MySQL (MariaDB) backend for Django under Python3 on Debian - mysql

Question

I am attempting to configure Django running under Python3 on a Debian box to use MariaDB as its backend. If I alter my mysite/settpings.py as per the tutorial i.e.
DATABASES = {
'default': {
'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.mysql',
'NAME': 'foo',
'USER': 'tim',
'PASSWORD': 'swordfish',
'HOST': 'localhost'
}
}
I get a lot of grief, culminating in
File "/usr/local/lib/python3.4/dist-packages/django/db/backends/mysql/base.py", line 30, in <module>
'Did you install mysqlclient or MySQL-python?' % e
django.core.exceptions.ImproperlyConfigured: Error loading MySQLdb module: No module named 'MySQLdb'.
Did you install mysqlclient or MySQL-python?
Now, obviously, MySQLdb doesn't work on Python3 and although I have installed the mysql connector package doesn't seem to work.
If I try using the connector recommended by MySQL
i.e.
DATABASES = {
'default': {
'ENGINE': 'mysql.connector.django',
'NAME': 'foo',
'USER': 'tim',
'PASSWORD': 'swordfish',
'HOST': 'localhost'
then I get a load of grief culminating in
django.core.exceptions.ImproperlyConfigured: 'mysql.connector.django' isn't an available database backend.
Try using 'django.db.backends.XXX', where XXX is one of:
'mysql', 'oracle', 'postgresql', 'sqlite3'
Error was: cannot import name 'BaseDatabaseFeatures'
Any suggestions?
UPDATE
Further to Matt Seymour's suggestion if I attempt a pip (actually pip3 as my system Python is still 2.x) install of mysqlclient I get the following...
tim#merlin:~/mysite$ sudo pip3 install mysqlclient
Collecting mysqlclient
Using cached mysqlclient-1.3.10.tar.gz
Complete output from command python setup.py egg_info:
/bin/sh: 1: mysql_config: not found
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<string>", line 1, in <module>
File "/tmp/pip-build-9uub69zo/mysqlclient/setup.py", line 17, in <module>
metadata, options = get_config()
File "/tmp/pip-build-9uub69zo/mysqlclient/setup_posix.py", line 44, in get_config
libs = mysql_config("libs_r")
File "/tmp/pip-build-9uub69zo/mysqlclient/setup_posix.py", line 26, in mysql_config
raise EnvironmentError("%s not found" % (mysql_config.path,))
OSError: mysql_config not found
----------------------------------------
Command "python setup.py egg_info" failed with error code 1 in /tmp/pip-build-9uub69zo/mysqlclient
Could the fact that I am using MariaDB rather than MySQL be significant here?

Answer 1

OK, after some messing around I have an answer of sorts, although not as satisfactory as I would like.
The MySQLdb library isn't supported under Python 3.x, and so you should use the mysqlclient fork of it instead. However, because I am using the MariaDB fork of MySQL, some of Debian's dependencies required to install mysqlclient are unmet. I don't want to revert to MySQL as I am using MariaDB for other purposes.
So, as all I needed was a fairly robust, multi-user back-end RDBMS, I've installed PostgreSQL for use with Django which seems to work nicely enough.