Introduction to Google App Engine with Python

Introduction to Google App Engine with PythonBrian Lyttle (http://brianlyttle.com)@brianly on Twitter

What is Google App Engine?Google call it “cloud development in a box”.It is a hosted development environment along the lines of Microsoft Azure.Targets users building internet applications, but that is changing.Built on the same scalable platform used for other Google services.Development is done locally in Python (or Java) on Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux.Push to the cloud and Google will manage everything.We’ll dig into the details shortly.

Who’s using App Engine?Case Studieshttp://code.google.com/appengine/casestudies.htmlMost often GAE is used as a utility alongside another platform.GAE for Business will increase uptake. Eventually.

How much does it cost?It is free to get started, or run small applications.~5M page views per monthGoogle post quotas and costs on their websitehttp://code.google.com/appengine/docs/quotas.htmlOnce you reach certain limits Google will start charging you based on your usage.Usage costs can be expensive depending on your requirements, or alternative deployment platforms.Choice of datastore can even impact costsCalculating costs can be tricky, but this is the case with all usage-based cloud providers and services.You need to know your application, and the how the platform can be best used applied to your needs.Cheaper features might have potential for higher lock-in.

Mapping use cases to App EngineYou can’t really choose a framework or tool without some experience. Take this advice with a pinch of salt.GoodYou want to learn a Python web development framework.Managing servers is not something you want to do.Your application needs to support a ridiculous number of users, or giant fluctuations in usage.You want to quickly prototype a larger application that you may develop elsewhere.MaybeAn existing application is written in Python (or Java) and you want to create a web front end.BadData sources for your application live inside your company.Other data security or privacy requirements.You need a version of Python newer than 2.5.Your Python library requires a C extension and does not have a Python fallback.

Learning PythonZed Shaw’s “Learn Python the Hard Way” is recommended.http://learnpythonthehardway.org/indexMany other resources are available:http://diveintopython.org/toc/index.htmlhttp://docs.python.org/tutorial/Focus on learning Python 2.x if you want to use the broadest range of libraries today. Python 3.2 is the latest but newbies will have issues with libraries.GAE makes the choice easier. Use CPython 2.5.Get familiar with REPL-style development in the shell.

Development toolsPython 2.5Only this version is supported at present.Free from http://www.python.org/ftp/python/Get the latest 2.5.x release from http://www.python.org/ftp/python/2.5.5/Google App Engine SDKDownload the latest version and it will auto-update.Free from http://code.google.com/appengine/downloads.htmlA suitable editorMost (good) text editors provide syntax highlighting.I like JetBrains’ PyCharm, but ActiveState Komodo is also good. A lot of people like the Wingware IDE.You could use the latest Python support for Visual Studio 2010 if you want but it does not have special support for App Engine.

Documentation and samplesAll docs can be downloaded as a ZIPhttp://code.google.com/appengine/downloads.html - Download_the_Google_App_Engine_DocumentationDocumentationhttp://code.google.com/appengine/docs/python/overview.htmlSample Codehttp://code.google.com/p/google-app-engine-samples/http://code.google.com/p/rietveld/https://github.com/search?langOverride=&language=python&q=google+app+engine&repo=&start_value=1&type=Repositories&x=0&y=0http://brizzled.clapper.org/id/77/VideosGoogle IO Conference on YouTtube.PyCon: http://pycon.bliptv.com

Services provided by App EngineDatastore (SQL Server)Blobstore (File system)CapabilitiesChannel (comet?)Images (ImageGlue.NET)Mail (BCL)Memcache (AppFabric)Multitenancy (SQL Schemas)OAuth (BCL)Prospective SearchTask Queues (MSMQ)URL Fetch (BCL)Users (BCL)XMPP (Lync API)Services are accessed via “webapp”.Most have equivalents in the .NET world (shown in parentheses)Sites hosted at *.appspot.comLimitations:SSL for custom domainsQuotas impacting cost are complexUsers all have Gmail emails by defaultPython libraries which depend on C extensions cannot run on the platform.Google-like search requires some effort.

Basic App Engine demoBookmarkzBookmark databaseURL shortenerUsing the default “webapp” frameworkSource code is available from https://bitbucket.org/brianly/bookmarkz/src

Webapp frameworkBased on a basic framework called WebObthat runs atop WSGI.WSGI is an interface to Python web servers.Whilst you have basic support for MVC, you don’t have the support provided by a full framework like ASP.NET MVC.Convention or configuration? Neither.For a lot of applications you should be considering a framework like Tipfy(more later).

Example handlerfrom google.appengine.ext import webappfrom google.appengine.ext.webapp.util import run_wsgi_appclass MainPage(webapp.RequestHandler):def get(self):self.response.headers['Content-Type'] = 'text/plain'self.response.out.write('Hello, webapp World!')application = webapp.WSGIApplication( [('/', MainPage)], debug=True)def main():run_wsgi_app(application)if __name__ == "__main__": main()

DatastoreYou Entities based on Classes which derive from a special base class.Google provide a range of data types for Entity properties.Entities are stored in a system based on Big Table (Master/Slave) or Megastore (High Replication).You choose this when you create your application.Choice of storage affects costs and can’t be changed easily.Google recommend the High Replication datastore for better all round performance.Fewer peaks and troughs compared to the Master/Slave store.

Working with ModelsModels are defined in Python in a similar fashion to other ORM tools.The challenges are a little different from your experiences using ORMs with relational databases.Data typeshttp://code.google.com/appengine/docs/python/datastore/typesandpropertyclasses.htmlQueryquery = GqlQuery("SELECT * FROM Song WHERE composer = :composer", composer="Lennon, John")query = db.Query(Song)query.filter('composer=', id)result = query.get()Definitionclass Song(db.Model): author = db.UserProperty()composer = db.StringProperty() date = db.DateTimeProperty (auto_now_add=True) tags = db.StringListProperty() description = db.TextProperty()

More ModelsExpando and PolyModel.More information can be found in the SDK documentationclass Person(db.Expando):first_name = db.StringProperty()last_name = db.StringProperty() hobbies = db.StringListProperty()class Contact(polymodel.PolyModel):phone_number = db.PhoneNumberProperty() address = db.PostalAddressProperty()class Person(Contact):first_name = db.StringProperty()last_name = db.StringProperty()mobile_number = db.PhoneNumberProperty()class Company(Contact): name = db.StringProperty()fax_number = db.PhoneNumberProperty()

BlobstoreLimits apply to object size in the datastore. Store large objects e.g. images or documents in the BlobstoreExceptions might be small thumbnails where they are always returned with related fields.Use the BlobstoreUploadHandler class to make uploading blob objects less painful.BlobstoreDownloadHandler provides a way to specify byte ranges.BlobReader gives you a stream-like API.Plays well with the Images API.

URL FetchEnables requests to HTTP and HTTPS resources.Use for calls to REST (and SOAP) web services.Supports calls to your intranet through the Google Secure Data Connector (SDC).from google.appengine.api import urlfetchresult = urlfetch.fetch(url="http://www.corp.example.com/sales.csv", headers={'use_intranet': 'yes'})if result.status_code == 200:parseCSV(result.content)Download size is limited to 32 MB.

Task QueuesAllows you to do work later such as send a notification, or update a 3rd party system.# Application queues a tasktaskqueue.add(url='/worker', params={'key': key})# Handler does the workclass CounterWorker(webapp.RequestHandler):def post(self): # should run at most 1/s key = self.request.get('key')deftxn(): counter = Counter.get_by_key_name(key) if counter is None: counter = Counter(key_name=key, count=1) else:counter.count += 1counter.put()db.run_in_transaction(txn)

Notes for Windows usersPython works pretty well on Windows compared to other languages.Google’s imaging library needs an extension called PIL.64-bit versions of Python and the Python Imaging Library (PIL)Make sure that the architectures of extensions match up.Windows programs a 64-bit application cannot load a 32-bit DLL, and vice versa.See my blog post on this topic. Windows Firewall and blocked portsNo server == no fun

Health and uptimeCheck the status page if you experience issues.SituationsRead-only Datastore“Regular” failuresThe Capabilities API is provided to enable you to handle maintenance periods.

Better frameworks for App EngineThe “webapp” framework is bare bones and based on WSGI.Any WSGI framework can run on App Engine.KayComponents: Django, Werkzeug, Jinja2, babelhttp://code.google.com/p/kay-framework/TipfyCustom framework with multiple template engines, and plugins.http://www.tipfy.org/Django-nonrelA NoSQL-optimized version of Django.Wesley Chun’s from Google presented on this at PyCon.http://www.allbuttonspressed.com/projects/django-nonrel

Run your own App Engine“Platform as a Service” can lock you inData lock-in is probably a bigger problem than frameworks.Possible solutionsTyphoon AE: http://code.google.com/p/typhoonae/AppScale: http://sites.google.com/site/gaeasaframework/appscaleEssentially these are a lot of pain to setup, and you are probably using the App Engine framework to solve the wrong problem.A better solution is to use a native Python framework:Django: http://www.djangoproject.com/Pyramid (Pylons): http://pylonsproject.org/Flask: http://flask.pocoo.org/

Thanks!Don’t forget to provide provide feedback on my talk and others you attended today.Slides and code will be posted to http://brianlyttle.com shortly.

Introduction to Google App Engine with Python

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