Databases: Getting values by column name

[Skip Montanaro]

    >> conn = MySQLdb.Connection(host=...,

    Robert> You mean MySQLdb.connect()?

MySQLdb has Connect, connect and Connection, all the same function.

    >>> MySQLdb.Connection
    <function Connect at 0xdc2930>
    >>> MySQLdb.Connect   
    <function Connect at 0xdc2930>
    >>> MySQLdb.connect
    <function Connect at 0xdc2930>

    >> I think the reason this sort of behavior isn't spelled out in PEP 249
    >> is because it varies too much from one database to another.  Psycopg
    >> (a PostgreSQL adaptor) does it differently.  Instead of specifying
    >> the cursor type when the connection is created, you instantiate a
    >> different cursor class:
    >> 
    >> conn = psycopg.connect("...")

    Robert> NameError: name 'psycopg' is not defined

Yes, you'd have to import it.

    Robert> Also wouldn't that overwrite the above conn variable?

    >> ...
    >> cursor = conn.dictcursor()

    Robert> AttributeError: Connection instance has no attribute 'dictcursor' 

Like I said, psycopg is an adapter for the PostgreSQL database.  MySQLdb is
an adapter for the MySQL database.  There are others as well.  I thought
showing how the two I'm most familiar with in this arena differ would be
sufficient.

    Robert> I already know the stuff on that page, it's really slowing you
    Robert> down :-(

I don't understand what you're referring to here.  What do you mean by
"slowing you down"?

Skip