ApiLogicServer 2.0.3

Create JSON:API and Web App from database, with LogicBank -- 40X more concise, Python for extensibility.

API-enabled backend development takes time. This can block Mobile App Dev projects, and strategic business initiatives for internal / external (B2B) integration.

API Logic Server creates an executable JSON:API backend, instantly, with crud support (including filtering, sorting, pagination), and related data retrieval for every table. With Swagger.

It also creates a multi-page, multi-table web app, instantly, so developers can engage with business users - early in the project - for agile iterations.

Finally, it provides a logic engine that executes spreadsheet-like rules for multi-table derivations and constraints - 40X more concise than legacy code, extensible with Python.

This video shows the creation of a backend - in minutes -  that would typically require weeks.

With over 12k downloads in its first 2 months, API Logic Server is Open Source on GitHub.

Usage

Installation

Install with pip:

cd ~/Desktop
mkdir server
cd server
virtualenv venv
source venv/bin/activate
# windows venv\Scripts\activate
pip install ApiLogicServer

Creation

This verifies proper install:

ApiLogicServer create --project_name=my_api_logic_server
cd my_api_logic_server  # create / initialize the venv
virtualenv venv
source venv/bin/activate
# windows venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

More commonly, you would include the db_url parameter, a SQLAlchemy url designating the database used for creation.

Execution

python api_logic_server_run.py
python ui/basic_web_app/run.py

Features

API: SAFRS JSON:API and Swagger

Your API is available in swagger:

Basic Web App - Flask Appbuilder

Generated fab pages look as shown below:

1. Multi-page: apps include 1 page per table

2. Multi-table: pages include related_views for each related child table, and join in parent data

3. Favorite field first: first-displayed field is “name”, or contains “name” (configurable)

4. Predictive joins: favorite field of each parent is shown (product name - not product id)

5. Ids last: such boring fields are not shown on lists, and at the end on other pages

Customize your app by editing ui/basic_web_app/app/views.py.

Logic:

Logic is declared in Python (example below), and is:

• Extensible: logic consists of rules (see below), plus standard Python code

• Multi-table: rules like sum automate multi-table transactions

• Scalable: rules are pruned and optimized; for example, sums are processed as 1 row adjustment updates, rather than expensive SQL aggregate queries

• Manageable: develop and debug your rules in IDEs, manage it in SCS systems (such as git) using existing procedures

The following 5 rules represent the same logic as 200 lines of Python:

Declare your logic by editing logic/rules_bank.py

Demo / Tutorial (no database install)

See the Tutorial.

More information:

The github project includes documentation and examples.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to

• Mike Bayer, for SQLAlchemy

• Thomas Pollet, for SAFRS

• Daniel Gaspar, for Flask AppBuilder

• Denny McKinney, for Tutorial review

• Achim Götz, for design collaboration

• Michael Holleran, for design collaboration and testing

• Nishanth Shyamsundar, for review and testing

• Gloria Huber and Denny McKinney, for doc review

Change Log

02.00.03: Bug Fix - View names with spaces

03/30/2021 - 02.00.02: Create Services table to avoid startup issues

03/23/2021 - 02.00.01: Minor doc changes, CLI argument simplification for default db_url

03/17/2021 - 02.00.00: Create create_admin.sh, copy sqlite3 DBs locally, model_ext

03/10/2021 - 01.04.10: Fix issues in creating Basic Web App

03/03/2021 - 01.04.09: Services, cleanup main api_run

02/23/2021 - 01.04.08: Minor - proper log level for APIs

02/20/2021 - 01.04.07: Tutorial, Logic Bank 0.9.4 (bad warning message)

02/15/2021 - 01.04.06: Tutorial

02/08/2021 - 01.04.05: add employee audit foreign key in nw.sqlite

02/07/2021 - 01.04.04: fix default project name

02/07/2021 - 01.04.03: db_url default (for Jupyter)

02/07/2021 - 01.04.02: Internal Renaming

02/06/2021 - 01.04.00: Fix constraint reporting, get related (issues 7,8)

02/02/2021 - 01.04.00: TBD

02/01/2021 - 01.03.01: Fix logic logging, nw rules

01/31/2021 - 01.03.00: Resolve n:m relationships (revised models.py)

01/29/2021 - 01.02.04: Minor cleanup

01/29/2021 - 01.02.03: Flask AppBuilder fixes - Admin setup, class vs table names (wip)

01/28/2021 - 01.02.02: Command line cleanup

01/27/2021 - 01.02.00: Many * Host option * –from_git defaults to local directory * hello world example * nw rules pre-created

01/25/2021 - 01.01.01: MySQL fixes