PyActiveResource

Warnings

• breaking The PyPI project classifiers officially list support only up to Python 3.4. While it uses `six` for Python 2/3 compatibility, using `pyactiveresource` with modern Python versions (3.5+) might encounter unexpected issues or require manual patching.
  Fix: Thoroughly test with your target Python version. Consider evaluating alternatives if facing compatibility issues, as the library may not be actively maintained for newer Python versions.
• gotcha PyActiveResource relies heavily on 'convention over configuration', similar to Ruby's ActiveResource. It expects RESTful conventions like pluralized resource names (e.g., 'Person' maps to '/people'), standard HTTP verbs (GET for find, POST for create, PUT for update), and a specific JSON request/response format. Deviating from these conventions without explicit configuration will likely lead to errors.
  Fix: Ensure your API endpoints and data structures adhere to RESTful conventions expected by ActiveResource. Consult Ruby's ActiveResource documentation for the underlying philosophy, or explicitly configure `_site`, `_headers`, and custom methods when conventions cannot be followed.
• gotcha The library's implicit URL construction can be a source of errors, especially with trailing slashes or complex API paths. Issues have been reported where incorrectly configured `_site` or resource paths lead to malformed URLs (e.g., double slashes) resulting in `ResourceNotFound` or `BadRequest` exceptions.
  Fix: Carefully manage the `_site` URL and ensure consistent path construction. Double-check that `_site` ends without a slash if your resource names are expected to provide the initial path component, or vice versa, to avoid malformed URLs. Always inspect the actual HTTP requests being sent.
• gotcha Direct manipulation of internal methods, such as `_update`, with raw JSON dictionaries, can lead to `TypeError` (e.g., 'cannot use a string pattern on a bytes-like') or other serialization/deserialization issues if the input data doesn't precisely match the library's internal expectations for attribute assignment, especially with nested objects or different string encodings.
  Fix: Prefer using the `ActiveResource` object's public interface (`resource.attribute = value`, `resource.save()`) for data manipulation. If direct JSON loading is necessary, ensure that the data is thoroughly pre-processed to match the expected object structure, and use `resource.load(data)` if available, rather than internal `_update` methods.

Install

• pip install pyactiveresource Install latest version

Imports

• ActiveResource

  from pyactiveresource import activeresource as ar
  # Then use ar.ActiveResource

  The common convention shown in documentation is to import the module as 'ar'.
• ConnectionError

  from pyactiveresource.connection import ConnectionError

  Base exception for connection issues, and its subclasses like `UnauthorizedAccess`.

Quickstart

This quickstart demonstrates how to define a resource class by inheriting from `pyactiveresource.activeresource.ActiveResource` and setting its `_site` attribute to your REST API's base URL. It then shows how to use class methods like `find()` to retrieve resources and instance methods like `save()` to create new ones, encapsulating typical REST interactions. It also includes basic error handling for common `pyactiveresource` exceptions.

import os
from pyactiveresource import activeresource as ar

# Configure your API base URL (e.g., from environment variables)
API_BASE_URL = os.environ.get('PYACTIVERESOURCE_API_URL', 'http://api.example.com/v1')

# Define a resource class that maps to your REST endpoint
class Person(ar.ActiveResource):
    _site = API_BASE_URL
    # Optionally set headers for authentication, e.g., Bearer token
    # _headers = {'Authorization': f'Bearer {os.environ.get("API_TOKEN", "")}'}

# Example usage:
try:
    # Find all people
    all_people = Person.find()
    print(f"Found {len(all_people)} people.")
    for p in all_people:
        print(f"ID: {p.id}, Name: {p.name if hasattr(p, 'name') else 'N/A'}")

    # Find a specific person by ID
    if all_people:
        first_person_id = all_people[0].id
        person = Person.find(first_person_id)
        print(f"\nFound person: {person.name if hasattr(person, 'name') else 'N/A'} (ID: {person.id})")

        # Create a new person
        new_person = Person(name='Alice', age=30)
        if new_person.save():
            print(f"\nCreated new person: {new_person.name} (ID: {new_person.id})")
        else:
            print(f"Failed to create person. Errors: {new_person.errors}")

except ar.ResourceNotFound:
    print(f"Resource not found at {API_BASE_URL}.")
except ar.ConnectionError as e:
    print(f"Connection error: {e}")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"An unexpected error occurred: {e}")