Tutorial: Using Motor With Tornado

A guide to using MongoDB and Tornado with Motor.

Tutorial Prerequisites

You can learn about MongoDB with the MongoDB Tutorial before you learn Motor.

Install pip and then do:

$ pip install tornado motor

Once done, the following should run in the Python shell without raising an exception:

>>> import motor.motor_tornado

This tutorial also assumes that a MongoDB instance is running on the default host and port. Assuming you have downloaded and installed MongoDB, you can start it like so:

$ mongod

Object Hierarchy

Motor, like PyMongo, represents data with a 4-level object hierarchy:

  • MotorClient represents a mongod process, or a cluster of them. You explicitly create one of these client objects, connect it to a running mongod or mongods, and use it for the lifetime of your application.
  • MotorDatabase: Each mongod has a set of databases (distinct sets of data files on disk). You can get a reference to a database from a client.
  • MotorCollection: A database has a set of collections, which contain documents; you get a reference to a collection from a database.
  • MotorCursor: Executing find() on a MotorCollection gets a MotorCursor, which represents the set of documents matching a query.

Creating a Client

You typically create a single instance of MotorClient at the time your application starts up.

>>> client = motor.motor_tornado.MotorClient()

This connects to a mongod listening on the default host and port. You can specify the host and port like:

>>> client = motor.motor_tornado.MotorClient('localhost', 27017)

Motor also supports connection URIs:

>>> client = motor.motor_tornado.MotorClient('mongodb://localhost:27017')

Connect to a replica set like:

>>> client = motor.motor_tornado.MotorClient('mongodb://host1,host2/?replicaSet=my-replicaset-name')

Getting a Database

A single instance of MongoDB can support multiple independent databases. From an open client, you can get a reference to a particular database with dot-notation or bracket-notation:

>>> db = client.test_database
>>> db = client['test_database']

Creating a reference to a database does no I/O and does not accept a callback or return a Future.

Tornado Application Startup Sequence

Now that we can create a client and get a database, we’re ready to start a Tornado application that uses Motor:

db = motor.motor_tornado.MotorClient().test_database

application = tornado.web.Application([
    (r'/', MainHandler)
], db=db)

application.listen(8888)
tornado.ioloop.IOLoop.current().start()

There are two things to note in this code. First, the MotorClient constructor doesn’t actually connect to the server; the client will initiate a connection when you attempt the first operation. Second, passing the database as the db keyword argument to Application makes it available to request handlers:

class MainHandler(tornado.web.RequestHandler):
    def get(self):
        db = self.settings['db']

It is a common mistake to create a new client object for every request; this comes at a dire performance cost. Create the client when your application starts and reuse that one client for the lifetime of the process, as shown in these examples.

The Tornado HTTPServer class’s start() method is a simple way to fork multiple web servers and use all of your machine’s CPUs. However, you must create your MotorClient after forking:

# Create the application before creating a MotorClient.
application = tornado.web.Application([
    (r'/', MainHandler)
])

server = tornado.httpserver.HTTPServer(application)
server.bind(8888)

# Forks one process per CPU.
server.start(0)

# Now, in each child process, create a MotorClient.
application.settings['db'] = MotorClient().test_database
IOLoop.current().start()

For production-ready, multiple-CPU deployments of Tornado there are better methods than HTTPServer.start(). See Tornado’s guide to Running and deploying.

Getting a Collection

A collection is a group of documents stored in MongoDB, and can be thought of as roughly the equivalent of a table in a relational database. Getting a collection in Motor works the same as getting a database:

>>> collection = db.test_collection
>>> collection = db['test_collection']

Just like getting a reference to a database, getting a reference to a collection does no I/O and doesn’t accept a callback or return a Future.

Inserting a Document

As in PyMongo, Motor represents MongoDB documents with Python dictionaries. To store a document in MongoDB, call insert_one() with a document and a callback:

>>> from tornado.ioloop import IOLoop
>>> def my_callback(result, error):
...     print('result %s' % repr(result.inserted_id))
...     IOLoop.current().stop()
...
>>> document = {'key': 'value'}
>>> db.test_collection.insert_one(document, callback=my_callback)
>>> IOLoop.current().start()
result ObjectId('...')

There are several differences to note between Motor and PyMongo. One is that, unlike PyMongo’s insert_one(), Motor’s has no return value. Another is that insert_one accepts an optional callback function. The function must take two arguments and it must be passed to insert_one as a keyword argument, like:

db.test_collection.insert_one(document, callback=some_function)

Warning

Passing the callback function using the callback= syntax is required. (This requirement is a side-effect of the technique Motor uses to wrap PyMongo.) If you pass the callback as a positional argument instead, you may see an exception like TypeError: method takes exactly 1 argument (2 given), or TypeError: callable is required, or some silent misbehavior.

insert_one() is asynchronous. This means it returns immediately, and the actual work of inserting the document into the collection is performed in the background. When it completes, the callback is executed. If the insert succeeded, the result parameter is a InsertOneResult with the new document’s unique id and the error parameter is None. If there was an error, result is None and error is an Exception object. For example, we can trigger a duplicate-key error by trying to insert two documents with the same unique id:

>>> loop = IOLoop.current()
>>> def my_callback(result, error):
...     print('result %s error %s' % (repr(result), repr(error)))
...     IOLoop.current().stop()
...
>>> def insert_two_documents():
...     db.test_collection.insert_one({'_id': 1}, callback=my_callback)
...
>>> IOLoop.current().add_callback(insert_two_documents)
>>> IOLoop.current().start()
result <pymongo.results.InsertOneResult ...> error None
>>> IOLoop.current().add_callback(insert_two_documents)
>>> IOLoop.current().start()
result None error DuplicateKeyError(...)

The first insert results in my_callback being called with result 1 and error None. The second insert triggers my_callback with result None and a DuplicateKeyError.

A typical beginner’s mistake with Motor is to insert documents in a loop, not waiting for each insert to complete before beginning the next:

>>> for i in range(2000):
...     db.test_collection.insert_one({'i': i})

In PyMongo this would insert each document in turn using a single socket, but Motor attempts to run all the insert_one() operations at once. This requires up to max_pool_size open sockets connected to MongoDB, which taxes the client and server. To ensure instead that all inserts use a single connection, wait for acknowledgment of each. This is a bit complex using callbacks:

>>> i = 0
>>> def do_insert(result, error):
...     global i
...     if error:
...         raise error
...     i += 1
...     if i < 2000:
...         db.test_collection.insert_one({'i': i}, callback=do_insert)
...     else:
...         IOLoop.current().stop()
...
>>> # Start
>>> db.test_collection.insert_one({'i': i}, callback=do_insert)
>>> IOLoop.current().start()

You can simplify this code with gen.coroutine.

Using Motor with gen.coroutine

The tornado.gen module lets you use generators to simplify asynchronous code. There are two parts to coding with generators: coroutine and Future.

First, decorate your generator function with @gen.coroutine:

>>> @gen.coroutine
... def do_insert():
...     pass

If you pass no callback to one of Motor’s asynchronous methods, it returns a Future. Yield the Future instance to wait for an operation to complete and obtain its result:

>>> @gen.coroutine
... def do_insert():
...     for i in range(2000):
...         future = db.test_collection.insert_one({'i': i})
...         result = yield future
...
>>> IOLoop.current().run_sync(do_insert)

In the code above, result is the _id of each inserted document.

See also

The MongoDB documentation on

insert

Using native coroutines

Starting in Python 3.5, you can define a native coroutine with async def instead of the gen.coroutine decorator. Within a native coroutine, wait for an async operation with await instead of yield:

>>> async def do_insert():
...     for i in range(2000):
...         result = await db.test_collection.insert_one({'i': i})
...
>>> IOLoop.current().run_sync(do_insert)

Within a native coroutine, the syntax to use Motor with Tornado or asyncio is often identical.

Getting a Single Document With find_one()

Use find_one() to get the first document that matches a query. For example, to get a document where the value for key “i” is less than 1:

>>> @gen.coroutine
... def do_find_one():
...     document = yield db.test_collection.find_one({'i': {'$lt': 1}})
...     pprint.pprint(document)
...
>>> IOLoop.current().run_sync(do_find_one)
{'_id': ObjectId('...'), 'i': 0}

The result is a dictionary matching the one that we inserted previously.

The returned document contains an "_id", which was automatically added on insert.

(We use pprint here instead of print to ensure the document’s key names are sorted the same in your output as ours.)

See also

The MongoDB documentation on

find

Querying for More Than One Document

Use find() to query for a set of documents. find() does no I/O and does not take a callback, it merely creates a MotorCursor instance. The query is actually executed on the server when you call to_list() or each(), or yield fetch_next.

To find all documents with “i” less than 5:

>>> @gen.coroutine
... def do_find():
...     cursor = db.test_collection.find({'i': {'$lt': 5}}).sort('i')
...     for document in (yield cursor.to_list(length=100)):
...         pprint.pprint(document)
...
>>> IOLoop.current().run_sync(do_find)
{'_id': ObjectId('...'), 'i': 0}
{'_id': ObjectId('...'), 'i': 1}
{'_id': ObjectId('...'), 'i': 2}
{'_id': ObjectId('...'), 'i': 3}
{'_id': ObjectId('...'), 'i': 4}

A length argument is required when you call to_list to prevent Motor from buffering an unlimited number of documents.

To get one document at a time with fetch_next and next_object():

>>> @gen.coroutine
... def do_find():
...     cursor = db.test_collection.find({'i': {'$lt': 5}})
...     while (yield cursor.fetch_next):
...         document = cursor.next_object()
...         pprint.pprint(document)
...
>>> IOLoop.current().run_sync(do_find)
{'_id': ObjectId('...'), 'i': 0}
{'_id': ObjectId('...'), 'i': 1}
{'_id': ObjectId('...'), 'i': 2}
{'_id': ObjectId('...'), 'i': 3}
{'_id': ObjectId('...'), 'i': 4}

You can apply a sort, limit, or skip to a query before you begin iterating:

>>> @gen.coroutine
... def do_find():
...     c = db.test_collection
...     cursor = c.find({'i': {'$lt': 5}})
...     # Modify the query before iterating
...     cursor.sort('i', -1).limit(2).skip(2)
...     while (yield cursor.fetch_next):
...         document = cursor.next_object()
...         pprint.pprint(document)
...
>>> IOLoop.current().run_sync(do_find)
{'_id': ObjectId('...'), 'i': 2}
{'_id': ObjectId('...'), 'i': 1}

fetch_next does not actually retrieve each document from the server individually; it gets documents efficiently in large batches.

async for

In a native coroutine defined with async def, replace the while-loop with async for:

>>> async def do_find():
...     c = db.test_collection
...     async for document in c.find({'i': {'$lt': 2}}):
...         pprint.pprint(document)
...
>>> IOLoop.current().run_sync(do_find)
{'_id': ObjectId('...'), 'i': 0}
{'_id': ObjectId('...'), 'i': 1}

This version of the code is dramatically faster.

Counting Documents

Use count() to determine the number of documents in a collection, or the number of documents that match a query:

>>> @gen.coroutine
... def do_count():
...     n = yield db.test_collection.find().count()
...     print('%s documents in collection' % n)
...     n = yield db.test_collection.find({'i': {'$gt': 1000}}).count()
...     print('%s documents where i > 1000' % n)
...
>>> IOLoop.current().run_sync(do_count)
2000 documents in collection
999 documents where i > 1000

count() uses the count command internally; we’ll cover commands below.

See also

Count command

Updating Documents

replace_one() changes a document. It requires two parameters: a query that specifies which document to replace, and a replacement document. The query follows the same syntax as for find() or find_one(). To replace a document:

>>> @gen.coroutine
... def do_replace():
...     coll = db.test_collection
...     old_document = yield coll.find_one({'i': 50})
...     print('found document: %s' % pprint.pformat(old_document))
...     _id = old_document['_id']
...     result = yield coll.replace_one({'_id': _id}, {'key': 'value'})
...     print('replaced %s document' % result.modified_count)
...     new_document = yield coll.find_one({'_id': _id})
...     print('document is now %s' % pprint.pformat(new_document))
...
>>> IOLoop.current().run_sync(do_replace)
found document: {'_id': ObjectId('...'), 'i': 50}
replaced 1 document
document is now {'_id': ObjectId('...'), 'key': 'value'}

You can see that replace_one() replaced everything in the old document except its _id with the new document.

Use update_one() with MongoDB’s modifier operators to update part of a document and leave the rest intact. We’ll find the document whose “i” is 51 and use the $set operator to set “key” to “value”:

>>> @gen.coroutine
... def do_update():
...     coll = db.test_collection
...     result = yield coll.update_one({'i': 51}, {'$set': {'key': 'value'}})
...     print('updated %s document' % result.modified_count)
...     new_document = yield coll.find_one({'i': 51})
...     print('document is now %s' % pprint.pformat(new_document))
...
>>> IOLoop.current().run_sync(do_update)
updated 1 document
document is now {'_id': ObjectId('...'), 'i': 51, 'key': 'value'}

“key” is set to “value” and “i” is still 51.

update_one() only affects the first document it finds, you can update all of them with update_many():

yield coll.update_many({'i': {'$gt': 100}},
                       {'$set': {'key': 'value'}})

See also

The MongoDB documentation on

update

Removing Documents

delete_many() takes a query with the same syntax as find(). delete_many() immediately removes all matching documents.

>>> @gen.coroutine
... def do_delete_many():
...     coll = db.test_collection
...     n = yield coll.count()
...     print('%s documents before calling delete_many()' % n)
...     result = yield db.test_collection.delete_many({'i': {'$gte': 1000}})
...     print('%s documents after' % (yield coll.count()))
...
>>> IOLoop.current().run_sync(do_delete_many)
2000 documents before calling delete_many()
1000 documents after

See also

The MongoDB documentation on

remove

Commands

Besides the “CRUD” operations–insert, update, delete, and find–all other operations on MongoDB are commands. Run them using the command() method on MotorDatabase:

>>> from bson import SON
>>> @gen.coroutine
... def use_count_command():
...     response = yield db.command(SON([("count", "test_collection")]))
...     print('response: %s' % pprint.pformat(response))
...
>>> IOLoop.current().run_sync(use_count_command)
response: {'n': 1000, 'ok': 1.0...}

Since the order of command parameters matters, don’t use a Python dict to pass the command’s parameters. Instead, make a habit of using bson.SON, from the bson module included with PyMongo:

yield db.command(SON([("distinct", "test_collection"), ("key", "my_key")]))

Many commands have special helper methods, such as create_collection() or aggregate(), but these are just conveniences atop the basic command() method.

See also

The MongoDB documentation on

commands

Further Reading

The handful of classes and methods introduced here are sufficient for daily tasks. The API documentation for MotorClient, MotorDatabase, MotorCollection, and MotorCursor provides a reference to Motor’s complete feature set.

Learning to use the MongoDB driver is just the beginning, of course. For in-depth instruction in MongoDB itself, see The MongoDB Manual.