def assign_properties(thing):
    """Assign properties to an object.

    When creating something via a post request (e.g. a node), you can pass the
    properties of the object in the request. This function gets those values
    from the request and fills in the relevant columns of the table.
    """
    for p in range(5):
        property_name = "property" + str(p + 1)
        property = request_parameter(parameter=property_name, optional=True)
        if property:
            setattr(thing, property_name, property)

    session.commit()