diff -r 5ff1fc726848 -r c6bca38c1cbf parts/django/docs/topics/db/models.txt --- /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 +++ b/parts/django/docs/topics/db/models.txt Sat Jan 08 11:20:57 2011 +0530 @@ -0,0 +1,1234 @@ +====== +Models +====== + +.. module:: django.db.models + +A model is the single, definitive source of data about your data. It contains +the essential fields and behaviors of the data you're storing. Generally, each +model maps to a single database table. + +The basics: + + * Each model is a Python class that subclasses + :class:`django.db.models.Model`. + + * Each attribute of the model represents a database field. + + * With all of this, Django gives you an automatically-generated + database-access API; see :doc:`/topics/db/queries`. + +.. seealso:: + + A companion to this document is the `official repository of model + examples`_. (In the Django source distribution, these examples are in the + ``tests/modeltests`` directory.) + + .. _official repository of model examples: http://www.djangoproject.com/documentation/models/ + +Quick example +============= + +This example model defines a ``Person``, which has a ``first_name`` and +``last_name``:: + + from django.db import models + + class Person(models.Model): + first_name = models.CharField(max_length=30) + last_name = models.CharField(max_length=30) + +``first_name`` and ``last_name`` are fields_ of the model. Each field is +specified as a class attribute, and each attribute maps to a database column. + +The above ``Person`` model would create a database table like this: + +.. code-block:: sql + + CREATE TABLE myapp_person ( + "id" serial NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY, + "first_name" varchar(30) NOT NULL, + "last_name" varchar(30) NOT NULL + ); + +Some technical notes: + + * The name of the table, ``myapp_person``, is automatically derived from + some model metadata but can be overridden. See :ref:`table-names` for more + details.. + + * An ``id`` field is added automatically, but this behavior can be + overridden. See :ref:`automatic-primary-key-fields`. + + * The ``CREATE TABLE`` SQL in this example is formatted using PostgreSQL + syntax, but it's worth noting Django uses SQL tailored to the database + backend specified in your :doc:`settings file `. + +Using models +============ + +Once you have defined your models, you need to tell Django you're going to *use* +those models. Do this by editing your settings file and changing the +:setting:`INSTALLED_APPS` setting to add the name of the module that contains +your ``models.py``. + +For example, if the models for your application live in the module +``mysite.myapp.models`` (the package structure that is created for an +application by the :djadmin:`manage.py startapp ` script), +:setting:`INSTALLED_APPS` should read, in part:: + + INSTALLED_APPS = ( + #... + 'mysite.myapp', + #... + ) + +When you add new apps to :setting:`INSTALLED_APPS`, be sure to run +:djadmin:`manage.py syncdb `. + +Fields +====== + +The most important part of a model -- and the only required part of a model -- +is the list of database fields it defines. Fields are specified by class +attributes. + +Example:: + + class Musician(models.Model): + first_name = models.CharField(max_length=50) + last_name = models.CharField(max_length=50) + instrument = models.CharField(max_length=100) + + class Album(models.Model): + artist = models.ForeignKey(Musician) + name = models.CharField(max_length=100) + release_date = models.DateField() + num_stars = models.IntegerField() + +Field types +----------- + +Each field in your model should be an instance of the appropriate +:class:`~django.db.models.Field` class. Django uses the field class types to +determine a few things: + + * The database column type (e.g. ``INTEGER``, ``VARCHAR``). + + * The :doc:`widget ` to use in Django's admin interface, + if you care to use it (e.g. ````, ``