Class Key (2.20.0) 

Key(*path_args, **kwargs)

An immutable representation of a datastore Key.

.. testsetup:: key-ctor

from google.cloud import datastore

project = 'my-special-pony' client = datastore.Client(project=project) Key = datastore.Key

parent_key = client.key('Parent', 'foo')

To create a basic key directly:

.. doctest:: key-ctor

Key('EntityKind', 1234, project=project) <Key('EntityKind', 1234), project=...> Key('EntityKind', 'foo', project=project) <Key('EntityKind', 'foo'), project=...>

Though typical usage comes via the xref_key factory:

.. doctest:: key-ctor

client.key('EntityKind', 1234) <Key('EntityKind', 1234), project=...> client.key('EntityKind', 'foo') <Key('EntityKind', 'foo'), project=...>

To create a key with a parent:

.. doctest:: key-ctor

client.key('Parent', 'foo', 'Child', 1234) <Key('Parent', 'foo', 'Child', 1234), project=...> client.key('Child', 1234, parent=parent_key) <Key('Parent', 'foo', 'Child', 1234), project=...>

To create a partial key:

.. doctest:: key-ctor

client.key('Parent', 'foo', 'Child') <Key('Parent', 'foo', 'Child'), project=...>

To create a key from a non-default database:

.. doctest:: key-ctor

Key('EntityKind', 1234, project=project, database='mydb') <Key('EntityKind', 1234), project=my-special-pony, database=mydb>

Parameter
Name Description
path_args tuple of string and integer

May represent a partial (odd length) or full (even length) key path.

Properties

database

Database getter.

Returns
Type Description
str The database of the current key.

flat_path

Getter for the key path as a tuple.

Returns
Type Description
tuple of string and integer The tuple of elements in the path.

id

ID getter. Based on the last element of path.

Returns
Type Description
int The (integer) ID of the key.

id_or_name

Getter. Based on the last element of path.

Returns
Type Description
int (if id) or string (if name) The last element of the key's path if it is either an id or a name.

is_partial

Boolean indicating if the key has an ID (or name).

Returns
Type Description
bool True if the last element of the key's path does not have an id or a name.

kind

Kind getter. Based on the last element of path.

Returns
Type Description
str The kind of the current key.

name

Name getter. Based on the last element of path.

Returns
Type Description
str The (string) name of the key.

namespace

Namespace getter.

Returns
Type Description
str The namespace of the current key.

parent

The parent of the current key.

Returns
Type Description
Key or NoneType A new Key instance, whose path consists of all but the last element of current path. If the current key has only one path element, returns None.

path

Path getter.

Returns a copy so that the key remains immutable.

Returns
Type Description
list of dict The (key) path of the current key.

project

Project getter.

Returns
Type Description
str The key's project.

Methods

__eq__

__eq__(other)

Compare two keys for equality.

Incomplete keys never compare equal to any other key.

Completed keys compare equal if they have the same path, project, database, and namespace.

(Note that database=None is considered to refer to the default database.)

Returns
Type Description
bool True if the keys compare equal, else False.

__hash__

__hash__()

Hash this key for use in a dictionary lookup.

Returns
Type Description
int a hash of the key's state.

__ne__

__ne__(other)

Compare two keys for inequality.

Incomplete keys never compare equal to any other key.

Completed keys compare equal if they have the same path, project, database, and namespace.

(Note that database=None is considered to refer to the default database.)

Returns
Type Description
bool False if the keys compare equal, else True.

__repr__

__repr__()

String representation of this key.

Includes the project and database, but suppresses them if they are equal to the default values.

completed_key

completed_key(id_or_name)

Creates new key from existing partial key by adding final ID/name.

Parameter
Name Description
id_or_name str or integer

ID or name to be added to the key.
Exceptions
Type Description
`ValueError if the current key is not partial or if id_or_name is not a string or integer.
Returns
Type Description
Key A new Key instance with the same data as the current one and an extra ID or name added.

from_legacy_urlsafe

from_legacy_urlsafe(urlsafe)

Convert urlsafe string to xref_Key.

This is intended to work with the "legacy" representation of a datastore "Key" used within Google App Engine (a so-called "Reference"). This assumes that urlsafe was created within an App Engine app via something like ndb.Key(...).urlsafe().

Parameter
Name Description
urlsafe bytes or unicode

The base64 encoded (ASCII) string corresponding to a datastore "Key" / "Reference".
Returns
Type Description
Key. The key corresponding to urlsafe.

to_legacy_urlsafe

to_legacy_urlsafe(location_prefix=None)

Convert to a base64 encode urlsafe string for App Engine.

This is intended to work with the "legacy" representation of a datastore "Key" used within Google App Engine (a so-called "Reference"). The returned string can be used as the urlsafe argument to ndb.Key(urlsafe=...). The base64 encoded values will have padding removed.

Parameter
Name Description
location_prefix str

The location prefix of an App Engine project ID. Often this value is 's', but may also be 'e', or other location prefixes currently unknown.
Returns
Type Description
bytes A bytestring containing the key encoded as URL-safe base64.

to_protobuf

to_protobuf()

Return a protobuf corresponding to the key.

Returns
Type Description
.entity_pb2.Key The protobuf representing the key.