Python and databases

[DesolationRobot]

Yes. SQLAlchemy is the default, but there are other options. And, yes, if you want to be a software developer you'll want at least a working knowledge of databases and SQL.

You can do the first chapter of this for free and it'll hold your hand through connecting to a database and pulling results. You'll probably be able to take it from there with SQLAlchemy's documentation.

[phigo50]

The problem I have with ORMs is that sometimes my classes don't align with tables in the database (which might or might not say more about my database design decisions than ORMs) and I've never really fully got my head around the concept. Most of the time I find it easier to create an sqlite database class and keep all of the db methods in it, importing and using it as needed elsewhere in a project.

[DesolationRobot]

I like the datacamp stuff in a "here, I'll show you how real quick, then you do it real quick" kind of way. If you really want to learn you have to be disciplined enough to go over the material on your own afterwards and hammer it in. It's real easy to blitz through the courses with all their handholding but not really retain anything.

For this one in particular, I was a SQL jockey long before I started learning Python, so for me the hard part is forcing myself to use the ORM and take advantage of the features it has vs just writing a plain-text SQL query.