auto-generate SQLAlchemy models

PyOhio gave my lightning talk on ddlgenerator a warm reception, and Brandon Lorenz got me thinking, and PyOhio sprints filled my with py-drenaline, and now ddlgenerator can inspect your data and spit out SQLAlchemy model definitions for you:

$ cat merovingians.yaml 
-
  name: Clovis I
  reign:
    from: 486
    to: 511
-
  name: Childebert I
  reign:
    from: 511
    to: 558
$ ddlgenerator --inserts sqlalchemy merovingians.yaml 

from sqlalchemy import create_engine, Column, Integer, Table, Unicode
engine = create_engine(r'sqlite:///:memory:')
metadata = MetaData(bind=engine)

merovingians = Table('merovingians', metadata, 
  Column('name', Unicode(length=12), nullable=False), 
  Column('reign_from', Integer(), nullable=False), 
  Column('reign_to', Integer(), nullable=False), 
  schema=None)

metadata.create_all()
conn = engine.connect()
inserter = merovingians.insert()
conn.execute(inserter, **{'name': 'Clovis I', 'reign_from': 486, 'reign_to': 511})
conn.execute(inserter, **{'name': 'Childebert I', 'reign_from': 511, 'reign_to': 558})
conn.connection.commit()

Brandon's working on a pull request to provide similar functionality for Django models!

18F

Yesterday was my first day at 18F!

What is 18F? We're a small, little-known government organization that works outside the usual channels to accomplish special projects. It involves black outfits and a lot of martial arts.

Kidding! Sort of. 18F is a new agency within the GSA that does citizen-focused work for other parts of the U.S. Government, working small, quick projects to make information more accessible. We're using all the tricks: small teams, agile development, rapid iteration, open-source software, test-first, continuous integration. We do our work in the open.

Sure, this is old hat to you, faithful blog readers. But bringing it into government IT work is what makes it exciting. We're hoping that the techniques we use will ripple out beyond the immediate projects we work on, popularizing them throughout government IT and helping efficiency and responsiveness throughout. This is a chance to put all the techniques I've learned from you to work for all of us. Who wouldn't love to get paid to work for the common good?

Obviously, this is still my personal blog, so nothing I say about 18F counts as official information. Just take it as my usual enthusiastic babbling.