Python Programming On Win32

Major Changes from Version 1.0 to Version 2.0

The Python Database API 2.0 introduces a few major changes compared to the 1.0 version. Because some of these changes will cause existing DB API 1.0-based scripts to break, the major version number was adjusted to reflect this change. These are the most important changes from 1.0 to 2.0:

• The need for a separate dbi module was dropped, and the functionality merged into the module interface itself.

• New constructors and type objects were added for date/time values, the RAW type object was renamed to BINARY. The resulting set should cover all basic data types commonly found in modern SQL databases.

• New constants (apilevel, threadlevel, paramstyle) and methods (executemany, nextset) were added to provide better database bindings.

• The semantics of .callproc() needed to call stored procedures are now clearly defined.

• The definition of the .execute() return value changed. Previously, the return value was based on the SQL statement type (which was hard to correctly implement); it’s undefined now. Use the more flexible .rowcount attribute instead. Modules are free to return the old-style return values, but these are no longer mandated by the specification and should be considered database interface dependent.

• Class-based exceptions were incorporated into the specification. Module implementors are free to extend the exception layout defined in this specification by subclassing the defined exception classes.