# SQLAlchemy 0.4 Documentation

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Version: 0.4.6 Last Updated: 05/14/08 14:36:43

### module sqlalchemy.orm.session

Provides the Session class and related utilities.

### class Session(object)

Encapsulates a set of objects being operated upon within an object-relational operation.

The Session is the front end to SQLAlchemy's Unit of Work implementation. The concept behind Unit of Work is to track modifications to a field of objects, and then be able to flush those changes to the database in a single operation.

SQLAlchemy's unit of work includes these functions:

- The ability to track in-memory changes on scalar- and collection-based object attributes, such that database persistence operations can be assembled based on those changes.
- The ability to organize individual SQL queries and population of newly generated primary and foreign key-holding attributes during a persist operation such that referential integrity is maintained at all times.
- The ability to maintain insert ordering against the order in which new instances were added to the session.
- an Identity Map, which is a dictionary keying instances to their unique primary key identity. This ensures that only one copy of a particular entity is ever present within the session, even if repeated load operations for the same entity occur. This allows many parts of an application to get a handle to a particular object without any chance of modifications going to two different places.

When dealing with instances of mapped classes, an instance may be attached to a particular Session, else it is unattached . An instance also may or may not correspond to an actual row in the database. These conditions break up into four distinct states:

- Transient - an instance that's not in a session, and is not saved to the database; i.e. it has no database identity. The only relationship such an object has to the ORM is that its class has a mapper() associated with it.
- Pending - when you save() a transient instance, it becomes pending. It still wasn't actually flushed to the database yet, but it will be when the next flush occurs.
- Persistent - An instance which is present in the session and has a record in the database. You get persistent instances by either flushing so that the pending instances become persistent, or by querying the database for existing instances (or moving persistent instances from other sessions into your local session).
- Detached - an instance which has a record in the database, but is not in any session. Theres nothing wrong with this, and you can use objects normally when they're detached, except they will not be able to issue any SQL in order to load collections or attributes which are not yet loaded, or were marked as "expired".

The session methods which control instance state include `save()`, `update()`, `save_or_update()`, `delete()`, `merge()`, and `expunge()`.

The Session object is not threadsafe, particularly during flush operations. A session which is only read from (i.e. is never flushed) can be used by concurrent threads if it's acceptable that some object instances may be loaded twice.

The typical pattern to managing Sessions in a multi-threaded environment is either to use mutexes to limit concurrent access to one thread at a time, or more commonly to establish a unique session for every thread, using a threadlocal variable. SQLAlchemy provides a thread-managed Session adapter, provided by the scoped_session() function.

def __init__(self, bind=None, autoflush=True, transactional=False, twophase=False, echo_uow=False, weak_identity_map=True, binds=None, extension=None)

Construct a new Session.

A session is usually constructed using the create_session() function, or its more "automated" variant sessionmaker().

autoflush
  When `True`, all query operations will issue a `flush()` call to this `Session` before proceeding. This is a convenience feature so that `flush()` need not be called repeatedly in order for database queries to retrieve results. It's typical that `autoflush` is used in conjunction with `transactional=True`, so that `flush()` is never called; you just call `commit()` when changes are complete to finalize all changes to the database.
bind
  An optional `Engine` or `Connection` to which this `Session` should be bound. When specified, all SQL operations performed by this session will execute via this connectable.
binds

  An optional dictionary, which contains more granular "bind" information than the `bind` parameter provides. This dictionary can map individual `Table` instances as well as `Mapper` instances to individual `Engine` or `Connection` objects. Operations which proceed relative to a particular `Mapper` will consult this dictionary for the direct `Mapper` instance as well as the mapper's `mapped_table` attribute in order to locate an connectable to use. The full resolution is described in the `get_bind()` method of `Session`. Usage looks like:

      sess = Session(binds={
          SomeMappedClass : create_engine('postgres://engine1'),
          somemapper : create_engine('postgres://engine2'),
          some_table : create_engine('postgres://engine3'),
      })

  Also see the `bind_mapper()` and `bind_table()` methods.

echo_uow
  When `True`, configure Python logging to dump all unit-of-work transactions. This is the equivalent of `logging.getLogger('sqlalchemy.orm.unitofwork').setLevel(logging.DEBUG)`.
extension
  An optional SessionExtension instance, which will receive pre- and post- commit and flush events, as well as a post-rollback event. User- defined code may be placed within these hooks using a user-defined subclass of `SessionExtension`.
transactional
  Set up this `Session` to automatically begin transactions. Setting this flag to `True` is the rough equivalent of calling `begin()` after each `commit()` operation, after each `rollback()`, and after each `close()`. Basically, this has the effect that all session operations are performed within the context of a transaction. Note that the `begin()` operation does not immediately utilize any connection resources; only when connection resources are first required do they get allocated into a transactional context.
twophase
  When `True`, all transactions will be started using [sqlalchemy.engine_TwoPhaseTransaction]. During a `commit()`, after `flush()` has been issued for all attached databases, the `prepare()` method on each database's `TwoPhaseTransaction` will be called. This allows each database to roll back the entire transaction, before each transaction is committed.
weak_identity_map
  When set to the default value of `False`, a weak-referencing map is used; instances which are not externally referenced will be garbage collected immediately. For dereferenced instances which have pending changes present, the attribute management system will create a temporary strong-reference to the object which lasts until the changes are flushed to the database, at which point it's again dereferenced. Alternatively, when using the value `True`, the identity map uses a regular Python dictionary to store instances. The session will maintain all instances present until they are removed using expunge(), clear(), or purge().

def begin(self, **kwargs)

Begin a transaction on this Session.

def begin(self, **kwargs)

Begin a transaction on this Session.

def begin_nested(self)

Begin a nested transaction on this Session.

This utilizes a `SAVEPOINT` transaction for databases which support this feature.

def bind_mapper(self, mapper, bind, entity_name=None)

Bind the given mapper or class to the given `Engine` or `Connection`.

All subsequent operations involving this `Mapper` will use the given bind.

def bind_table(self, table, bind)

Bind the given table to the given `Engine` or `Connection`.

All subsequent operations involving this `Table` will use the given bind.

def clear(self)

Remove all object instances from this `Session`.

This is equivalent to calling `expunge()` for all objects in this `Session`.

def close(self)

Close this Session.

This clears all items and ends any transaction in progress.

If this session were created with `transactional=True`, a new transaction is immediately begun. Note that this new transaction does not use any connection resources until they are first needed.

def close_all(cls)

Close all sessions in memory.

def commit(self)

Commit the current transaction in progress.

If no transaction is in progress, this method raises an InvalidRequestError.

If the `begin()` method was called on this `Session` additional times subsequent to its first call, `commit()` will not actually commit, and instead pops an internal SessionTransaction off its internal stack of transactions. Only when the "root" SessionTransaction is reached does an actual database-level commit occur.

def connection(self, mapper=None, clause=None, instance=None)

Return a `Connection` corresponding to this session's transactional context, if any.

If this `Session` is transactional, the connection will be in the context of this session's transaction. Otherwise, the connection is returned by the `contextual_connect()` method on the engine.

The mapper argument is a class or mapper to which a bound engine will be located; use this when the Session itself is either bound to multiple engines or connections, or is not bound to any connectable.

**kwargs are additional arguments which will be passed to get_bind(). See the get_bind() method for details. Note that the `ShardedSession` subclass takes a different get_bind() argument signature.

def delete(self, instance)

Mark the given instance as deleted.

The delete operation occurs upon `flush()`.

deleted = property()

Return a `Set` of all instances marked as 'deleted' within this `Session`

dirty = property()

Return a `Set` of all instances marked as 'dirty' within this `Session`.

Note that the 'dirty' state here is 'optimistic'; most attribute-setting or collection modification operations will mark an instance as 'dirty' and place it in this set, even if there is no net change to the attribute's value. At flush time, the value of each attribute is compared to its previously saved value, and if there's no net change, no SQL operation will occur (this is a more expensive operation so it's only done at flush time).

To check if an instance has actionable net changes to its attributes, use the is_modified() method.

def execute(self, clause, params=None, mapper=None, instance=None)

Execute the given clause, using the current transaction (if any).

Returns a `ResultProxy` corresponding to the execution's results.

clause
  a ClauseElement (i.e. select(), text(), etc.) or string SQL statement to be executed
params
  a dictionary of bind parameters.
mapper
  a mapped class or Mapper instance which may be needed in order to locate the proper bind. This is typically if the Session is not directly bound to a single engine.
instance
  used by some Query operations to further identify the proper bind, in the case of ShardedSession.

def expire(self, instance, attribute_names=None)

Expire the attributes on the given instance.

The instance's attributes are instrumented such that when an attribute is next accessed, a query will be issued to the database which will refresh all attributes with their current value.

The `attribute_names` argument is an iterable collection of attribute names indicating a subset of attributes to be expired.

def expire_all(self)

Expires all persistent instances within this Session.

def expunge(self, instance)

Remove the given instance from this `Session`.

This will free all internal references to the instance. Cascading will be applied according to the expunge cascade rule.

def flush(self, objects=None)

Flush all the object modifications present in this session to the database.

objects is a collection or iterator of objects specifically to be flushed; if `None`, all new and modified objects are flushed.

def get(self, class_, ident, **kwargs)

Return an instance of the object based on the given identifier, or `None` if not found.

The ident argument is a scalar or tuple of primary key column values in the order of the table def's primary key columns.

The entity_name keyword argument may also be specified which further qualifies the underlying Mapper used to perform the query.

def get_bind(self, mapper, clause=None, instance=None)

Return an engine corresponding to the given arguments.

mapper
  mapper relative to the desired operation.
clause
  a ClauseElement which is to be executed. if mapper is not present, this may be used to locate Table objects, which are then associated with mappers which have associated binds.
instance
  an ORM mapped instance which may be used to further locate the correct bind. This is currently used by the ShardedSession subclass.

def identity_key(cls, *args, **kwargs)

Get an identity key.

Valid call signatures:

- `identity_key(class, ident, entity_name=None)`

  class

    mapped class (must be a positional argument)

  ident

    primary key, if the key is composite this is a tuple

  entity_name

    optional entity name

- `identity_key(instance=instance)`

  instance

    object instance (must be given as a keyword arg)

- `identity_key(class, row=row, entity_name=None)`

  class

    mapped class (must be a positional argument)

  row

    result proxy row (must be given as a keyword arg)

  entity_name

    optional entity name (must be given as a keyword arg)

def is_modified(self, instance, include_collections=True, passive=False)

Return True if the given instance has modified attributes.

This method retrieves a history instance for each instrumented attribute on the instance and performs a comparison of the current value to its previously committed value. Note that instances present in the 'dirty' collection may result in a value of `False` when tested with this method.

include_collections indicates if multivalued collections should be included in the operation. Setting this to False is a way to detect only local-column based properties (i.e. scalar columns or many-to-one foreign keys) that would result in an UPDATE for this instance upon flush.

The passive flag indicates if unloaded attributes and collections should not be loaded in the course of performing this test.

def load(self, class_, ident, **kwargs)

Return an instance of the object based on the given identifier.

If not found, raises an exception. The method will remove all pending changes to the object already existing in the `Session`. The ident argument is a scalar or tuple of primary key columns in the order of the table def's primary key columns.

The entity_name keyword argument may also be specified which further qualifies the underlying `Mapper` used to perform the query.

def merge(self, instance, entity_name=None, dont_load=False, _recursive=None)

Copy the state of the given instance onto the persistent instance with the same identifier.

If there is no persistent instance currently associated with the session, it will be loaded. Return the persistent instance. If the given instance is unsaved, save a copy of and return it as a newly persistent instance. The given instance does not become associated with the session.

This operation cascades to associated instances if the association is mapped with `cascade="merge"`.

new = property()

Return a `Set` of all instances marked as 'new' within this `Session`.

def object_session(cls, instance)

Return the `Session` to which the given object belongs.

def prepare(self)

Prepare the current transaction in progress for two phase commit.

If no transaction is in progress, this method raises an InvalidRequestError.

Only root transactions of two phase sessions can be prepared. If the current transaction is not such, an InvalidRequestError is raised.

def prune(self)

Remove unreferenced instances cached in the identity map.

Note that this method is only meaningful if "weak_identity_map" is set to False.

Removes any object in this Session's identity map that is not referenced in user code, modified, new or scheduled for deletion. Returns the number of objects pruned.

def query(self, mapper_or_class, *addtl_entities, **kwargs)

Return a new `Query` object corresponding to this `Session` and the mapper, or the classes' primary mapper.

def refresh(self, instance, attribute_names=None)

Refresh the attributes on the given instance.

When called, a query will be issued to the database which will refresh all attributes with their current value.

Lazy-loaded relational attributes will remain lazily loaded, so that the instance-wide refresh operation will be followed immediately by the lazy load of that attribute.

Eagerly-loaded relational attributes will eagerly load within the single refresh operation.

The `attribute_names` argument is an iterable collection of attribute names indicating a subset of attributes to be refreshed.

def rollback(self)

Rollback the current transaction in progress.

If no transaction is in progress, this method is a pass-thru.

def save(self, instance, entity_name=None)

Add a transient (unsaved) instance to this `Session`.

This operation cascades the save_or_update method to associated instances if the relation is mapped with `cascade="save-update"`.

The entity_name keyword argument will further qualify the specific `Mapper` used to handle this instance.

def save_or_update(self, instance, entity_name=None)

Save or update the given instance into this `Session`.

The presence of an _instance_key attribute on the instance determines whether to `save()` or `update()` the instance.

def scalar(self, clause, params=None, mapper=None, instance=None)

Like execute() but return a scalar result.

def update(self, instance, entity_name=None)

Bring the given detached (saved) instance into this `Session`.

If there is a persistent instance with the same instance key, but different identity already associated with this `Session`, an InvalidRequestError exception is thrown.

This operation cascades the save_or_update method to associated instances if the relation is mapped with `cascade="save-update"`.

def __contains__(self, instance)

Return True if the given instance is associated with this session.

The instance may be pending or persistent within the Session for a result of True.

def __iter__(self)

Return an iterator of all instances which are pending or persistent within this Session.

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### class SessionExtension(object)

An extension hook object for Sessions. Subclasses may be installed into a Session (or sessionmaker) using the `extension` keyword argument.

def after_begin(self, session, transaction, connection)

Execute after a transaction is begun on a connection

transaction is the SessionTransaction. This method is called after an engine level transaction is begun on a connection.

def after_commit(self, session)

Execute after a commit has occured.

Note that this may not be per-flush if a longer running transaction is ongoing.

def after_flush(self, session, flush_context)

Execute after flush has completed, but before commit has been called.

Note that the session's state is still in pre-flush, i.e. 'new', 'dirty', and 'deleted' lists still show pre-flush state as well as the history settings on instance attributes.

def after_flush_postexec(self, session, flush_context)

Execute after flush has completed, and after the post-exec state occurs.

This will be when the 'new', 'dirty', and 'deleted' lists are in their final state. An actual commit() may or may not have occured, depending on whether or not the flush started its own transaction or participated in a larger transaction.

def after_rollback(self, session)

Execute after a rollback has occured.

Note that this may not be per-flush if a longer running transaction is ongoing.

def before_commit(self, session)

Execute right before commit is called.

Note that this may not be per-flush if a longer running transaction is ongoing.

def before_flush(self, session, flush_context, instances)

Execute before flush process has started.

instances is an optional list of objects which were passed to the `flush()` method.

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