Release: 1.4.49 | Release Date: July 5, 2023

# SQLAlchemy 1.4 Documentation

# Composing Mapped Hierarchies with Mixins

A common need when mapping classes using the Declarative style is to share some functionality, such as a set of common columns, some common table options, or other mapped properties, across many classes. The standard Python idioms for this is to have the classes inherit from a superclass which includes these common features.

When using declarative mappings, this idiom is allowed via the usage of mixin classes, as well as via augmenting the declarative base produced by either the `registry.generate_base()` method or `declarative_base()` functions.

When using mixins or abstract base classes with Declarative, a decorator known as `declared_attr()` is frequently used. This decorator allows the creation of class methods that produce a parameter or ORM construct that will be part of a declarative mapping. Generating constructs using a callable allows for Declarative to get a new copy of a particular kind of object each time it calls upon the mixin or abstract base on behalf of a new class that’s being mapped.

An example of some commonly mixed-in idioms is below:

    from sqlalchemy.orm import declarative_mixin, declared_attr

    @declarative_mixin
    class MyMixin:
        @declared_attr
        def __tablename__(cls):
            return cls.__name__.lower()

        __table_args__ = {"mysql_engine": "InnoDB"}
        __mapper_args__ = {"always_refresh": True}

        id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)

    class MyModel(MyMixin, Base):
        name = Column(String(1000))

Where above, the class `MyModel` will contain an “id” column as the primary key, a `__tablename__` attribute that derives from the name of the class itself, as well as `__table_args__` and `__mapper_args__` defined by the `MyMixin` mixin class. The `declared_attr()` decorator applied to a class method called `def __tablename__(cls):` has the effect of turning the method into a class method while also indicating to Declarative that this attribute is significant within the mapping.

Tip

The use of the `declarative_mixin()` class decorator marks a particular class as providing the service of providing SQLAlchemy declarative assignments as a mixin for other classes. This decorator is currently only necessary to provide a hint to the Mypy plugin that this class should be handled as part of declarative mappings.

There’s no fixed convention over whether `MyMixin` precedes `Base` or not. Normal Python method resolution rules apply, and the above example would work just as well with:

    class MyModel(Base, MyMixin):
        name = Column(String(1000))

This works because `Base` here doesn’t define any of the variables that `MyMixin` defines, i.e. `__tablename__`, `__table_args__`, `id`, etc. If the `Base` did define an attribute of the same name, the class placed first in the inherits list would determine which attribute is used on the newly defined class.

## Augmenting the Base

In addition to using a pure mixin, most of the techniques in this section can also be applied to the base class itself, for patterns that should apply to all classes derived from a particular base. This is achieved using the `cls` argument of the `declarative_base()` function:

    from sqlalchemy.orm import declarative_base, declared_attr

    class Base:
        @declared_attr
        def __tablename__(cls):
            return cls.__name__.lower()

        __table_args__ = {"mysql_engine": "InnoDB"}

        id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)

    Base = declarative_base(cls=Base)

    class MyModel(Base):
        name = Column(String(1000))

Where above, `MyModel` and all other classes that derive from `Base` will have a table name derived from the class name, an `id` primary key column, as well as the “InnoDB” engine for MySQL.

## Mixing in Columns

The most basic way to specify a column on a mixin is by simple declaration:

    @declarative_mixin
    class TimestampMixin:
        created_at = Column(DateTime, default=func.now())

    class MyModel(TimestampMixin, Base):
        __tablename__ = "test"

        id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)
        name = Column(String(1000))

Where above, all declarative classes that include `TimestampMixin` will also have a column `created_at` that applies a timestamp to all row insertions.

Those familiar with the SQLAlchemy expression language know that the object identity of clause elements defines their role in a schema. Two `Table` objects `a` and `b` may both have a column called `id`, but the way these are differentiated is that `a.c.id` and `b.c.id` are two distinct Python objects, referencing their parent tables `a` and `b` respectively.

In the case of the mixin column, it seems that only one `Column` object is explicitly created, yet the ultimate `created_at` column above must exist as a distinct Python object for each separate destination class. To accomplish this, the declarative extension creates a copy of each `Column` object encountered on a class that is detected as a mixin.

This copy mechanism is limited to simple columns that have no foreign keys, as a `ForeignKey` itself contains references to columns which can’t be properly recreated at this level. For columns that have foreign keys, as well as for the variety of mapper-level constructs that require destination-explicit context, the `declared_attr` decorator is provided so that patterns common to many classes can be defined as callables:

    from sqlalchemy.orm import declared_attr

    @declarative_mixin
    class ReferenceAddressMixin:
        @declared_attr
        def address_id(cls):
            return Column(Integer, ForeignKey("address.id"))

    class User(ReferenceAddressMixin, Base):
        __tablename__ = "user"
        id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)

Where above, the `address_id` class-level callable is executed at the point at which the `User` class is constructed, and the declarative extension can use the resulting `Column` object as returned by the method without the need to copy it.

Columns generated by `declared_attr` can also be referenced by `__mapper_args__` to a limited degree, currently by `polymorphic_on` and `version_id_col`; the declarative extension will resolve them at class construction time:

    @declarative_mixin
    class MyMixin:
        @declared_attr
        def type_(cls):
            return Column(String(50))

        __mapper_args__ = {"polymorphic_on": type_}

    class MyModel(MyMixin, Base):
        __tablename__ = "test"
        id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)

## Mixing in Relationships

Relationships created by `relationship()` are provided with declarative mixin classes exclusively using the `declared_attr` approach, eliminating any ambiguity which could arise when copying a relationship and its possibly column-bound contents. Below is an example which combines a foreign key column and a relationship so that two classes `Foo` and `Bar` can both be configured to reference a common target class via many-to-one:

    @declarative_mixin
    class RefTargetMixin:
        @declared_attr
        def target_id(cls):
            return Column("target_id", ForeignKey("target.id"))

        @declared_attr
        def target(cls):
            return relationship("Target")

    class Foo(RefTargetMixin, Base):
        __tablename__ = "foo"
        id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)

    class Bar(RefTargetMixin, Base):
        __tablename__ = "bar"
        id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)

    class Target(Base):
        __tablename__ = "target"
        id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)

### Using Advanced Relationship Arguments (e.g. `primaryjoin`, etc.)

`relationship()` definitions which require explicit primaryjoin, order_by etc. expressions should in all but the most simplistic cases use late bound forms for these arguments, meaning, using either the string form or a function/lambda. The reason for this is that the related `Column` objects which are to be configured using `@declared_attr` are not available to another `@declared_attr` attribute; while the methods will work and return new `Column` objects, those are not the `Column` objects that Declarative will be using as it calls the methods on its own, thus using different `Column` objects.

The canonical example is the primaryjoin condition that depends upon another mixed-in column:

    @declarative_mixin
    class RefTargetMixin:
        @declared_attr
        def target_id(cls):
            return Column("target_id", ForeignKey("target.id"))

        @declared_attr
        def target(cls):
            return relationship(
                Target,
                primaryjoin=Target.id == cls.target_id,  # this is *incorrect*
            )

Mapping a class using the above mixin, we will get an error like:

    sqlalchemy.exc.InvalidRequestError: this ForeignKey's parent column is not
    yet associated with a Table.

This is because the `target_id` `Column` we’ve called upon in our `target()` method is not the same `Column` that declarative is actually going to map to our table.

The condition above is resolved using a lambda:

    @declarative_mixin
    class RefTargetMixin:
        @declared_attr
        def target_id(cls):
            return Column("target_id", ForeignKey("target.id"))

        @declared_attr
        def target(cls):
            return relationship(Target, primaryjoin=lambda: Target.id == cls.target_id)

or alternatively, the string form (which ultimately generates a lambda):

    @declarative_mixin
    class RefTargetMixin:
        @declared_attr
        def target_id(cls):
            return Column("target_id", ForeignKey("target.id"))

        @declared_attr
        def target(cls):
            return relationship(Target, primaryjoin=f"Target.id=={cls.__name__}.target_id")

See also

Late-Evaluation of Relationship Arguments

## Mixing in deferred(), column_property(), and other MapperProperty classes

Like `relationship()`, all `MapperProperty` subclasses such as `deferred()`, `column_property()`, etc. ultimately involve references to columns, and therefore, when used with declarative mixins, have the `declared_attr` requirement so that no reliance on copying is needed:

    @declarative_mixin
    class SomethingMixin:
        @declared_attr
        def dprop(cls):
            return deferred(Column(Integer))

    class Something(SomethingMixin, Base):
        __tablename__ = "something"

The `column_property()` or other construct may refer to other columns from the mixin. These are copied ahead of time before the `declared_attr` is invoked:

    @declarative_mixin
    class SomethingMixin:
        x = Column(Integer)
        y = Column(Integer)

        @declared_attr
        def x_plus_y(cls):
            return column_property(cls.x + cls.y)

Changed in version 1.0.0: mixin columns are copied to the final mapped class so that `declared_attr` methods can access the actual column that will be mapped.

## Controlling table inheritance with mixins

The `__tablename__` attribute may be used to provide a function that will determine the name of the table used for each class in an inheritance hierarchy, as well as whether a class has its own distinct table.

This is achieved using the `declared_attr` indicator in conjunction with a method named `__tablename__()`. Declarative will always invoke `declared_attr` for the special names `__tablename__`, `__mapper_args__` and `__table_args__` function for each mapped class in the hierarchy, except if overridden in a subclass. The function therefore needs to expect to receive each class individually and to provide the correct answer for each.

For example, to create a mixin that gives every class a simple table name based on class name:

    from sqlalchemy.orm import declarative_mixin, declared_attr

    @declarative_mixin
    class Tablename:
        @declared_attr
        def __tablename__(cls):
            return cls.__name__.lower()

    class Person(Tablename, Base):
        id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)
        discriminator = Column("type", String(50))
        __mapper_args__ = {"polymorphic_on": discriminator}

    class Engineer(Person):
        __tablename__ = None
        __mapper_args__ = {"polymorphic_identity": "engineer"}
        primary_language = Column(String(50))

Alternatively, we can modify our `__tablename__` function to return `None` for subclasses, using `has_inherited_table()`. This has the effect of those subclasses being mapped with single table inheritance against the parent:

    from sqlalchemy.orm import (
        declarative_mixin,
        declared_attr,
        has_inherited_table,
    )

    @declarative_mixin
    class Tablename:
        @declared_attr
        def __tablename__(cls):
            if has_inherited_table(cls):
                return None
            return cls.__name__.lower()

    class Person(Tablename, Base):
        id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)
        discriminator = Column("type", String(50))
        __mapper_args__ = {"polymorphic_on": discriminator}

    class Engineer(Person):
        primary_language = Column(String(50))
        __mapper_args__ = {"polymorphic_identity": "engineer"}

## Mixing in Columns in Inheritance Scenarios

In contrast to how `__tablename__` and other special names are handled when used with `declared_attr`, when we mix in columns and properties (e.g. relationships, column properties, etc.), the function is invoked for the base class only in the hierarchy. Below, only the `Person` class will receive a column called `id`; the mapping will fail on `Engineer`, which is not given a primary key:

    @declarative_mixin
    class HasId:
        @declared_attr
        def id(cls):
            return Column("id", Integer, primary_key=True)

    class Person(HasId, Base):
        __tablename__ = "person"
        discriminator = Column("type", String(50))
        __mapper_args__ = {"polymorphic_on": discriminator}

    class Engineer(Person):
        __tablename__ = "engineer"
        primary_language = Column(String(50))
        __mapper_args__ = {"polymorphic_identity": "engineer"}

It is usually the case in joined-table inheritance that we want distinctly named columns on each subclass. However in this case, we may want to have an `id` column on every table, and have them refer to each other via foreign key. We can achieve this as a mixin by using the `declared_attr.cascading` modifier, which indicates that the function should be invoked for each class in the hierarchy, in almost (see warning below) the same way as it does for `__tablename__`:

    @declarative_mixin
    class HasIdMixin:
        @declared_attr.cascading
        def id(cls):
            if has_inherited_table(cls):
                return Column(ForeignKey("person.id"), primary_key=True)
            else:
                return Column(Integer, primary_key=True)

    class Person(HasIdMixin, Base):
        __tablename__ = "person"
        discriminator = Column("type", String(50))
        __mapper_args__ = {"polymorphic_on": discriminator}

    class Engineer(Person):
        __tablename__ = "engineer"
        primary_language = Column(String(50))
        __mapper_args__ = {"polymorphic_identity": "engineer"}

Warning

The `declared_attr.cascading` feature currently does not allow for a subclass to override the attribute with a different function or value. This is a current limitation in the mechanics of how `@declared_attr` is resolved, and a warning is emitted if this condition is detected. This limitation does not exist for the special attribute names such as `__tablename__`, which resolve in a different way internally than that of `declared_attr.cascading`.

New in version 1.0.0: added `declared_attr.cascading`.

## Combining Table/Mapper Arguments from Multiple Mixins

In the case of `__table_args__` or `__mapper_args__` specified with declarative mixins, you may want to combine some parameters from several mixins with those you wish to define on the class itself. The `declared_attr` decorator can be used here to create user-defined collation routines that pull from multiple collections:

    from sqlalchemy.orm import declarative_mixin, declared_attr

    @declarative_mixin
    class MySQLSettings:
        __table_args__ = {"mysql_engine": "InnoDB"}

    @declarative_mixin
    class MyOtherMixin:
        __table_args__ = {"info": "foo"}

    class MyModel(MySQLSettings, MyOtherMixin, Base):
        __tablename__ = "my_model"

        @declared_attr
        def __table_args__(cls):
            args = dict()
            args.update(MySQLSettings.__table_args__)
            args.update(MyOtherMixin.__table_args__)
            return args

        id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)

## Creating Indexes with Mixins

To define a named, potentially multicolumn `Index` that applies to all tables derived from a mixin, use the “inline” form of `Index` and establish it as part of `__table_args__`:

    @declarative_mixin
    class MyMixin:
        a = Column(Integer)
        b = Column(Integer)

        @declared_attr
        def __table_args__(cls):
            return (Index(f"test_idx_{cls.__tablename__}", "a", "b"),)

    class MyModel(MyMixin, Base):
        __tablename__ = "atable"
        c = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)