familiar than writing SQL queries directly. This abstraction makes it easier to work with databases, especially for developers who are not SQL experts.
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Portability: ORMs provide a level of database independence. You can write code using SQLAlchemy, and with minimal changes, switch between different database systems (e.g., SQLite, PostgreSQL, MySQL) without having to rewrite your entire database access layer.
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Object-Oriented Approach: ORMs allow you to work with databases using object-oriented programming principles. Database tables are typically represented as Python classes, and rows in those tables become instances of those classes. This approach can make the code more organized and maintainable.
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Improved Readability and Maintainability: Code that uses an ORM tends to be more readable and maintainable than raw SQL queries. It's easier to understand and debug Python code that manipulates objects and attributes rather than dealing with complex SQL statements.
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Security: ORMs help prevent SQL injection attacks by automatically escaping and sanitizing input data. This can enhance the security of your application.
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Query Building: ORMs provide a high-level API for building database queries. This can simplify complex queries and joins, as well as make it easier to filter, sort, and aggregate data.
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Middleware and Hooks: ORMs often provide hooks and middleware for database interactions, allowing you to add custom logic, validation, or auditing to your database operations.
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Testing: ORM-based code is often easier to test because you can work with in-memory databases or fixtures, making it simpler to set up and tear down test data.
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Integration with Frameworks: Many web frameworks (e.g., Flask, Django) have built-in support or plugins for popular ORMs like SQLAlchemy, making it seamless to integrate database operations into web applications.
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Community and Ecosystem: Popular ORMs like SQLAlchemy have active communities and extensive documentation. You can find many resources, tutorials, and plugins to help you work with databases effectively.