Add the util function as_dict

[rafaelreuber]

Add the util function as_dict. This is very useful to create APIs.

[timarmstrong]

There's already a way to do something similar to this by setting dictify=true in the cursor constructor. I can see that this is still useful if you have an existing cursor and want to convert it.

That feature is missing from the README, so I think we should document it at the very least. I'm open to having this function too, but it'd be good to have a basic test so that nobody breaks it in the future.

[timarmstrong]

I think as_dicts() would be a clearer name (it sounds like it returns a single dictionary).

[rafaelreuber]

You are right! Another option is dictfetchall. This name refers to the fetchall operation that occurs on the function.

[timarmstrong]

Either is fine by me. It looks like the dictfetchall is used by django so there's some precedent.

[timarmstrong]

Can you add a test for this method. E.g. see impala/tests/test_hive_dict_cursor.py

[rafaelreuber]

Hi timarmstrong,

What you think about both as_dicts and as_pandas as methods from HiveServer2Cursor.

class HiveServer2Cursor(Cursor):

    def as_dicts(self):
        pass
    def as_pandas(self):
        pass

I think this provides a concise interface.

with conn.cursor() as cursor:
    cursor.execute('SELECT * FROM mytable LIMIT 100')
    data = cursor.as_dict()

with conn.cursor() as cursor:
    cursor.execute('SELECT * FROM mytable LIMIT 100')
    df = cursor.as_pandas()	

And of course the class HiveServer2DictCursor could be removed.

[timarmstrong]

I think those are both useful methods. My ask is to not remove any existing functionality that people may depend on, but adding new convenience methods seems like a good idea.

[dknupp]

@rafaelreuber @timarmstrong -- Does adding an as_pandas() method imply that pandas is being added as a library dependency?

[timarmstrong]

We already have an as_pandas method, but it only imports pandas inside the method. So I guess it's only a dependency if you want to use that method.