Working with Databases in Python: SQLite and SQLAlchemy

Most applications need to store data persistently, and databases are the standard solution. Python has built-in support for SQLite, a lightweight, file-based database. You can connect to a database using the sqlite3 module. You create a connection, then a cursor, and execute SQL statements. For example, cursor.execute("CREATE TABLE users (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT)"). While raw SQL gives you full control, using an ORM like SQLAlchemy can make database interactions more Pythonic. SQLAlchemy allows you to define database tables as Python classes. You then interact with these classes to create, read, update, and delete records without writing SQL strings. This reduces errors and makes your code database-agnostic. You can switch from SQLite to PostgreSQL later with minimal changes. SQLAlchemy also provides connection pooling and transaction management. A good project is to build a simple task manager. Store tasks with a title, description, and completion status in a database. Use SQLAlchemy to define a Task model and perform CRUD operations. This will teach you about database design, relationships, and how to integrate a database into your applications.