# The Works

## Configuration

The file `.flaskenv` contains the default configuration. Flask reads the file at startup and adds the contained key-value-pairs as environment variables to the runtime environment. When the Flask app object is being created in `__init__.py`, all environment variables that start with the prefix "FLASK_" are added to the app configuration. This is true for any prefixed environment variable, not just the ones from `.flaskenv`.

Configuration values can be overridden by passing another config file to Flask via the `-e` command line switch. It will be processed the same way as `.flaskenv`, which means that all keys must be prefixed with "FLASK_", and takes precedence over the default configuration.

Finally, you can override config settings while instantiating the Flask app through the factory. To do this, simply pass a dictionary with the (unprefixed) override settings as named parameter `config` to the `create_app()` method. Settings passed this way take precedence over the default configuration and an optional config file. 




## Flask commands

Execute commands with `python -m flask <command>`. You don't need to specify `--app the_works` as long as the environment variable "FLASK_APP" is set to "the_works"; the default configuration file does this. 

Available commands:

* `run`: Serve app (don't use for production).
<!--* `init-db`: Create empty SQLite database `works.sqlite` in project root. BE CAREFUL: If a database already exists, it will be deleted with everything in it.  // 5/25: ich hab die Fkt. wieder rausgenommen, aber ich könnte sie eigentlich prima wieder einbauen … -->
* `shell`: start a shell within the app context (I can i.e. import specific table models and test the data structures returned by ORM methods like select())
* 




## Dependencies

### Python Packages

flask
flask-sqlalchemy
python-dotenv
Pillow
pytest
flask-debugtoolbar (optional)

### CSS and Javascript

PicoCSS (regular version) + SwitchColorMode.js (from Yohn's fork)
DataTables.[js|css]

### Icons

some icons from heroicons.com




## Other useful stuff

### Export database schema

Method 1: `sqlite3 the_works.sqlite .schema > outputfile.sql` 

Method 2: Open DB in SQLitebrowser and use File -> Export -> Database to SQL file … 

* keep original CREATE statements
* export schema only 
* overwrite old schema (DROP TABLE, then CREATE TABLE)


### Generate declarative SQLAlchemy code 

Right now the_works reflects an existing database in order to infer the underlying data models for SQLAlchemy. If I wanted to declare the data models directly instead of using reflection, I would need declarative code. This code can be generated from an existing database with the help of [sqlacodegen](https://pypi.org/project/sqlacodegen/):

`sqlacodegen sqlite:///path/to/db.sqlite > outputfile.py`


### Generate `requirements.txt`

I use [pipreqs](https://pypi.org/project/pipreqs/) to generate the file `requirements.txt`. The package scans all source files for import statements and uses those to extract all required Pip packages.