--crossdb option for joining across databases (#1232)

* Test for cross-database join, refs #283
* Warn if --crossdb used with more than 10 DBs, refs #283
* latest.datasette.io demo of --crossdb joins, refs #283
* Show attached databases on /_memory page, refs #283
* Documentation for cross-database queries, refs #283

.github/workflows/deploy-latest.yml

@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ jobs:
     - name: Run tests
       run: pytest
     - name: Build fixtures.db
-      run: python tests/fixtures.py fixtures.db fixtures.json plugins
+      run: python tests/fixtures.py fixtures.db fixtures.json plugins --extra-db-filename extra_database.db
     - name: Build docs.db
       run: |-
         cd docs
@@ -48,12 +48,12 @@ jobs:
       run: |-
         gcloud config set run/region us-central1
         gcloud config set project datasette-222320
-        datasette publish cloudrun fixtures.db \
+        datasette publish cloudrun fixtures.db extra_database.db \
             -m fixtures.json \
             --plugins-dir=plugins \
             --branch=$GITHUB_SHA \
             --version-note=$GITHUB_SHA \
-            --extra-options="--setting template_debug 1" \
+            --extra-options="--setting template_debug 1 --crossdb" \
             --install=pysqlite3-binary \
             --service=datasette-latest
         # Deploy docs.db to a different service

datasette/app.py

@@ -85,6 +85,9 @@ from .version import __version__
 
 app_root = Path(__file__).parent.parent
 
+# https://github.com/simonw/datasette/issues/283#issuecomment-781591015
+SQLITE_LIMIT_ATTACHED = 10
+
 Setting = collections.namedtuple("Setting", ("name", "default", "help"))
 SETTINGS = (
     Setting("default_page_size", 100, "Default page size for the table view"),
@@ -194,6 +197,7 @@ class Datasette:
         version_note=None,
         config_dir=None,
         pdb=False,
+        crossdb=False,
     ):
         assert config_dir is None or isinstance(
             config_dir, Path
@@ -217,7 +221,8 @@ class Datasette:
         self.inspect_data = inspect_data
         self.immutables = set(immutables or [])
         self.databases = collections.OrderedDict()
-        if memory or not self.files:
+        self.crossdb = crossdb
+        if memory or crossdb or not self.files:
             self.add_database(Database(self, is_memory=True), name="_memory")
         # memory_name is a random string so that each Datasette instance gets its own
         # unique in-memory named database - otherwise unit tests can fail with weird
@@ -499,6 +504,19 @@ class Datasette:
             conn.execute(f"PRAGMA cache_size=-{self.setting('cache_size_kb')}")
         # pylint: disable=no-member
         pm.hook.prepare_connection(conn=conn, database=database, datasette=self)
+        # If self.crossdb and this is _memory, connect the first SQLITE_LIMIT_ATTACHED databases
+        if self.crossdb and database == "_memory":
+            count = 0
+            for db_name, db in self.databases.items():
+                if count >= SQLITE_LIMIT_ATTACHED or db.is_memory:
+                    continue
+                sql = 'ATTACH DATABASE "file:{path}?{qs}" AS [{name}];'.format(
+                    path=db.path,
+                    qs="mode=ro" if db.is_mutable else "immutable=1",
+                    name=db_name,
+                )
+                conn.execute(sql)
+                count += 1
 
     def add_message(self, request, message, type=INFO):
         if not hasattr(request, "_messages"):

datasette/cli.py

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ from subprocess import call
 import sys
 from runpy import run_module
 import webbrowser
-from .app import Datasette, DEFAULT_SETTINGS, SETTINGS, pm
+from .app import Datasette, DEFAULT_SETTINGS, SETTINGS, SQLITE_LIMIT_ATTACHED, pm
 from .utils import (
     StartupError,
     check_connection,
@@ -410,6 +410,11 @@ def uninstall(packages, yes):
     is_flag=True,
     help="Create database files if they do not exist",
 )
+@click.option(
+    "--crossdb",
+    is_flag=True,
+    help="Enable cross-database joins using the /_memory database",
+)
 @click.option(
     "--ssl-keyfile",
     help="SSL key file",
@@ -442,6 +447,7 @@ def serve(
     pdb,
     open_browser,
     create,
+    crossdb,
     ssl_keyfile,
     ssl_certfile,
     return_instance=False,
@@ -499,6 +505,7 @@ def serve(
         secret=secret,
         version_note=version_note,
         pdb=pdb,
+        crossdb=crossdb,
     )
 
     # if files is a single directory, use that as config_dir=
@@ -591,3 +598,15 @@ async def check_databases(ds):
             raise click.UsageError(
                 f"Connection to {database.path} failed check: {str(e.args[0])}"
             )
+    # If --crossdb and more than SQLITE_LIMIT_ATTACHED show warning
+    if (
+        ds.crossdb
+        and len([db for db in ds.databases.values() if not db.is_memory])
+        > SQLITE_LIMIT_ATTACHED
+    ):
+        msg = (
+            "Warning: --crossdb only works with the first {} attached databases".format(
+                SQLITE_LIMIT_ATTACHED
+            )
+        )
+        click.echo(click.style(msg, bold=True, fg="yellow"), err=True)

datasette/database.py

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import asyncio
+from collections import namedtuple
 from pathlib import Path
 import janus
 import queue
@@ -22,6 +23,8 @@ from .inspect import inspect_hash
 
 connections = threading.local()
 
+AttachedDatabase = namedtuple("AttachedDatabase", ("seq", "name", "file"))
+
 
 class Database:
     def __init__(
@@ -78,7 +81,7 @@ class Database:
                 conn.execute("PRAGMA query_only=1")
             return conn
         if self.is_memory:
-            return sqlite3.connect(":memory:")
+            return sqlite3.connect(":memory:", uri=True)
         # mode=ro or immutable=1?
         if self.is_mutable:
             qs = "?mode=ro"
@@ -243,6 +246,12 @@ class Database:
             return None
         return Path(self.path).stat().st_mtime_ns
 
+    async def attached_databases(self):
+        results = await self.execute(
+            "select seq, name, file from pragma_database_list() where seq > 0"
+        )
+        return [AttachedDatabase(*row) for row in results.rows]
+
     async def table_exists(self, table):
         results = await self.execute(
             "select 1 from sqlite_master where type='table' and name=?", params=(table,)

datasette/templates/database.html

@@ -56,6 +56,17 @@
     </form>
 {% endif %}
 
+{% if attached_databases %}
+    <div class="message-info">
+        <p>The following databases are attached to this connection, and can be used for cross-database joins:</p>
+        <ul class="bullets">
+            {% for db_name in attached_databases %}
+                <li><strong>{{ db_name }}</strong> - <a href="?sql=select+*+from+[{{ db_name }}].sqlite_master+where+type='table'">tables</a></li>
+            {% endfor %}
+        </ul>
+    </div>
+{% endif %}
+
 {% for table in tables %}
 {% if show_hidden or not table.hidden %}
 <div class="db-table">

datasette/views/database.py

@@ -115,6 +115,8 @@ class DatabaseView(DataView):
                     links.extend(extra_links)
             return links
 
+        attached_databases = [d.name for d in await db.attached_databases()]
+
         return (
             {
                 "database": database,
@@ -139,6 +141,7 @@ class DatabaseView(DataView):
                 "allow_download": self.ds.setting("allow_download")
                 and not db.is_mutable
                 and not db.is_memory,
+                "attached_databases": attached_databases,
             },
             (f"database-{to_css_class(database)}.html", "database.html"),
         )

docs/datasette-serve-help.txt

@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ Options:
   --pdb                     Launch debugger on any errors
   -o, --open                Open Datasette in your web browser
   --create                  Create database files if they do not exist
+  --crossdb                 Enable cross-database joins using the /_memory database
   --ssl-keyfile TEXT        SSL key file
   --ssl-certfile TEXT       SSL certificate file
   --help                    Show this message and exit.

docs/internals.rst

@@ -677,6 +677,9 @@ The ``Database`` class also provides properties and methods for introspecting th
 ``db.is_memory`` - boolean
     Is this database an in-memory database?
 
+``await db.attached_databases()`` - list of named tuples
+    Returns a list of additional databases that have been connected to this database using the SQLite ATTACH command. Each named tuple has fields ``seq``, ``name`` and ``file``.
+
 ``await db.table_exists(table)`` - boolean
     Check if a table called ``table`` exists.
 

docs/sql_queries.rst

@@ -389,3 +389,34 @@ detect if there should be another page.
 Since the where clause acts against the index on the primary key, the query is
 extremely fast even for records that are a long way into the overall pagination
 set.
+
+.. _cross_database_quereies:
+
+Cross-database queries
+----------------------
+
+SQLite has the ability to run queries that join across multiple databases. Up to ten databases can be attached to a single SQLite connection and queried together.
+
+Datasette can execute joins across multiple databases if it is started with the ``--crossdb`` option::
+
+    datasette fixtures.db extra_database.db --crossdb
+
+If it is started in this way, the ``/_memory`` page can be used to execute queries that join across multiple databases.
+
+References to tables in attached databases should be preceeded by the database name and a period.
+
+For example, this query will show a list of tables across both of the above databases:
+
+.. code-block:: sql
+
+    select
+      'fixtures' as database, *
+    from
+      [fixtures].sqlite_master
+    union
+    select
+      'extra_database' as database, *
+    from
+      [extra_database].sqlite_master
+
+`Try that out here <https://latest.datasette.io/_memory?sql=select%0D%0A++%27fixtures%27+as+database%2C+*%0D%0Afrom%0D%0A++%5Bfixtures%5D.sqlite_master%0D%0Aunion%0D%0Aselect%0D%0A++%27extra_database%27+as+database%2C+*%0D%0Afrom%0D%0A++%5Bextra_database%5D.sqlite_master>`__.

tests/fixtures.py

@@ -105,6 +105,7 @@ def make_app_client(
     static_mounts=None,
     template_dir=None,
     metadata=None,
+    crossdb=False,
 ):
     with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir:
         filepath = os.path.join(tmpdir, filename)
@@ -149,6 +150,7 @@ def make_app_client(
             inspect_data=inspect_data,
             static_mounts=static_mounts,
             template_dir=template_dir,
+            crossdb=crossdb,
         )
         ds.sqlite_functions.append(("sleep", 1, lambda n: time.sleep(float(n))))
         yield TestClient(ds)
@@ -180,6 +182,15 @@ def app_client_two_attached_databases():
         yield client
 
 
+@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
+def app_client_two_attached_databases_crossdb_enabled():
+    with make_app_client(
+        extra_databases={"extra database.db": EXTRA_DATABASE_SQL},
+        crossdb=True,
+    ) as client:
+        yield client
+
+
 @pytest.fixture(scope="session")
 def app_client_conflicting_database_names():
     with make_app_client(
@@ -750,7 +761,12 @@ def assert_permissions_checked(datasette, actions):
     default=False,
     help="Delete and recreate database if it exists",
 )
-def cli(db_filename, metadata, plugins_path, recreate):
+@click.option(
+    "--extra-db-filename",
+    type=click.Path(file_okay=True, dir_okay=False),
+    help="Write out second test DB to this file",
+)
+def cli(db_filename, metadata, plugins_path, recreate, extra_db_filename):
     """Write out the fixtures database used by Datasette's test suite"""
     if metadata and not metadata.endswith(".json"):
         raise click.ClickException("Metadata should end with .json")
@@ -784,6 +800,17 @@ def cli(db_filename, metadata, plugins_path, recreate):
             newpath = path / filepath.name
             newpath.write_text(filepath.open().read())
             print(f"  Wrote plugin: {newpath}")
+    if extra_db_filename:
+        if pathlib.Path(extra_db_filename).exists():
+            if not recreate:
+                raise click.ClickException(
+                    f"{extra_db_filename} already exists, use --recreate to reset it"
+                )
+            else:
+                pathlib.Path(extra_db_filename).unlink()
+        conn = sqlite3.connect(extra_db_filename)
+        conn.executescript(EXTRA_DATABASE_SQL)
+        print(f"Test tables written to {extra_db_filename}")
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":

tests/test_cli.py

@@ -147,6 +147,7 @@ def test_metadata_yaml():
         get=None,
         help_config=False,
         pdb=False,
+        crossdb=False,
         open_browser=False,
         create=False,
         ssl_keyfile=None,

tests/test_crossdb.py

@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+from datasette.cli import cli
+from click.testing import CliRunner
+import urllib
+import sqlite3
+from .fixtures import app_client_two_attached_databases_crossdb_enabled
+
+
+def test_crossdb_join(app_client_two_attached_databases_crossdb_enabled):
+    app_client = app_client_two_attached_databases_crossdb_enabled
+    sql = """
+    select
+      'extra database' as db,
+      pk,
+      text1,
+      text2
+    from
+      [extra database].searchable
+    union all
+    select
+      'fixtures' as db,
+      pk,
+      text1,
+      text2
+    from
+      fixtures.searchable
+    """
+    response = app_client.get(
+        "/_memory.json?" + urllib.parse.urlencode({"sql": sql, "_shape": "array"})
+    )
+    assert response.status == 200
+    assert response.json == [
+        {"db": "extra database", "pk": 1, "text1": "barry cat", "text2": "terry dog"},
+        {"db": "extra database", "pk": 2, "text1": "terry dog", "text2": "sara weasel"},
+        {"db": "fixtures", "pk": 1, "text1": "barry cat", "text2": "terry dog"},
+        {"db": "fixtures", "pk": 2, "text1": "terry dog", "text2": "sara weasel"},
+    ]
+
+
+def test_crossdb_warning_if_too_many_databases(tmp_path_factory):
+    db_dir = tmp_path_factory.mktemp("dbs")
+    dbs = []
+    for i in range(11):
+        path = str(db_dir / "db_{}.db".format(i))
+        conn = sqlite3.connect(path)
+        conn.execute("vacuum")
+        dbs.append(path)
+    runner = CliRunner(mix_stderr=False)
+    result = runner.invoke(
+        cli,
+        [
+            "serve",
+            "--crossdb",
+            "--get",
+            "/",
+        ]
+        + dbs,
+        catch_exceptions=False,
+    )
+    assert (
+        "Warning: --crossdb only works with the first 10 attached databases"
+        in result.stderr
+    )
+
+
+def test_crossdb_attached_database_list_display(
+    app_client_two_attached_databases_crossdb_enabled,
+):
+    app_client = app_client_two_attached_databases_crossdb_enabled
+    response = app_client.get("/_memory")
+    for fragment in (
+        "databases are attached to this connection",
+        "<li><strong>fixtures</strong> - ",
+        "<li><strong>extra database</strong> - ",
+    ):
+        assert fragment in response.text

tests/test_internals_database.py

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ Tests for the datasette.database.Database class
 from datasette.database import Database, Results, MultipleValues
 from datasette.utils.sqlite import sqlite3, supports_generated_columns
 from datasette.utils import Column
-from .fixtures import app_client
+from .fixtures import app_client, app_client_two_attached_databases_crossdb_enabled
 import pytest
 import time
 import uuid
@@ -466,6 +466,15 @@ def test_is_mutable(app_client):
     assert Database(app_client.ds, is_memory=True, is_mutable=False).is_mutable is False
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_attached_databases(app_client_two_attached_databases_crossdb_enabled):
+    database = app_client_two_attached_databases_crossdb_enabled.ds.get_database(
+        "_memory"
+    )
+    attached = await database.attached_databases()
+    assert {a.name for a in attached} == {"extra database", "fixtures"}
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_database_memory_name(app_client):
     ds = app_client.ds