Book Image

MySQL for Python

By : Albert Lukaszewski
Book Image

MySQL for Python

By: Albert Lukaszewski

Overview of this book

Python is a dynamic programming language, which is completely enterprise ready, owing largely to the variety of support modules that are available to extend its capabilities. In order to build productive and feature-rich Python applications, we need to use MySQL for Python, a module that provides database support to our applications. Although you might be familiar with accessing data in MySQL, here you will learn how to access data through MySQL for Python efficiently and effectively.This book demonstrates how to boost the productivity of your Python applications by integrating them with the MySQL database server, the world's most powerful open source database. It will teach you to access the data on your MySQL database server easily with Python's library for MySQL using a practical, hands-on approach. Leaving theory to the classroom, this book uses real-world code to solve real-world problems with real-world solutions.The book starts by exploring the various means of installing MySQL for Python on different platforms and how to use simple database querying techniques to improve your programs. It then takes you through data insertion, data retrieval, and error-handling techniques to create robust programs. The book also covers automation of both database and user creation, and administration of access controls. As the book progresses, you will learn to use many more advanced features of Python for MySQL that facilitate effective administration of your database through Python. Every chapter is illustrated with a project that you can deploy in your own situation.By the end of this book, you will know several techniques for interfacing your Python applications with MySQL effectively so that powerful database management through Python becomes easy to achieve and easy to maintain.
Table of Contents (20 chapters)
MySQL for Python
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
Preface
Index

Project: Logging user activity


Between July 2005 and January 2007, a major international clothing retailer suffered a data breach that amounted to the theft of 45.6 million credit card numbers. TJX is the parent company of stores such as TJMaxx, Bob's Stores, Marshalls, HomeGoods, and AJ Wright stores in the United States, as well as Winners and HomeSense stores in Canada, and TKMaxx stores across Europe. The credit card information from most, if not all, of these stores was electronically burgled over an undetermined amount of time. After the breach was discovered, TJX spokeswoman Sherry Lang went on record as saying: "There is a lot of information we don't know, and may never be able to know, which is why this investigation has been so laborious" (Sources: AP, CNET).

Computer forensic examinations rely extensively on computer logs. Without sufficient logging, as seen in the case of TJX, one cannot tell where things went wrong if catastrophe strikes. While MySQL keeps its own logs, the fact...