FAQ: Databases and models

=========================

.. _faq-see-raw-sql-queries:

How can I see the raw SQL queries Django is running?

----------------------------------------------------

Make sure your Django ``DEBUG`` setting is set to ``True``. Then, just do

this::

    >>> from django.db import connection

    >>> connection.queries

    [{'sql': 'SELECT polls_polls.id,polls_polls.question,polls_polls.pub_date FROM polls_polls',

    'time': '0.002'}]

``connection.queries`` is only available if ``DEBUG`` is ``True``. It's a list

of dictionaries in order of query execution. Each dictionary has the following::

    ``sql`` -- The raw SQL statement

    ``time`` -- How long the statement took to execute, in seconds.

``connection.queries`` includes all SQL statements -- INSERTs, UPDATES,

SELECTs, etc. Each time your app hits the database, the query will be recorded.

Note that the raw SQL logged in ``connection.queries`` may not include

parameter quoting.  Parameter quoting is performed by the database-specific

backend, and not all backends provide a way to retrieve the SQL after quoting.

.. versionadded:: 1.2

If you are using :doc:`multiple databases</topics/db/multi-db>`, you can use the

same interface on each member of the ``connections`` dictionary::

    >>> from django.db import connections

    >>> connections['my_db_alias'].queries

Can I use Django with a pre-existing database?

----------------------------------------------

Yes. See :doc:`Integrating with a legacy database </howto/legacy-databases>`.

If I make changes to a model, how do I update the database?

-----------------------------------------------------------

If you don't mind clearing data, your project's ``manage.py`` utility has an

option to reset the SQL for a particular application::

    manage.py reset appname

This drops any tables associated with ``appname`` and recreates them.

If you do care about deleting data, you'll have to execute the ``ALTER TABLE``

statements manually in your database. That's the way we've always done it,

because dealing with data is a very sensitive operation that we've wanted to

avoid automating. That said, there's some work being done to add partially

automated database-upgrade functionality.

Do Django models support multiple-column primary keys?

------------------------------------------------------

No. Only single-column primary keys are supported.

But this isn't an issue in practice, because there's nothing stopping you from

adding other constraints (using the ``unique_together`` model option or

creating the constraint directly in your database), and enforcing the

uniqueness at that level. Single-column primary keys are needed for things such

as the admin interface to work; e.g., you need a simple way of being able to

specify an object to edit or delete.

How do I add database-specific options to my CREATE TABLE statements, such as specifying MyISAM as the table type?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We try to avoid adding special cases in the Django code to accommodate all the

database-specific options such as table type, etc. If you'd like to use any of

these options, create an :ref:`SQL initial data file <initial-sql>` that

contains ``ALTER TABLE`` statements that do what you want to do. The initial

data files are executed in your database after the ``CREATE TABLE`` statements.

For example, if you're using MySQL and want your tables to use the MyISAM table

type, create an initial data file and put something like this in it::

    ALTER TABLE myapp_mytable ENGINE=MyISAM;

As explained in the :ref:`SQL initial data file <initial-sql>` documentation,

this SQL file can contain arbitrary SQL, so you can make any sorts of changes

you need to make.

Why is Django leaking memory?

-----------------------------

Django isn't known to leak memory. If you find your Django processes are

allocating more and more memory, with no sign of releasing it, check to make

sure your ``DEBUG`` setting is set to ``False``. If ``DEBUG`` is ``True``, then

Django saves a copy of every SQL statement it has executed.

(The queries are saved in ``django.db.connection.queries``. See

`How can I see the raw SQL queries Django is running?`_.)

To fix the problem, set ``DEBUG`` to ``False``.

If you need to clear the query list manually at any point in your functions,

just call ``reset_queries()``, like this::

    from django import db

    db.reset_queries()