SQLAlchemy and django, is it production ready?

Question

Has anyone used SQLAlchemy in addition to Django's ORM?

I'd like to use Django's ORM for object manipulation and SQLalchemy for complex queries (like those that require left outer joins).

Is it possible?

Note: I'm aware about django-sqlalchemy but the project doesn't seem to be production ready.

Answer 1

What I would do,

1. Define the schema in Django orm, let it write the db via syncdb. You get the admin interface.

2. In view1 you need a complex join

      def view1(request):        import sqlalchemy        data = sqlalchemy.complex_join_magic(...)        ...        payload = {'data': data, ...}        return render_to_response('template', payload, ...)  

Answer 2

I don't think it's good practice to use both. You should either:

1. Use Django's ORM and use custom SQL where Django's built-in SQL generation doesn't meet your needs, or
2. Use SQLAlchemy (which gives you finer control at the price of added complexity) and, if needed, use a declarative layer such as Elixir to make life a little easier.

Of course, if you need Django's admin, then the first of these approaches is recommended.