How to use SQLAlchemy ORM to access ConstantContact Data in Python

The rich ecosystem of Python modules lets you get to work quickly and integrate your systems effectively. With the CData API Driver for Python and the SQLAlchemy toolkit, you can build ConstantContact-connected Python applications and scripts. This article shows how to use SQLAlchemy to connect to ConstantContact data to query ConstantContact data.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData Python Connector offers unmatched performance for interacting with live ConstantContact data in Python. When you issue complex SQL queries from ConstantContact, the CData Connector pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to ConstantContact and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations).

Connecting to ConstantContact Data

Connecting to ConstantContact data looks just like connecting to any relational data source. Create a connection string using the required connection properties. For this article, you will pass the connection string as a parameter to the create_engine function.

Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the ConstantContact Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\ConstantContact.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for Profile (see below).

ConstantContact API Profile Settings

ConstantContact uses OAuth-based authentication.

First, register an OAuth application with ConstantContact. You can do so from the ConstantContact API Guide (https://v3.developer.constantcontact.com/api_guide/index.html), under "MyApplications" > "New Application". Your Oauth application will be assigned a client id (API Key) and you can generate a client secret (Secret).

After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

• AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
• InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to manage the process to obtain the OAuthAccessToken.
• OAuthClientId: Set this to the client_id that is specified in you app settings.
• OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the client_secret that is specified in you app settings.
• CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI you specified in your app settings.

Follow the procedure below to install SQLAlchemy and start accessing ConstantContact through Python objects.

Install Required Modules

Use the pip utility to install the SQLAlchemy toolkit and SQLAlchemy ORM package:

pip install sqlalchemy
pip install sqlalchemy.orm

Be sure to import the appropriate modules:

from sqlalchemy import create_engine, String, Column
from sqlalchemy.ext.declarative import declarative_base
from sqlalchemy.orm import sessionmaker

Model ConstantContact Data in Python

You can now connect with a connection string. Use the create_engine function to create an Engine for working with ConstantContact data.

NOTE: Users should URL encode the any connection string properties that include special characters. For more information, refer to the SQL Alchemy documentation.

engine = create_engine("api:///?Profile=C:\profiles\ConstantContact.apip&Authscheme=OAuth&OAuthClientId=your_client_id&OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret&CallbackUrl=your_callback_url")

Declare a Mapping Class for ConstantContact Data

After establishing the connection, declare a mapping class for the table you wish to model in the ORM (in this article, we will model the Contacts table). Use the sqlalchemy.ext.declarative.declarative_base function and create a new class with some or all of the fields (columns) defined.

base = declarative_base()
class Contacts(base):
	__tablename__ = "Contacts"
	Id = Column(String,primary_key=True)
	EmailAddress = Column(String)
	...

Query ConstantContact Data

With the mapping class prepared, you can use a session object to query the data source. After binding the Engine to the session, provide the mapping class to the session query method.

Using the query Method

engine = create_engine("api:///?Profile=C:\profiles\ConstantContact.apip&Authscheme=OAuth&OAuthClientId=your_client_id&OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret&CallbackUrl=your_callback_url")
factory = sessionmaker(bind=engine)
session = factory()
for instance in session.query(Contacts).filter_by(CompanyName="Acme, Inc."):
	print("Id: ", instance.Id)
	print("EmailAddress: ", instance.EmailAddress)
	print("---------")

Alternatively, you can use the execute method with the appropriate table object. The code below works with an active session.

Using the execute Method

Contacts_table = Contacts.metadata.tables["Contacts"]
for instance in session.execute(Contacts_table.select().where(Contacts_table.c.CompanyName == "Acme, Inc.")):
	print("Id: ", instance.Id)
	print("EmailAddress: ", instance.EmailAddress)
	print("---------")

For examples of more complex querying, including JOINs, aggregations, limits, and more, refer to the Help documentation for the extension.

Free Trial & More Information

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData API Driver for Python to start building Python apps and scripts with connectivity to ConstantContact data. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.