Essential SQLAlchemy Mapping python to Databases by Rick Copeland

This book is about a very powerful and flexible Python library named SQLAlchemy that bridges the gap between relational databases and traditional object-oriented programming. While SQLAlchemy allows you to “drop down” into raw SQL to execute your queries, it encourages higher-level thinking through a “pythonic” approach to database queries and updates. It supplies the tools that let you map your application’s classes and objects onto database tables once and then “forget about it,” or return to your model again and again to fine-tune performance. SQLAlchemy is powerful and flexible, but it can also be a little daunting. SQLAlchemy tutorials expose only a fraction of what’s available in this excellent library, and though the online documentation is extensive, it is often better as a reference than a way to learn the library initially. This book is meant as both a learning tool and a handy reference for when you’re in “implementation mode,” and need an answer fast.