Chapter 8. The Python Database API

Introduction

Python is a portable, platform-independent, open-source programming language that has gained favor with developers for its versatility and ease of use. Python is an interpreted, scripting language that allows developers to do everything from creating web sites, to developing applications and scripts, to accessing data in databases.

The Python Database API (DB-API) Specification was produced by the Python Database Special Interest Group (SIG) to provide a product-neutral interface for accessing and manipulating data stored in database management systems. The DB-API allows developers to write applications that are transportable between database products. Red Hat Database (RHDB) ships with a Python Database API module, pgdb.py, which implements the Python Database API Specification Version 2.0.

You can find the specification at http://www.python.org/topics/database/DatabaseAPI-2.0.html

This chapter provides an overview of how to use the Python Database API with Red Hat Database.