Django DRY verbose names with foreign keys? - python

class ModelA(models.Model):
class Meta:
verbose_name = 'my awesome name'
class ModelB(models.Model):
some_field = models.ForeignKey(ModelA)
Is there a way to make some_field's verbose_name to be my awesome name without being explicit about it? (ie. using the verbose name related class as a default field verbose name, instead of using the attribute name)
I actually think this should be the default Django behaviour.
NOTE: I'm using Django 1.11

Looking into the source code it seems like this is implemented in the set_attributes_from_rel method of the RelatedField class:
if self.verbose_name is None:
self.verbose_name = self.remote_field.model._meta.verbose_name
The verbose_name is also set in the set_attributes_from_name method from the Field class:
if self.verbose_name is None and self.name:
self.verbose_name = self.name.replace('_', ' ')
This method is run first and therefore when the method of the RelatedField class is run self.verbose_name is no longer None. It is unclear to me why the method of the Field class is run first.
Note: I checked the current source code on GitHub which is most likely a newer version than your code as your ForeignKey doesn't have the on_delete parameter which was made required in version 2.0.

Related

Is it possible to set the related_name attribute for a field from an abstract class to an attribute of the concrete class in Django?

In Django, I have an abstract class:
class AbstractResult(models.Model):
specimen = models.ForeignKey(Specimen, on_delete=models.CASCADE, related_name='%(class)s')
...
class Meta:
abstract = True
This gives me some control over the related name of this field for each concrete class, but not full control. I'd like to be able to set this name in each concrete class.
I thought maybe I could use a callable:
class AbstractResult(models.Model):
def get_related_name(self):
raise NotImplementedError("Override this method in your concrete model classes!")
specimen = models.ForeignKey(Specimen, on_delete=models.CASCADE, related_name=get_related_name)
But that didn't work, as the related_name arg doesn't take a callable.
I also thought maybe I could do:
class AbstractResult(models.Model):
related_name = 'OVERRIDE THIS ATTRIBUTE!'
specimen = models.ForeignKey(Specimen, on_delete=models.CASCADE, related_name=related_name)
and then try to use it in the concrete class:
class TestA_Result(AbstractResult):
related_name = "test_a_results"
but that didn't work either.
Why didn't that work? Is there any simple way to make it work?
Update:
It looks like the "problem" is that the related_name=related_name in my last example gets evaluated when the AbstractResult class is being constructed - not when the TestA_Result class is being constructed. This isn't a Django thing - this is just how Python works:
class AbstractClass:
field_one = 'field one set in abstract class'
field_two = field_one
class ConcreteClass(AbstractClass):
field_one = 'set in concrete class'
inst = ConcreteClass()
inst.field_one # 'set in concrete class'
inst.field_two # 'field one set in abstract class'
Is there a way around this that would allow me to set the related_name in Django's concrete class?

Callable not defined for django.db.models field default

I am using PyCharm 4.5.2, Django 1.8.2.
If I define a class as:
class User(models.Model):
first_name = models.CharField(max_length=256)
last_name = models.CharField(max_length=256)
slug = models.SlugField(max_length=256, unique=True, default=make_slug)
def make_slug(self):
return self.first_name + self.last_name[0]
The IDE highlights default=make_slug with make_slug being undefined. The interpretter agrees and when the development server tries to refresh it exits with status 1 and the error NameError: name 'make_slug' is not defined.
Because it's just the name of a callable, I can't pass arguments. So if I define the function outside the class (to move into a higher scope and be defined) I can't use the class properties. I have read some suggestions that use lambdas but from the Django documentation that is wrong:
Note that lambdas cannot be used for field options like default
because they cannot be serialized by migrations. See that
documentation for other caveats.
What is the proper way to define a callable for default values in a model.
You shouldn't use this method to set your default value, rather than override the save method of the model and use it there. For example:
class User(models.Model):
first_name = models.CharField(max_length=256)
last_name = models.CharField(max_length=256)
slug = models.SlugField(max_length=256, unique=True, default=uuid.uuid1)
def make_slug(self):
return self.first_name + self.last_name[0]
def save(self, *args, **kwargs):
self.slug = self.make_slug()
super().save(*args, **kwargs)
You get this error
NameError: name 'make_slug' is not defined.
because you refer to make_slug before you defined it. If you moved the make_slug function above the slug field, then you wouldn't get that error.
However, it isn't possible to pass any arguments to the callable that you use as the default, so that won't work either. You can't get around that restriction by using a model method as you are trying.
If you need access to the model instance to calculate the default, then setting the value in the save() method as ruddra suggests is a good idea. Note that you might want to check whether or not the model has a primary key, so that you only create the slug when you first create the instance.

Django custom user field clashes with AbstractBaseUser

I am building a Django project from an existing database. The database is being used by other systems, so I cannot change its schema. This is my current custom User model:
class Users(AbstractBaseUser):
id_user = models.IntegerField(primary_key=True)
role = models.IntegerField()
username = models.CharField(max_length=50, unique=True)
last_login_date = models.DateTimeField()
AbstractBaseUser needs a column named last_login, while current database table has last_login_date column which serves like AbstractBaseUser.last_login. Now I need to use that column in Users.last_login:
...
last_login = models.DateTimeField(_('last login'), default=timezone.now, column_name='last_login_date')
...
However Django would throw django.core.exceptions.FieldError: Local field 'last_login' in class 'Users' clashes with field of similar name from base class 'AbstractBaseUser' since Django does not allow overriding parent's fields.
How to set the fields?
Although there is an answer that already satisfied the question I want to contribute with another way of achieving the same task in a more robust way.
As you already know, Django AbstractBaseUser is the base class that should be used to substitute Django User Class. Such a class inherits from models.Model with is the one that actually creates the model.
This class takes advantage of the metaclass of the python data model to alter the creation process.
And that's exactly what we should do. As you can read on Python Data Model you can use metaclass special attribute to alter the creation process as you could see. In your case you could have done the following:
def myoverridenmeta(name, bases, adict):
newClass = type(name, bases, adict)
for field in newClass._meta.fields:
if field.attname == 'last_login':
field.column = 'last_login_date'
field.db_column = 'last_login_date'
return newClass
class Users(AbstractBaseUser):
id_user = models.IntegerField(primary_key=True)
role = models.IntegerField()
username = models.CharField(max_length=50, unique=True)
__metaclass__ = myoverridenmeta
I can't figure out a good way to do this, so I'll give you two rather unsatisfying (but workable) solutions hacks:
Rather than inheriting from AbstractBaseUser, take advantage of Django's open-source-ness and copy their AbstractBaseUser code (it's located at <...>lib/python3.4/site-packages/django/contrib/auth/models.py) and use a direct implementation of it with column_name='last_login_date' in the last_login field. (the AbstractBaseUser class is also here (version 1.7))
Edit <...>lib/python3.4/site-packages/django/contrib/auth/models.py directly (resulting in non-portable code that will not work on another django installation without hacking it too)

Django REST Framework serializer field required=false

from the documentation:
read_only
Set this to True to ensure that the field is used when serializing a representation, but is not used when updating an instance during deserialization.
Defaults to False
required
Normally an error will be raised if a field is not supplied during deserialization. Set to false if this field is not required to be present during deserialization.
Defaults to True.
So I have a model which has a field that's not nullable but I want it to be populated in the pre_save method, so I have set the field to required=False in serializer, but doesn't seem to work. I am still getting error when saving the record.
class FavoriteListSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
owner = serializers.IntegerField(required=False)
class Meta:
model = models.FavoriteList
Update:
I have added serializer_class = serializers.FavoriteListSerializer to the ViewSet, now instead of getting This field is required, which I think got past the validation but then I am getting This field cannot be null. I have checked the pre_save method is not being executed, any ideas?
Yeah, I ran into this issue at some point as well. You need to also update the validation exclusions.
class FavoriteListSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
owner = serializers.IntegerField(required=False)
class Meta:
model = models.FavoriteList
def get_validation_exclusions(self):
exclusions = super(FavoriteListSerializer, self).get_validation_exclusions()
return exclusions + ['owner']
Late Entry to this thread. This issue was fixed in django-rest-framework 2.3.13. Here is the link of the PR.
You use it like this in your case:
class Meta:
model = models.FavoriteList
optional_fields = ['owner', ]
In case somebody lands here with a similar issue, pay attention to the following attributes along with required:
allow_blank:
If set to True then the empty string should be considered a valid value.
allow_null:
Normally an error will be raised if None is passed to a serializer field.
required:
Normally an error will be raised if a field is not supplied during deserialization.
I was straggling to figure out why I was getting a validation error with required=False where I had missed the allow_null attribute.
In 2020, for DRF 3.12.x, the approach that I prefer the approach that relies on
Serializer's extra_kwargs.
So assuming your
class FavoriteListSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
owner = serializers.IntegerField(required=False)
class Meta:
model = models.FavoriteList
fields = ["owner"] # and whatever other fields you want to expose
extra_kwargs = {"owner": {"required": False, "allow_null": True}}
If you have unique_together constraint on one of the fields you are trying to set required=False you need to set validators=[] in serializers Meta like
class FavoriteListSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
owner = serializers.IntegerField(required=False)
class Meta:
model = models.FavoriteList
validators = []
Here is the original answer
You can also do this:
class ASerializer(serializers.HyperlinkedModelSerializer):
owner = serializers.HiddenField(default=serializers.CurrentUserDefault())
...
As referred here: https://www.django-rest-framework.org/api-guide/validators/#advanced-field-defaults
There you can also find the case when you also wanna let the view show owner
I would set model field to allow null value (and possible also default to None)
class FavoriteList(models.Model):
owner = models.PositiveIntegerField(null=True, default=None)
Then it's possible to just leave owner field to Meta section. These fields, without any extra settings, will automatically get all attributes from model field and be non-required.
class FavoriteListSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
class Meta:
model = models.FavoriteList
fields = ('owner',)

django abstract models versus regular inheritance

Besides the syntax, what's the difference between using a django abstract model and using plain Python inheritance with django models? Pros and cons?
UPDATE: I think my question was misunderstood and I received responses for the difference between an abstract model and a class that inherits from django.db.models.Model. I actually want to know the difference between a model class that inherits from a django abstract class (Meta: abstract = True) and a plain Python class that inherits from say, 'object' (and not models.Model).
Here is an example:
class User(object):
first_name = models.CharField(..
def get_username(self):
return self.username
class User(models.Model):
first_name = models.CharField(...
def get_username(self):
return self.username
class Meta:
abstract = True
class Employee(User):
title = models.CharField(...
I actually want to know the difference between a model class that
inherits from a django abstract class (Meta: abstract = True) and a
plain Python class that inherits from say, 'object' (and not
models.Model).
Django will only generate tables for subclasses of models.Model, so the former...
class User(models.Model):
first_name = models.CharField(max_length=255)
def get_username(self):
return self.username
class Meta:
abstract = True
class Employee(User):
title = models.CharField(max_length=255)
...will cause a single table to be generated, along the lines of...
CREATE TABLE myapp_employee
(
id INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
first_name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
title VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY (id)
);
...whereas the latter...
class User(object):
first_name = models.CharField(max_length=255)
def get_username(self):
return self.username
class Employee(User):
title = models.CharField(max_length=255)
...won't cause any tables to be generated.
You could use multiple inheritance to do something like this...
class User(object):
first_name = models.CharField(max_length=255)
def get_username(self):
return self.username
class Employee(User, models.Model):
title = models.CharField(max_length=255)
...which would create a table, but it will ignore the fields defined in the User class, so you'll end up with a table like this...
CREATE TABLE myapp_employee
(
id INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
title VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY (id)
);
An abstract model creates a table with the entire set of columns for each subchild, whereas using "plain" Python inheritance creates a set of linked tables (aka "multi-table inheritance"). Consider the case in which you have two models:
class Vehicle(models.Model):
num_wheels = models.PositiveIntegerField()
class Car(Vehicle):
make = models.CharField(…)
year = models.PositiveIntegerField()
If Vehicle is an abstract model, you'll have a single table:
app_car:
| id | num_wheels | make | year
However, if you use plain Python inheritance, you'll have two tables:
app_vehicle:
| id | num_wheels
app_car:
| id | vehicle_id | make | model
Where vehicle_id is a link to a row in app_vehicle that would also have the number of wheels for the car.
Now, Django will put this together nicely in object form so you can access num_wheels as an attribute on Car, but the underlying representation in the database will be different.
Update
To address your updated question, the difference between inheriting from a Django abstract class and inheriting from Python's object is that the former is treated as a database object (so tables for it are synced to the database) and it has the behavior of a Model. Inheriting from a plain Python object gives the class (and its subclasses) none of those qualities.
The main difference is how the databases tables for the models are created.
If you use inheritance without abstract = True Django will create a separate table for both the parent and the child model which hold the fields defined in each model.
If you use abstract = True for the base class Django will only create a table for the classes that inherit from the base class - no matter if the fields are defined in the base class or the inheriting class.
Pros and cons depend on the architecture of your application.
Given the following example models:
class Publishable(models.Model):
title = models.CharField(...)
date = models.DateField(....)
class Meta:
# abstract = True
class BlogEntry(Publishable):
text = models.TextField()
class Image(Publishable):
image = models.ImageField(...)
If the Publishable class is not abstract Django will create a table for publishables with the columns title and date and separate tables for BlogEntry and Image. The advantage of this solution would be that you are able to query across all publishables for fields defined in the base model, no matter if they are blog entries or images. But therefore Django will have to do joins if you e.g. do queries for images...
If making Publishable abstract = True Django will not create a table for Publishable, but only for blog entries and images, containing all fields (also the inherited ones). This would be handy because no joins would be needed to an operation such as get.
Also see Django's documentation on model inheritance.
Just wanted to add something which I haven't seen in other answers.
Unlike with python classes, field name hiding is not permited with model inheritance.
For example, I have experimented issues with an use case as follows:
I had a model inheriting from django's auth PermissionMixin:
class PermissionsMixin(models.Model):
"""
A mixin class that adds the fields and methods necessary to support
Django's Group and Permission model using the ModelBackend.
"""
is_superuser = models.BooleanField(_('superuser status'), default=False,
help_text=_('Designates that this user has all permissions without '
'explicitly assigning them.'))
groups = models.ManyToManyField(Group, verbose_name=_('groups'),
blank=True, help_text=_('The groups this user belongs to. A user will '
'get all permissions granted to each of '
'his/her group.'))
user_permissions = models.ManyToManyField(Permission,
verbose_name=_('user permissions'), blank=True,
help_text='Specific permissions for this user.')
class Meta:
abstract = True
# ...
Then I had my mixin which among other things I wanted it to override the related_name of the groups field. So it was more or less like this:
class WithManagedGroupMixin(object):
groups = models.ManyToManyField(Group, verbose_name=_('groups'),
related_name="%(app_label)s_%(class)s",
blank=True, help_text=_('The groups this user belongs to. A user will '
'get all permissions granted to each of '
'his/her group.'))
I was using this 2 mixins as follows:
class Member(PermissionMixin, WithManagedGroupMixin):
pass
So yeah, I expected this to work but it didn't.
But the issue was more serious because the error I was getting wasn't pointing to the models at all, I had no idea of what was going wrong.
While trying to solve this I randomly decided to change my mixin and convert it to an abstract model mixin. The error changed to this:
django.core.exceptions.FieldError: Local field 'groups' in class 'Member' clashes with field of similar name from base class 'PermissionMixin'
As you can see, this error does explain what is going on.
This was a huge difference, in my opinion :)
The main difference is when you inherit the User class. One version will behave like a simple class, and the other will behave like a Django modeel.
If you inherit the base "object" version, your Employee class will just be a standard class, and first_name won't become part of a database table. You can't create a form or use any other Django features with it.
If you inherit the models.Model version, your Employee class will have all the methods of a Django Model, and it will inherit the first_name field as a database field that can be used in a form.
According to the documentation, an Abstract Model "provides a way to factor out common information at the Python level, whilst still only creating one database table per child model at the database level."
I will prefer the abstract class in most of the cases because it does not create a separate table and the ORM does not need to create joins in the database. And using abstract class is pretty simple in Django
class Vehicle(models.Model):
title = models.CharField(...)
Name = models.CharField(....)
class Meta:
abstract = True
class Car(Vehicle):
color = models.CharField()
class Bike(Vehicle):
feul_average = models.IntegerField(...)

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