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Database Changes

💡 TL;DR - Executable Test Suite, Documentation

You can change your database schema and rebuild your project ("schema migration"), preserving customizations to your api and admin app. You can drive changes from either:

  • Your database, using your database tools

  • Your database/models.py file, using alembic to drive those changes into the database

To reconcile your api and admin app, you then issue als rebuild-from-model or 'rebuild-from-database`

 

Rebuilding

Ignoring the boxes labeled "rebuild", the key elements of the creation process are illustrated below:

  • the system reads the database schema to create models.py

  • models.py drives the creation process

  • you customize the created project, mainly by altering the files on the far right

As shown in the diagram, creation is always driven from models.py. Models differ from physical schemas in important ways:

  • the system ensures that class names are capitalized and singular

  • there are good reasons to customize models.py:

  • to add foreign keys missing in the database - these are critical for multi-table apis and applications
  • to provide better naming

You can rebuild your project, preserving customizations (including any additional files you have created). You have 2 alternatives, depending on where you choose the "source of truth" for your database:

Source of Truth Means Use rebuild option
Database The schema is the source of truth

It includes all the foreign keys		 rebuild-from-datatabase: rebuilds the files shown in blue and purple.
Model Model is the source of truth

Use SQLAlchemy services to drive changes into the database		 rebuild-from-model: rebuilds the files shown in blue

Note that ui/admin/admin.yaml is never overwritten (the dotted line means it is written on only on create commands). After rebuilds, merge the new ui/admin/admin-created.yaml into your customized admin.yaml.

For more information, see Alembic.

 

API and Admin App merge updates

As of release 5.02.03, rebuild services provide support for updating customized API and Admin:

System Object Support
API api/expose_api_models_created.py created with new database/models.py classes
Admn App ui/admin/admin-merge.yaml is the merge of ui/admin/admin.yaml and new database/models.py classes

Review the altered files, edit (if required), and copy them over the original files.

 

Use Alembic to update database schema from model

As of release 5.02.03, created API Logic Projects integrate Alembic to perform database migrations.

  • Manual: create migration scripts by hand, or
  • Autogenerate: alter your database/models.py, and have alembic create the migration scripts for you

Preconfiguration includes:

  • initialized database/alembic directory
  • configured database/alembic/env.py for autogenerations
  • configured database/alembic.ini for directory structure

See the readme in your database/alembic for more information.