Getting Started¶

A high level view and getting set up.

Overview | Installation Guide | Frequently Asked Questions | Migration from 0.9 | Glossary | Changelog catalog

SQLAlchemy ORM¶

Here, the Object Relational Mapper is introduced and fully described. If you want to work with higher-level SQL which is constructed automatically for you, as well as automated persistence of Python objects, proceed first to the tutorial.

• Read this first: Object Relational Tutorial
• ORM Configuration: Mapper Configuration | Relationship Configuration
• Configuration Extensions: Declarative Extension | Association Proxy | Hybrid Attributes | Automap | Mutable Scalars
• ORM Usage: Session Usage and Guidelines | Loading Objects | Cached Query Extension
• Extending the ORM: ORM Events and Internals
• Other: Introduction to Examples

SQLAlchemy Core¶

The breadth of SQLAlchemy’s SQL rendering engine, DBAPI integration, transaction integration, and schema description services are documented here. In contrast to the ORM’s domain-centric mode of usage, the SQL Expression Language provides a schema-centric usage paradigm.

• Read this first: SQL Expression Language Tutorial
• All the Built In SQL: SQL Expression API
• Engines, Connections, Pools: Engine Configuration | Connections, Transactions | Connection Pooling
• Schema Definition: Overview | Tables and Columns | Database Introspection (Reflection) | Insert/Update Defaults | Constraints and Indexes | Using Data Definition Language (DDL)
• Datatypes: Overview | Building Custom Types | API
• Core Basics: Overview | Runtime Inspection API | Event System | Core Event Interfaces | Creating Custom SQL Constructs |

Dialect Documentation¶

The dialect is the system SQLAlchemy uses to communicate with various types of DBAPIs and databases. This section describes notes, options, and usage patterns regarding individual dialects.

Index of all Dialects