# Flask Scotch
Tape a REST API with a local database
## Key Features
- Represent remote model in the form of a python class to be able to manipuldate easily
- Fetch objects from the database or from the remote API using the attributes of the declared models
- Update/delete/create object on the remote API using the declared models
## Install
`pip install flask-scotch`
## Getting started
First, you need to register the extension in flask
```python
from flask_scotch import FlaskScotch
from flask import Flask
# Configure the URL of the remote API with the configuration
# SCOTCH_API_URL='https://mysite.com/api/v1'
# Register the sqlAlchemy engine with flask-sqlalchemy, or provide it directly
# in the constructor
scotch = FlaskScotch()
app = Flask()
scotch.init_app(app)
```
Then, you can declare the "remote model", that is, the model present on the remote server.
```python
from flask_scotch import RemoteModel, LocalRelationship, LocalModel, RemoteRelationship
import sqlalchemy as sa
db = sa.create_engine()
class Item(LocalModel, db.Model):
__remote_directory__ = 'items'
id: int
name: str
description: str
storage_id: int
storage = RemoteRelationship("Storage")
class Storage(RemoteModel):
id = sa.Column(sa.Integer, primary_key=True)
name = sa.Column(sa.String)
items = LocalRelationship("Item")
# You can then use this model to fetch data from the remote api:
all_items = Storage.api.all()
my_storage = Storage(id=10, name='pen')
final_storage = Storage.api.create(my_storage)
final_storage.name = 'green pen'
final_storage.update()
items = [Item(storage_id=10, name="item1"), Item(storage_id=10, name="item2")]
db.session.add(*items)
db.session.commit()
# Can now access the local items from
# the storage object
for item in my_storage.items:
print(item)
final_storage.delete()
```
## TODO
- [x] ForeignModel: to be able to access an object from the API when it's accessed from a local model
- [x] Handle 1:1 relations
- [ ] Handle 1:N relations
- [x] LocalModel:
- [x] Handle 1:1 relations
- [x] Handle 1:N relations
- [x] ForeignModel and LocalModel: ability to reference a class with a string, rather than with the class directly
- [ ] LocalModel, propagates changes when added to list, so that sqlAlchemy updates the id when necessary (maybe
using [InstrumentedList](https://github.com/sqlalchemy/sqlalchemy/blob/main/lib/sqlalchemy/orm/collections.py) can
help)
- [ ] Improve handling of return values from the API, and throw error based on the HTTP code returned
- [ ] Improve typing of all public functions and classes
- [ ] Automatically detect cross-referencing PartialModels and RemoteModel to avoid having to declare everything
- [ ] Have a 100% code coverage
