This is a good question.  I thought that MySQLdb was in the standard
library because I don't remember installing it.  Probably we should switch
to sqlite, since all the commands we are using are pretty much the same.
 MySQLdb is used most widely though.

SQLAlchemy is an ORM and it requires more sophistication.  I don't think
it's appropriate in the first week.  I view these labs as familiarizing
themselves with databases and mysql.  There are some holes in the
curriculum later on, and I definitely think it would be worth their time to
learn it.




On Tue, Apr 1, 2014 at 4:02 PM, Ryan <notifications@github.com> wrote:

> In Algorithms/DatabaseEssentials/DatabaseEssentials.tex:
>
> > @@ -0,0 +1,293 @@
> > +\lab{Algoirthms}{Database Essentials}{Database Essentials}
> > +\objective{Familiarization with MySQL prompt and basic queries
> > +\label{lab:DbEssentials}
> > +
> > +\section*{Introduction to MySQL}
> > +
> > +Databases are an essential part of computation.  We will learn how to use MySQL databases in this section.  MySQL is open-source software that is easy to use and free.  It also works well with Python.  All of this makes it a good choice for our applications.  Other options exist, but most of what we learn here will translate easily to other platforms.
>
> In the meantime, could using sqlite be an option? There is SQLAlchemy, and
> a sqlite3 module in the standard library.
>
> --
> Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub<https://github.com/byuimpact/numerical_computing/pull/520/files#r11178548>
> .
>