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I have a database file which is located on my own google drive (private) and it's updated on a daily basis. I wrote a python script in order to track the data from the database file, however I need to download the DB file to my pc, and then running my script locally, every single day.

I am wondering if there are any better options, so I wouldn't have to download the DB file and move it manually. From a slight searching on the web I found that there is no way to run the script in the google drive folder (obviously due to security issues), and using google cloud platform is not a real option since it's not a free service (and as I understood there is no free trial).

Anyways, any method that would make my life easier would be happily accepted.

Alina
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  • By "database file" can you share some more details on it? Is it a SQL dump or a sheet or ... ? Can you also share your python code? Depending on what format it is in there may be some options. Have you looked into [Apps Script](https://developers.google.com/apps-script) for instance? Though this again depends on what format your database is in. – iansedano Jan 11 '21 at 12:02
  • The database file is just an SQLite file, and my python code uses sqlite3 library in order to analyze the data. (It just opens the file with the sqlite engine and then I send various queries to analyze the data. Then it outputs a txt file with the results of the analyses). The Apps script is not exactly what I am looking for, since as I understand it doesn't run with python and I'm not willing to rewrite the whole script for right now. – Alina Jan 11 '21 at 17:52

1 Answers1

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Sorry

That's not possible AFAIK. At least in the way you have asked the question.

It may be that you are looking for a Database hosting service, which, as a rule, are not free. I remember seeing a SQL viewer around, I don't know if it is still available and I don't think it was accessible via a local Python script.

Google Cloud Platform, as other services, do however offer a free tier of services - though this depends on how much use you need to give it and also on your location. Though this can get quite involved quite quickly. There are also various options to choose from. For example Big Query may be something you are interested in.

A Possible Workaround

I assume that the reason you don't want to download it is because it is tedious, and not because your network connection or hard drive can't handle it, if so:

The simple workaround may just be to find a way to automatically download the database via the (Google Drive API)[https://developers.google.com/drive] with your Python Script, modify it, or read it, and then upload it again if you need to. This can be done all within one script using the API. So all you would need to do is run the Python script and you wouldn't need to manually download and move it into a folder. You would also not need to worry about running over the free tier and getting billed for it.

You could even use the Google Drive Desktop software to keep the database file synced locally. Since it is local, I doubt the software would be able to block a Python script on the file system.

If you don't even want to think about it, you could set up the Python script with a CRON job or a Scheduled task if you are on Windows.

iansedano
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