Struggling to convert a mysql datetime object to a python string of a different format

[Tim Chase]

On 08/05/10 16:01, Νίκος wrote:
>> On 5 Αύγ, 22:09, Tim Chase<python.l... at tim.thechases.com>  wrote:
>>> dataset = cursor.fetchall()
>>
>>> for row in dataset:
>>>       print ( '''<tr>    ''' )
>
> So, 'dataset' in here is a 'list of tuples' right? and 'row'
> in here is a tuple form the above list of tuples right?
>
> Am i understanding this correctly?!
>
> It was a tuple. But it migth as well be a list too?!?!
>
> Could 'dataset' be a 'list of lists' as well?

Pretty much...it's either a list-of-tuples or a list-of-lists 
(I'm not sure if is part of the DB-API spec to mandate one or the 
other).  For the most part, you can treat them as the same thing. 
  However, tuples are immutable, so you can't say

   my_tuple[3] = some_value

but with a list you can:

   my_list[3] = some_value

> How one would know in which way the returned mysql data is saved in?

Well, you can ask:

   print type(row)

(I *suspect* it's a tuple) or you can just tell it what to be:

   for row in dataset:
     row = list(row)
     row[3] = row[3].strftime(...)
     for item in row:
       ...

I don't usually have cause to write a value back into the data 
I'm reading from the DB, so it's never really mattered to me 
whether the DB gives me tuples or lists.

>> Though I think I'd make it a bit clearer by naming the fields:
>>
>>     for host, hits, dt in dataset:
>>       print ("<tr>")
>>       for item in (host, hits, dt.strftime(...)):
>>         print ("<td>%s</td>" % item)
>>       print ("</tr>")
>
> Cool! I myself like this solution best over the all working other!
> very nice approach thank you very much! Is what i anted and couldn't
> write myself!
>
> But please tell me if in my example 'row' was a tuple, what kind of
> objects is 'host', 'hits', 'dt' here and how do they sore the data?

Python supports "tuple assignment" which means that the following 
are about[*] the same:

   # variant A
   for row in dataset:
     host = row[0]
     hits = row[1]
     dt = row[2]
     # rest of your code here

   # variant B
   for row in dataset:
     host, hits, dt = row
     # rest of your code here

   # variant C
   for host, hits, dt in row:
     # rest of your code here

The data-type of the individual values would be whatever comes 
back from the database as translated into Python (string, 
float/Decimal, boolean, datetime, etc).  In your example, it's 
likely a string+integer+datetime as the 3 values.  You can see 
why I prefer the elegance of just performing the assignment in 
the for-loop (variant C).

Hope this helps,

-tkc


[*] "about" the same because in #1 and #2, you also have access 
to the whole row; whereas in #3, you don't have something called 
"row", but you could reassemble it if you needed:

    row = (host, hits, dt)