SQLAlchemy is the Python SQL Toolkit and Object Relational Mapper that gives application developers the full power and flexibility of SQL.
It provides a full suite of well known enterprise-level persistence patterns, designed for efficient and high-performing database access, adapted into a simple and Pythonic domain language.
SQLALCHEMY'S PHILOSOPHY
SQL databases behave less like object collections the more size and performance start to matter; object collections behave less like tables and rows the more Abstraction starts to matter. SQLAlchemy aims to accommodate both of these principles.
SQLAlchemy doesn't view databases as just collections of tables; it SEES them as relational algebra engines. Its object relational mapper enables classes to be mapped against the database in more than one way. SQL constructs don't just select from just tables—you can also select from joins, subqueries, and unions. Thus database relationships and domain object models can be cleanly decoupled from the beginning, allowing both sides to develop to their full potential.
The main goal of SQLAlchemy is to change the way you think about databases and SQL!
Most importantly, SQLAlchemy is not just an ORM. Its data abstraction Layer allows construction and manipulation of SQL expressions in a platform agnostic way, and offers easy to use and superfast result objects, as well as table creation and schema reflection utilities. No object relational mapping whatsoever is involved until you import the orm package. Or use SQLAlchemy to write your own !
