Sql-server – Launching a python script from an insert trigger

pythonservice-brokersql servertrigger

We have a nice piece of python that sends some emails and interacts with a cloud system. Works fine. But we have to fire it every few minutes to poll the db. We really need, for business purposes, to have the python script fire in real time, so there is no polling delay. (This serves sales people who are on the phone with customers.)

We really do not want a 1 minute polling loop. Or 30 seconds. We want the record to show in the db and for things to happen right away.

The fast way to make this fly is to have it fire when a specific record type is inserted into a table.

Can we fire a python script from a trigger?

Per Aaron's note below, we know that this is a Very Bad Thing™, but this table gets very very little use (0-12 inserts a day). Polling the table fails to meet our business need (we need the .py to run immediately — it does much more than send an email).

We believe a way to meet our business need is to set up the .net version of python on the SQL Server, and then have T-SQL call the python script the way it calls C# stuff… but we have no idea how to actually do this! (ergo this question).

Docs/details?

I asked a follow-up question on Stack Overflow: How do I create a Python CLR procedure in SQL Server?

The question under the question: You have a piece of python. You want it to fire from a SQL trigger, but you know that is a Very Bad Thing. So what do you do to actually accomplish the same effect without having python code in the middle of a SQL operation?

What is the non-trigger, non-polling approach to solving this need?

(The same effect = "insert/update/delete happens in a table and a python script is triggered within 2 seconds of the db event, without polling the table")

Best Answer

Don't make your user transaction wait for the (hopefully!) successful completion of the Python script. Your entire transaction sits there and waits for this external process to run, try to send mail, etc. I doubt the e-mail really has to go out that instant - especially given you can't control any delays it has as it gets routed to the recipient's inbox anyway. Why not just run the process more frequently, if timing is so important?

Please give this tip a look-through.

If you really, really, really want to do this the wrong way, you can just enable xp_cmdshell and fire away.

EXEC sp_configure 'show advanced options', 1;
GO
RECONFIGURE WITH OVERRIDE;
GO
EXEC sp_configure 'xp_cmdshell', 1;
GO
RECONFIGURE WITH OVERRIDE;
GO

Now, assuming the user has access to xp_cmdshell and/or the SQL Server service account can see the folder where the python script is stored, you should be able to do this from within your trigger:

EXEC master..xp_cmdshell N'C:\Python27\python.exe C:\source\NotifyAgents.py';

As an aside, you should state in your question that you aware that this is a very bad thingTM, but you are not concerned with that, for whatever reason. I still don't think you're going to get as real time as you expect, even if you do fire this from the trigger. Have you considered database mail instead of python?

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