--- /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
+++ b/parts/django/docs/topics/db/queries.txt Sat Jan 08 11:20:57 2011 +0530
@@ -0,0 +1,1110 @@
+==============
+Making queries
+==============
+
+.. currentmodule:: django.db.models
+
+Once you've created your :doc:`data models </topics/db/models>`, Django
+automatically gives you a database-abstraction API that lets you create,
+retrieve, update and delete objects. This document explains how to use this
+API. Refer to the :doc:`data model reference </ref/models/index>` for full
+details of all the various model lookup options.
+
+Throughout this guide (and in the reference), we'll refer to the following
+models, which comprise a Weblog application:
+
+.. _queryset-model-example:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+ class Blog(models.Model):
+ name = models.CharField(max_length=100)
+ tagline = models.TextField()
+
+ def __unicode__(self):
+ return self.name
+
+ class Author(models.Model):
+ name = models.CharField(max_length=50)
+ email = models.EmailField()
+
+ def __unicode__(self):
+ return self.name
+
+ class Entry(models.Model):
+ blog = models.ForeignKey(Blog)
+ headline = models.CharField(max_length=255)
+ body_text = models.TextField()
+ pub_date = models.DateTimeField()
+ authors = models.ManyToManyField(Author)
+ n_comments = models.IntegerField()
+ n_pingbacks = models.IntegerField()
+ rating = models.IntegerField()
+
+ def __unicode__(self):
+ return self.headline
+
+Creating objects
+================
+
+To represent database-table data in Python objects, Django uses an intuitive
+system: A model class represents a database table, and an instance of that
+class represents a particular record in the database table.
+
+To create an object, instantiate it using keyword arguments to the model class,
+then call ``save()`` to save it to the database.
+
+You import the model class from wherever it lives on the Python path, as you
+may expect. (We point this out here because previous Django versions required
+funky model importing.)
+
+Assuming models live in a file ``mysite/blog/models.py``, here's an example::
+
+ >>> from blog.models import Blog
+ >>> b = Blog(name='Beatles Blog', tagline='All the latest Beatles news.')
+ >>> b.save()
+
+This performs an ``INSERT`` SQL statement behind the scenes. Django doesn't hit
+the database until you explicitly call ``save()``.
+
+The ``save()`` method has no return value.
+
+.. seealso::
+
+ ``save()`` takes a number of advanced options not described here.
+ See the documentation for ``save()`` for complete details.
+
+ To create an object and save it all in one step see the ```create()```
+ method.
+
+Saving changes to objects
+=========================
+
+To save changes to an object that's already in the database, use ``save()``.
+
+Given a ``Blog`` instance ``b5`` that has already been saved to the database,
+this example changes its name and updates its record in the database::
+
+ >> b5.name = 'New name'
+ >> b5.save()
+
+This performs an ``UPDATE`` SQL statement behind the scenes. Django doesn't hit
+the database until you explicitly call ``save()``.
+
+Saving ``ForeignKey`` and ``ManyToManyField`` fields
+----------------------------------------------------
+
+Updating a ``ForeignKey`` field works exactly the same way as saving a normal
+field; simply assign an object of the right type to the field in question.
+This example updates the ``blog`` attribute of an ``Entry`` instance ``entry``::
+
+ >>> from blog.models import Entry
+ >>> entry = Entry.objects.get(pk=1)
+ >>> cheese_blog = Blog.objects.get(name="Cheddar Talk")
+ >>> entry.blog = cheese_blog
+ >>> entry.save()
+
+Updating a ``ManyToManyField`` works a little differently; use the ``add()``
+method on the field to add a record to the relation. This example adds the
+``Author`` instance ``joe`` to the ``entry`` object::
+
+ >>> from blog.models import Author
+ >>> joe = Author.objects.create(name="Joe")
+ >>> entry.authors.add(joe)
+
+Django will complain if you try to assign or add an object of the wrong type.
+
+Retrieving objects
+==================
+
+To retrieve objects from your database, you construct a ``QuerySet`` via a
+``Manager`` on your model class.
+
+A ``QuerySet`` represents a collection of objects from your database. It can
+have zero, one or many *filters* -- criteria that narrow down the collection
+based on given parameters. In SQL terms, a ``QuerySet`` equates to a ``SELECT``
+statement, and a filter is a limiting clause such as ``WHERE`` or ``LIMIT``.
+
+You get a ``QuerySet`` by using your model's ``Manager``. Each model has at
+least one ``Manager``, and it's called ``objects`` by default. Access it
+directly via the model class, like so::
+
+ >>> Blog.objects
+ <django.db.models.manager.Manager object at ...>
+ >>> b = Blog(name='Foo', tagline='Bar')
+ >>> b.objects
+ Traceback:
+ ...
+ AttributeError: "Manager isn't accessible via Blog instances."
+
+.. note::
+
+ ``Managers`` are accessible only via model classes, rather than from model
+ instances, to enforce a separation between "table-level" operations and
+ "record-level" operations.
+
+The ``Manager`` is the main source of ``QuerySets`` for a model. It acts as a
+"root" ``QuerySet`` that describes all objects in the model's database table.
+For example, ``Blog.objects`` is the initial ``QuerySet`` that contains all
+``Blog`` objects in the database.
+
+Retrieving all objects
+----------------------
+
+The simplest way to retrieve objects from a table is to get all of them.
+To do this, use the ``all()`` method on a ``Manager``::
+
+ >>> all_entries = Entry.objects.all()
+
+The ``all()`` method returns a ``QuerySet`` of all the objects in the database.
+
+(If ``Entry.objects`` is a ``QuerySet``, why can't we just do ``Entry.objects``?
+That's because ``Entry.objects``, the root ``QuerySet``, is a special case
+that cannot be evaluated. The ``all()`` method returns a ``QuerySet`` that
+*can* be evaluated.)
+
+
+Retrieving specific objects with filters
+----------------------------------------
+
+The root ``QuerySet`` provided by the ``Manager`` describes all objects in the
+database table. Usually, though, you'll need to select only a subset of the
+complete set of objects.
+
+To create such a subset, you refine the initial ``QuerySet``, adding filter
+conditions. The two most common ways to refine a ``QuerySet`` are:
+
+ ``filter(**kwargs)``
+ Returns a new ``QuerySet`` containing objects that match the given
+ lookup parameters.
+
+ ``exclude(**kwargs)``
+ Returns a new ``QuerySet`` containing objects that do *not* match the
+ given lookup parameters.
+
+The lookup parameters (``**kwargs`` in the above function definitions) should
+be in the format described in `Field lookups`_ below.
+
+For example, to get a ``QuerySet`` of blog entries from the year 2006, use
+``filter()`` like so::
+
+ Entry.objects.filter(pub_date__year=2006)
+
+We don't have to add an ``all()`` -- ``Entry.objects.all().filter(...)``. That
+would still work, but you only need ``all()`` when you want all objects from the
+root ``QuerySet``.
+
+.. _chaining-filters:
+
+Chaining filters
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The result of refining a ``QuerySet`` is itself a ``QuerySet``, so it's
+possible to chain refinements together. For example::
+
+ >>> Entry.objects.filter(
+ ... headline__startswith='What'
+ ... ).exclude(
+ ... pub_date__gte=datetime.now()
+ ... ).filter(
+ ... pub_date__gte=datetime(2005, 1, 1)
+ ... )
+
+This takes the initial ``QuerySet`` of all entries in the database, adds a
+filter, then an exclusion, then another filter. The final result is a
+``QuerySet`` containing all entries with a headline that starts with "What",
+that were published between January 1, 2005, and the current day.
+
+.. _filtered-querysets-are-unique:
+
+Filtered QuerySets are unique
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Each time you refine a ``QuerySet``, you get a brand-new ``QuerySet`` that is
+in no way bound to the previous ``QuerySet``. Each refinement creates a
+separate and distinct ``QuerySet`` that can be stored, used and reused.
+
+Example::
+
+ >> q1 = Entry.objects.filter(headline__startswith="What")
+ >> q2 = q1.exclude(pub_date__gte=datetime.now())
+ >> q3 = q1.filter(pub_date__gte=datetime.now())
+
+These three ``QuerySets`` are separate. The first is a base ``QuerySet``
+containing all entries that contain a headline starting with "What". The second
+is a subset of the first, with an additional criteria that excludes records
+whose ``pub_date`` is greater than now. The third is a subset of the first,
+with an additional criteria that selects only the records whose ``pub_date`` is
+greater than now. The initial ``QuerySet`` (``q1``) is unaffected by the
+refinement process.
+
+.. _querysets-are-lazy:
+
+QuerySets are lazy
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+``QuerySets`` are lazy -- the act of creating a ``QuerySet`` doesn't involve any
+database activity. You can stack filters together all day long, and Django won't
+actually run the query until the ``QuerySet`` is *evaluated*. Take a look at
+this example::
+
+ >>> q = Entry.objects.filter(headline__startswith="What")
+ >>> q = q.filter(pub_date__lte=datetime.now())
+ >>> q = q.exclude(body_text__icontains="food")
+ >>> print q
+
+Though this looks like three database hits, in fact it hits the database only
+once, at the last line (``print q``). In general, the results of a ``QuerySet``
+aren't fetched from the database until you "ask" for them. When you do, the
+``QuerySet`` is *evaluated* by accessing the database. For more details on
+exactly when evaluation takes place, see :ref:`when-querysets-are-evaluated`.
+
+
+.. _retrieving-single-object-with-get:
+
+Retrieving a single object with get
+-----------------------------------
+
+``.filter()`` will always give you a ``QuerySet``, even if only a single
+object matches the query - in this case, it will be a ``QuerySet`` containing
+a single element.
+
+If you know there is only one object that matches your query, you can use
+the ``get()`` method on a `Manager` which returns the object directly::
+
+ >>> one_entry = Entry.objects.get(pk=1)
+
+You can use any query expression with ``get()``, just like with ``filter()`` -
+again, see `Field lookups`_ below.
+
+Note that there is a difference between using ``.get()``, and using
+``.filter()`` with a slice of ``[0]``. If there are no results that match the
+query, ``.get()`` will raise a ``DoesNotExist`` exception. This exception is an
+attribute of the model class that the query is being performed on - so in the
+code above, if there is no ``Entry`` object with a primary key of 1, Django will
+raise ``Entry.DoesNotExist``.
+
+Similarly, Django will complain if more than one item matches the ``get()``
+query. In this case, it will raise ``MultipleObjectsReturned``, which again is
+an attribute of the model class itself.
+
+
+Other QuerySet methods
+----------------------
+
+Most of the time you'll use ``all()``, ``get()``, ``filter()`` and ``exclude()``
+when you need to look up objects from the database. However, that's far from all
+there is; see the :ref:`QuerySet API Reference <queryset-api>` for a complete
+list of all the various ``QuerySet`` methods.
+
+.. _limiting-querysets:
+
+Limiting QuerySets
+------------------
+
+Use a subset of Python's array-slicing syntax to limit your ``QuerySet`` to a
+certain number of results. This is the equivalent of SQL's ``LIMIT`` and
+``OFFSET`` clauses.
+
+For example, this returns the first 5 objects (``LIMIT 5``)::
+
+ >>> Entry.objects.all()[:5]
+
+This returns the sixth through tenth objects (``OFFSET 5 LIMIT 5``)::
+
+ >>> Entry.objects.all()[5:10]
+
+Negative indexing (i.e. ``Entry.objects.all()[-1]``) is not supported.
+
+Generally, slicing a ``QuerySet`` returns a new ``QuerySet`` -- it doesn't
+evaluate the query. An exception is if you use the "step" parameter of Python
+slice syntax. For example, this would actually execute the query in order to
+return a list of every *second* object of the first 10::
+
+ >>> Entry.objects.all()[:10:2]
+
+To retrieve a *single* object rather than a list
+(e.g. ``SELECT foo FROM bar LIMIT 1``), use a simple index instead of a
+slice. For example, this returns the first ``Entry`` in the database, after
+ordering entries alphabetically by headline::
+
+ >>> Entry.objects.order_by('headline')[0]
+
+This is roughly equivalent to::
+
+ >>> Entry.objects.order_by('headline')[0:1].get()
+
+Note, however, that the first of these will raise ``IndexError`` while the
+second will raise ``DoesNotExist`` if no objects match the given criteria. See
+:meth:`~django.db.models.QuerySet.get` for more details.
+
+.. _field-lookups-intro:
+
+Field lookups
+-------------
+
+Field lookups are how you specify the meat of an SQL ``WHERE`` clause. They're
+specified as keyword arguments to the ``QuerySet`` methods ``filter()``,
+``exclude()`` and ``get()``.
+
+Basic lookups keyword arguments take the form ``field__lookuptype=value``.
+(That's a double-underscore). For example::
+
+ >>> Entry.objects.filter(pub_date__lte='2006-01-01')
+
+translates (roughly) into the following SQL::
+
+ SELECT * FROM blog_entry WHERE pub_date <= '2006-01-01';
+
+.. admonition:: How this is possible
+
+ Python has the ability to define functions that accept arbitrary name-value
+ arguments whose names and values are evaluated at runtime. For more
+ information, see `Keyword Arguments`_ in the official Python tutorial.
+
+ .. _`Keyword Arguments`: http://docs.python.org/tutorial/controlflow.html#keyword-arguments
+
+If you pass an invalid keyword argument, a lookup function will raise
+``TypeError``.
+
+The database API supports about two dozen lookup types; a complete reference
+can be found in the :ref:`field lookup reference <field-lookups>`. To give you a taste of what's available, here's some of the more common lookups
+you'll probably use:
+
+ :lookup:`exact`
+ An "exact" match. For example::
+
+ >>> Entry.objects.get(headline__exact="Man bites dog")
+
+ Would generate SQL along these lines:
+
+ .. code-block:: sql
+
+ SELECT ... WHERE headline = 'Man bites dog';
+
+ If you don't provide a lookup type -- that is, if your keyword argument
+ doesn't contain a double underscore -- the lookup type is assumed to be
+ ``exact``.
+
+ For example, the following two statements are equivalent::
+
+ >>> Blog.objects.get(id__exact=14) # Explicit form
+ >>> Blog.objects.get(id=14) # __exact is implied
+
+ This is for convenience, because ``exact`` lookups are the common case.
+
+ :lookup:`iexact`
+ A case-insensitive match. So, the query::
+
+ >>> Blog.objects.get(name__iexact="beatles blog")
+
+ Would match a ``Blog`` titled "Beatles Blog", "beatles blog", or even
+ "BeAtlES blOG".
+
+ :lookup:`contains`
+ Case-sensitive containment test. For example::
+
+ Entry.objects.get(headline__contains='Lennon')
+
+ Roughly translates to this SQL:
+
+ .. code-block:: sql
+
+ SELECT ... WHERE headline LIKE '%Lennon%';
+
+ Note this will match the headline ``'Today Lennon honored'`` but not
+ ``'today lennon honored'``.
+
+ There's also a case-insensitive version, :lookup:`icontains`.
+
+ :lookup:`startswith`, :lookup:`endswith`
+ Starts-with and ends-with search, respectively. There are also
+ case-insensitive versions called :lookup:`istartswith` and
+ :lookup:`iendswith`.
+
+Again, this only scratches the surface. A complete reference can be found in the
+:ref:`field lookup reference <field-lookups>`.
+
+Lookups that span relationships
+-------------------------------
+
+Django offers a powerful and intuitive way to "follow" relationships in
+lookups, taking care of the SQL ``JOIN``\s for you automatically, behind the
+scenes. To span a relationship, just use the field name of related fields
+across models, separated by double underscores, until you get to the field you
+want.
+
+This example retrieves all ``Entry`` objects with a ``Blog`` whose ``name``
+is ``'Beatles Blog'``::
+
+ >>> Entry.objects.filter(blog__name__exact='Beatles Blog')
+
+This spanning can be as deep as you'd like.
+
+It works backwards, too. To refer to a "reverse" relationship, just use the
+lowercase name of the model.
+
+This example retrieves all ``Blog`` objects which have at least one ``Entry``
+whose ``headline`` contains ``'Lennon'``::
+
+ >>> Blog.objects.filter(entry__headline__contains='Lennon')
+
+If you are filtering across multiple relationships and one of the intermediate
+models doesn't have a value that meets the filter condition, Django will treat
+it as if there is an empty (all values are ``NULL``), but valid, object there.
+All this means is that no error will be raised. For example, in this filter::
+
+ Blog.objects.filter(entry__authors__name='Lennon')
+
+(if there was a related ``Author`` model), if there was no ``author``
+associated with an entry, it would be treated as if there was also no ``name``
+attached, rather than raising an error because of the missing ``author``.
+Usually this is exactly what you want to have happen. The only case where it
+might be confusing is if you are using ``isnull``. Thus::
+
+ Blog.objects.filter(entry__authors__name__isnull=True)
+
+will return ``Blog`` objects that have an empty ``name`` on the ``author`` and
+also those which have an empty ``author`` on the ``entry``. If you don't want
+those latter objects, you could write::
+
+ Blog.objects.filter(entry__authors__isnull=False,
+ entry__authors__name__isnull=True)
+
+Spanning multi-valued relationships
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+.. versionadded:: 1.0
+
+When you are filtering an object based on a ``ManyToManyField`` or a reverse
+``ForeignKey``, there are two different sorts of filter you may be
+interested in. Consider the ``Blog``/``Entry`` relationship (``Blog`` to
+``Entry`` is a one-to-many relation). We might be interested in finding blogs
+that have an entry which has both *"Lennon"* in the headline and was published
+in 2008. Or we might want to find blogs that have an entry with *"Lennon"* in
+the headline as well as an entry that was published in 2008. Since there are
+multiple entries associated with a single ``Blog``, both of these queries are
+possible and make sense in some situations.
+
+The same type of situation arises with a ``ManyToManyField``. For example, if
+an ``Entry`` has a ``ManyToManyField`` called ``tags``, we might want to find
+entries linked to tags called *"music"* and *"bands"* or we might want an
+entry that contains a tag with a name of *"music"* and a status of *"public"*.
+
+To handle both of these situations, Django has a consistent way of processing
+``filter()`` and ``exclude()`` calls. Everything inside a single ``filter()``
+call is applied simultaneously to filter out items matching all those
+requirements. Successive ``filter()`` calls further restrict the set of
+objects, but for multi-valued relations, they apply to any object linked to
+the primary model, not necessarily those objects that were selected by an
+earlier ``filter()`` call.
+
+That may sound a bit confusing, so hopefully an example will clarify. To
+select all blogs that contain entries with both *"Lennon"* in the headline
+and that were published in 2008 (the same entry satisfying both conditions),
+we would write::
+
+ Blog.objects.filter(entry__headline__contains='Lennon',
+ entry__pub_date__year=2008)
+
+To select all blogs that contain an entry with *"Lennon"* in the headline
+**as well as** an entry that was published in 2008, we would write::
+
+ Blog.objects.filter(entry__headline__contains='Lennon').filter(
+ entry__pub_date__year=2008)
+
+In this second example, the first filter restricted the queryset to all those
+blogs linked to that particular type of entry. The second filter restricted
+the set of blogs *further* to those that are also linked to the second type of
+entry. The entries select by the second filter may or may not be the same as
+the entries in the first filter. We are filtering the ``Blog`` items with each
+filter statement, not the ``Entry`` items.
+
+All of this behavior also applies to ``exclude()``: all the conditions in a
+single ``exclude()`` statement apply to a single instance (if those conditions
+are talking about the same multi-valued relation). Conditions in subsequent
+``filter()`` or ``exclude()`` calls that refer to the same relation may end up
+filtering on different linked objects.
+
+.. _query-expressions:
+
+Filters can reference fields on the model
+-----------------------------------------
+
+.. versionadded:: 1.1
+
+In the examples given so far, we have constructed filters that compare
+the value of a model field with a constant. But what if you want to compare
+the value of a model field with another field on the same model?
+
+Django provides the ``F()`` object to allow such comparisons. Instances
+of ``F()`` act as a reference to a model field within a query. These
+references can then be used in query filters to compare the values of two
+different fields on the same model instance.
+
+For example, to find a list of all blog entries that have had more comments
+than pingbacks, we construct an ``F()`` object to reference the comment count,
+and use that ``F()`` object in the query::
+
+ >>> from django.db.models import F
+ >>> Entry.objects.filter(n_comments__gt=F('n_pingbacks'))
+
+Django supports the use of addition, subtraction, multiplication,
+division and modulo arithmetic with ``F()`` objects, both with constants
+and with other ``F()`` objects. To find all the blog entries with more than
+*twice* as many comments as pingbacks, we modify the query::
+
+ >>> Entry.objects.filter(n_comments__gt=F('n_pingbacks') * 2)
+
+To find all the entries where the rating of the entry is less than the
+sum of the pingback count and comment count, we would issue the
+query::
+
+ >>> Entry.objects.filter(rating__lt=F('n_comments') + F('n_pingbacks'))
+
+You can also use the double underscore notation to span relationships in
+an ``F()`` object. An ``F()`` object with a double underscore will introduce
+any joins needed to access the related object. For example, to retrieve all
+the entries where the author's name is the same as the blog name, we could
+issue the query:
+
+ >>> Entry.objects.filter(authors__name=F('blog__name'))
+
+The pk lookup shortcut
+----------------------
+
+For convenience, Django provides a ``pk`` lookup shortcut, which stands for
+"primary key".
+
+In the example ``Blog`` model, the primary key is the ``id`` field, so these
+three statements are equivalent::
+
+ >>> Blog.objects.get(id__exact=14) # Explicit form
+ >>> Blog.objects.get(id=14) # __exact is implied
+ >>> Blog.objects.get(pk=14) # pk implies id__exact
+
+The use of ``pk`` isn't limited to ``__exact`` queries -- any query term
+can be combined with ``pk`` to perform a query on the primary key of a model::
+
+ # Get blogs entries with id 1, 4 and 7
+ >>> Blog.objects.filter(pk__in=[1,4,7])
+
+ # Get all blog entries with id > 14
+ >>> Blog.objects.filter(pk__gt=14)
+
+``pk`` lookups also work across joins. For example, these three statements are
+equivalent::
+
+ >>> Entry.objects.filter(blog__id__exact=3) # Explicit form
+ >>> Entry.objects.filter(blog__id=3) # __exact is implied
+ >>> Entry.objects.filter(blog__pk=3) # __pk implies __id__exact
+
+Escaping percent signs and underscores in LIKE statements
+---------------------------------------------------------
+
+The field lookups that equate to ``LIKE`` SQL statements (``iexact``,
+``contains``, ``icontains``, ``startswith``, ``istartswith``, ``endswith``
+and ``iendswith``) will automatically escape the two special characters used in
+``LIKE`` statements -- the percent sign and the underscore. (In a ``LIKE``
+statement, the percent sign signifies a multiple-character wildcard and the
+underscore signifies a single-character wildcard.)
+
+This means things should work intuitively, so the abstraction doesn't leak.
+For example, to retrieve all the entries that contain a percent sign, just use
+the percent sign as any other character::
+
+ >>> Entry.objects.filter(headline__contains='%')
+
+Django takes care of the quoting for you; the resulting SQL will look something
+like this:
+
+.. code-block:: sql
+
+ SELECT ... WHERE headline LIKE '%\%%';
+
+Same goes for underscores. Both percentage signs and underscores are handled
+for you transparently.
+
+.. _caching-and-querysets:
+
+Caching and QuerySets
+---------------------
+
+Each ``QuerySet`` contains a cache, to minimize database access. It's important
+to understand how it works, in order to write the most efficient code.
+
+In a newly created ``QuerySet``, the cache is empty. The first time a
+``QuerySet`` is evaluated -- and, hence, a database query happens -- Django
+saves the query results in the ``QuerySet``'s cache and returns the results
+that have been explicitly requested (e.g., the next element, if the
+``QuerySet`` is being iterated over). Subsequent evaluations of the
+``QuerySet`` reuse the cached results.
+
+Keep this caching behavior in mind, because it may bite you if you don't use
+your ``QuerySet``\s correctly. For example, the following will create two
+``QuerySet``\s, evaluate them, and throw them away::
+
+ >>> print [e.headline for e in Entry.objects.all()]
+ >>> print [e.pub_date for e in Entry.objects.all()]
+
+That means the same database query will be executed twice, effectively doubling
+your database load. Also, there's a possibility the two lists may not include
+the same database records, because an ``Entry`` may have been added or deleted
+in the split second between the two requests.
+
+To avoid this problem, simply save the ``QuerySet`` and reuse it::
+
+ >>> queryset = Entry.objects.all()
+ >>> print [p.headline for p in queryset] # Evaluate the query set.
+ >>> print [p.pub_date for p in queryset] # Re-use the cache from the evaluation.
+
+.. _complex-lookups-with-q:
+
+Complex lookups with Q objects
+==============================
+
+Keyword argument queries -- in ``filter()``, etc. -- are "AND"ed together. If
+you need to execute more complex queries (for example, queries with ``OR``
+statements), you can use ``Q`` objects.
+
+A ``Q`` object (``django.db.models.Q``) is an object used to encapsulate a
+collection of keyword arguments. These keyword arguments are specified as in
+"Field lookups" above.
+
+For example, this ``Q`` object encapsulates a single ``LIKE`` query::
+
+ Q(question__startswith='What')
+
+``Q`` objects can be combined using the ``&`` and ``|`` operators. When an
+operator is used on two ``Q`` objects, it yields a new ``Q`` object.
+
+For example, this statement yields a single ``Q`` object that represents the
+"OR" of two ``"question__startswith"`` queries::
+
+ Q(question__startswith='Who') | Q(question__startswith='What')
+
+This is equivalent to the following SQL ``WHERE`` clause::
+
+ WHERE question LIKE 'Who%' OR question LIKE 'What%'
+
+You can compose statements of arbitrary complexity by combining ``Q`` objects
+with the ``&`` and ``|`` operators and use parenthetical grouping. Also, ``Q``
+objects can be negated using the ``~`` operator, allowing for combined lookups
+that combine both a normal query and a negated (``NOT``) query::
+
+ Q(question__startswith='Who') | ~Q(pub_date__year=2005)
+
+Each lookup function that takes keyword-arguments (e.g. ``filter()``,
+``exclude()``, ``get()``) can also be passed one or more ``Q`` objects as
+positional (not-named) arguments. If you provide multiple ``Q`` object
+arguments to a lookup function, the arguments will be "AND"ed together. For
+example::
+
+ Poll.objects.get(
+ Q(question__startswith='Who'),
+ Q(pub_date=date(2005, 5, 2)) | Q(pub_date=date(2005, 5, 6))
+ )
+
+... roughly translates into the SQL::
+
+ SELECT * from polls WHERE question LIKE 'Who%'
+ AND (pub_date = '2005-05-02' OR pub_date = '2005-05-06')
+
+Lookup functions can mix the use of ``Q`` objects and keyword arguments. All
+arguments provided to a lookup function (be they keyword arguments or ``Q``
+objects) are "AND"ed together. However, if a ``Q`` object is provided, it must
+precede the definition of any keyword arguments. For example::
+
+ Poll.objects.get(
+ Q(pub_date=date(2005, 5, 2)) | Q(pub_date=date(2005, 5, 6)),
+ question__startswith='Who')
+
+... would be a valid query, equivalent to the previous example; but::
+
+ # INVALID QUERY
+ Poll.objects.get(
+ question__startswith='Who',
+ Q(pub_date=date(2005, 5, 2)) | Q(pub_date=date(2005, 5, 6)))
+
+... would not be valid.
+
+.. seealso::
+
+ The `OR lookups examples`_ in the Django unit tests show some possible uses
+ of ``Q``.
+
+ .. _OR lookups examples: http://code.djangoproject.com/browser/django/trunk/tests/modeltests/or_lookups/tests.py
+
+Comparing objects
+=================
+
+To compare two model instances, just use the standard Python comparison operator,
+the double equals sign: ``==``. Behind the scenes, that compares the primary
+key values of two models.
+
+Using the ``Entry`` example above, the following two statements are equivalent::
+
+ >>> some_entry == other_entry
+ >>> some_entry.id == other_entry.id
+
+If a model's primary key isn't called ``id``, no problem. Comparisons will
+always use the primary key, whatever it's called. For example, if a model's
+primary key field is called ``name``, these two statements are equivalent::
+
+ >>> some_obj == other_obj
+ >>> some_obj.name == other_obj.name
+
+.. _topics-db-queries-delete:
+
+Deleting objects
+================
+
+The delete method, conveniently, is named ``delete()``. This method immediately
+deletes the object and has no return value. Example::
+
+ e.delete()
+
+You can also delete objects in bulk. Every ``QuerySet`` has a ``delete()``
+method, which deletes all members of that ``QuerySet``.
+
+For example, this deletes all ``Entry`` objects with a ``pub_date`` year of
+2005::
+
+ Entry.objects.filter(pub_date__year=2005).delete()
+
+Keep in mind that this will, whenever possible, be executed purely in
+SQL, and so the ``delete()`` methods of individual object instances
+will not necessarily be called during the process. If you've provided
+a custom ``delete()`` method on a model class and want to ensure that
+it is called, you will need to "manually" delete instances of that
+model (e.g., by iterating over a ``QuerySet`` and calling ``delete()``
+on each object individually) rather than using the bulk ``delete()``
+method of a ``QuerySet``.
+
+When Django deletes an object, it emulates the behavior of the SQL
+constraint ``ON DELETE CASCADE`` -- in other words, any objects which
+had foreign keys pointing at the object to be deleted will be deleted
+along with it. For example::
+
+ b = Blog.objects.get(pk=1)
+ # This will delete the Blog and all of its Entry objects.
+ b.delete()
+
+Note that ``delete()`` is the only ``QuerySet`` method that is not exposed on a
+``Manager`` itself. This is a safety mechanism to prevent you from accidentally
+requesting ``Entry.objects.delete()``, and deleting *all* the entries. If you
+*do* want to delete all the objects, then you have to explicitly request a
+complete query set::
+
+ Entry.objects.all().delete()
+
+.. _topics-db-queries-update:
+
+Updating multiple objects at once
+=================================
+
+.. versionadded:: 1.0
+
+Sometimes you want to set a field to a particular value for all the objects in
+a ``QuerySet``. You can do this with the ``update()`` method. For example::
+
+ # Update all the headlines with pub_date in 2007.
+ Entry.objects.filter(pub_date__year=2007).update(headline='Everything is the same')
+
+You can only set non-relation fields and ``ForeignKey`` fields using this
+method. To update a non-relation field, provide the new value as a constant.
+To update ``ForeignKey`` fields, set the new value to be the new model
+instance you want to point to. For example::
+
+ >>> b = Blog.objects.get(pk=1)
+
+ # Change every Entry so that it belongs to this Blog.
+ >>> Entry.objects.all().update(blog=b)
+
+The ``update()`` method is applied instantly and returns the number of rows
+affected by the query. The only restriction on the ``QuerySet`` that is
+updated is that it can only access one database table, the model's main
+table. You can filter based on related fields, but you can only update columns
+in the model's main table. Example::
+
+ >>> b = Blog.objects.get(pk=1)
+
+ # Update all the headlines belonging to this Blog.
+ >>> Entry.objects.select_related().filter(blog=b).update(headline='Everything is the same')
+
+Be aware that the ``update()`` method is converted directly to an SQL
+statement. It is a bulk operation for direct updates. It doesn't run any
+``save()`` methods on your models, or emit the ``pre_save`` or ``post_save``
+signals (which are a consequence of calling ``save()``). If you want to save
+every item in a ``QuerySet`` and make sure that the ``save()`` method is
+called on each instance, you don't need any special function to handle that.
+Just loop over them and call ``save()``::
+
+ for item in my_queryset:
+ item.save()
+
+.. versionadded:: 1.1
+
+Calls to update can also use :ref:`F() objects <query-expressions>` to update
+one field based on the value of another field in the model. This is especially
+useful for incrementing counters based upon their current value. For example, to
+increment the pingback count for every entry in the blog::
+
+ >>> Entry.objects.all().update(n_pingbacks=F('n_pingbacks') + 1)
+
+However, unlike ``F()`` objects in filter and exclude clauses, you can't
+introduce joins when you use ``F()`` objects in an update -- you can only
+reference fields local to the model being updated. If you attempt to introduce
+a join with an ``F()`` object, a ``FieldError`` will be raised::
+
+ # THIS WILL RAISE A FieldError
+ >>> Entry.objects.update(headline=F('blog__name'))
+
+Related objects
+===============
+
+When you define a relationship in a model (i.e., a ``ForeignKey``,
+``OneToOneField``, or ``ManyToManyField``), instances of that model will have
+a convenient API to access the related object(s).
+
+Using the models at the top of this page, for example, an ``Entry`` object ``e``
+can get its associated ``Blog`` object by accessing the ``blog`` attribute:
+``e.blog``.
+
+(Behind the scenes, this functionality is implemented by Python descriptors_.
+This shouldn't really matter to you, but we point it out here for the curious.)
+
+Django also creates API accessors for the "other" side of the relationship --
+the link from the related model to the model that defines the relationship.
+For example, a ``Blog`` object ``b`` has access to a list of all related
+``Entry`` objects via the ``entry_set`` attribute: ``b.entry_set.all()``.
+
+All examples in this section use the sample ``Blog``, ``Author`` and ``Entry``
+models defined at the top of this page.
+
+.. _descriptors: http://users.rcn.com/python/download/Descriptor.htm
+
+One-to-many relationships
+-------------------------
+
+Forward
+~~~~~~~
+
+If a model has a ``ForeignKey``, instances of that model will have access to
+the related (foreign) object via a simple attribute of the model.
+
+Example::
+
+ >>> e = Entry.objects.get(id=2)
+ >>> e.blog # Returns the related Blog object.
+
+You can get and set via a foreign-key attribute. As you may expect, changes to
+the foreign key aren't saved to the database until you call ``save()``.
+Example::
+
+ >>> e = Entry.objects.get(id=2)
+ >>> e.blog = some_blog
+ >>> e.save()
+
+If a ``ForeignKey`` field has ``null=True`` set (i.e., it allows ``NULL``
+values), you can assign ``None`` to it. Example::
+
+ >>> e = Entry.objects.get(id=2)
+ >>> e.blog = None
+ >>> e.save() # "UPDATE blog_entry SET blog_id = NULL ...;"
+
+Forward access to one-to-many relationships is cached the first time the
+related object is accessed. Subsequent accesses to the foreign key on the same
+object instance are cached. Example::
+
+ >>> e = Entry.objects.get(id=2)
+ >>> print e.blog # Hits the database to retrieve the associated Blog.
+ >>> print e.blog # Doesn't hit the database; uses cached version.
+
+Note that the ``select_related()`` ``QuerySet`` method recursively prepopulates
+the cache of all one-to-many relationships ahead of time. Example::
+
+ >>> e = Entry.objects.select_related().get(id=2)
+ >>> print e.blog # Doesn't hit the database; uses cached version.
+ >>> print e.blog # Doesn't hit the database; uses cached version.
+
+.. _backwards-related-objects:
+
+Following relationships "backward"
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+If a model has a ``ForeignKey``, instances of the foreign-key model will have
+access to a ``Manager`` that returns all instances of the first model. By
+default, this ``Manager`` is named ``FOO_set``, where ``FOO`` is the source
+model name, lowercased. This ``Manager`` returns ``QuerySets``, which can be
+filtered and manipulated as described in the "Retrieving objects" section
+above.
+
+Example::
+
+ >>> b = Blog.objects.get(id=1)
+ >>> b.entry_set.all() # Returns all Entry objects related to Blog.
+
+ # b.entry_set is a Manager that returns QuerySets.
+ >>> b.entry_set.filter(headline__contains='Lennon')
+ >>> b.entry_set.count()
+
+You can override the ``FOO_set`` name by setting the ``related_name``
+parameter in the ``ForeignKey()`` definition. For example, if the ``Entry``
+model was altered to ``blog = ForeignKey(Blog, related_name='entries')``, the
+above example code would look like this::
+
+ >>> b = Blog.objects.get(id=1)
+ >>> b.entries.all() # Returns all Entry objects related to Blog.
+
+ # b.entries is a Manager that returns QuerySets.
+ >>> b.entries.filter(headline__contains='Lennon')
+ >>> b.entries.count()
+
+You cannot access a reverse ``ForeignKey`` ``Manager`` from the class; it must
+be accessed from an instance::
+
+ >>> Blog.entry_set
+ Traceback:
+ ...
+ AttributeError: "Manager must be accessed via instance".
+
+In addition to the ``QuerySet`` methods defined in "Retrieving objects" above,
+the ``ForeignKey`` ``Manager`` has additional methods used to handle the set of
+related objects. A synopsis of each is below, and complete details can be found
+in the :doc:`related objects reference </ref/models/relations>`.
+
+``add(obj1, obj2, ...)``
+ Adds the specified model objects to the related object set.
+
+``create(**kwargs)``
+ Creates a new object, saves it and puts it in the related object set.
+ Returns the newly created object.
+
+``remove(obj1, obj2, ...)``
+ Removes the specified model objects from the related object set.
+
+``clear()``
+ Removes all objects from the related object set.
+
+To assign the members of a related set in one fell swoop, just assign to it
+from any iterable object. The iterable can contain object instances, or just
+a list of primary key values. For example::
+
+ b = Blog.objects.get(id=1)
+ b.entry_set = [e1, e2]
+
+In this example, ``e1`` and ``e2`` can be full Entry instances, or integer
+primary key values.
+
+If the ``clear()`` method is available, any pre-existing objects will be
+removed from the ``entry_set`` before all objects in the iterable (in this
+case, a list) are added to the set. If the ``clear()`` method is *not*
+available, all objects in the iterable will be added without removing any
+existing elements.
+
+Each "reverse" operation described in this section has an immediate effect on
+the database. Every addition, creation and deletion is immediately and
+automatically saved to the database.
+
+Many-to-many relationships
+--------------------------
+
+Both ends of a many-to-many relationship get automatic API access to the other
+end. The API works just as a "backward" one-to-many relationship, above.
+
+The only difference is in the attribute naming: The model that defines the
+``ManyToManyField`` uses the attribute name of that field itself, whereas the
+"reverse" model uses the lowercased model name of the original model, plus
+``'_set'`` (just like reverse one-to-many relationships).
+
+An example makes this easier to understand::
+
+ e = Entry.objects.get(id=3)
+ e.authors.all() # Returns all Author objects for this Entry.
+ e.authors.count()
+ e.authors.filter(name__contains='John')
+
+ a = Author.objects.get(id=5)
+ a.entry_set.all() # Returns all Entry objects for this Author.
+
+Like ``ForeignKey``, ``ManyToManyField`` can specify ``related_name``. In the
+above example, if the ``ManyToManyField`` in ``Entry`` had specified
+``related_name='entries'``, then each ``Author`` instance would have an
+``entries`` attribute instead of ``entry_set``.
+
+One-to-one relationships
+------------------------
+
+One-to-one relationships are very similar to many-to-one relationships. If you
+define a :class:`~django.db.models.OneToOneField` on your model, instances of
+that model will have access to the related object via a simple attribute of the
+model.
+
+For example::
+
+ class EntryDetail(models.Model):
+ entry = models.OneToOneField(Entry)
+ details = models.TextField()
+
+ ed = EntryDetail.objects.get(id=2)
+ ed.entry # Returns the related Entry object.
+
+The difference comes in "reverse" queries. The related model in a one-to-one
+relationship also has access to a :class:`~django.db.models.Manager` object, but
+that :class:`~django.db.models.Manager` represents a single object, rather than
+a collection of objects::
+
+ e = Entry.objects.get(id=2)
+ e.entrydetail # returns the related EntryDetail object
+
+If no object has been assigned to this relationship, Django will raise
+a ``DoesNotExist`` exception.
+
+Instances can be assigned to the reverse relationship in the same way as
+you would assign the forward relationship::
+
+ e.entrydetail = ed
+
+How are the backward relationships possible?
+--------------------------------------------
+
+Other object-relational mappers require you to define relationships on both
+sides. The Django developers believe this is a violation of the DRY (Don't
+Repeat Yourself) principle, so Django only requires you to define the
+relationship on one end.
+
+But how is this possible, given that a model class doesn't know which other
+model classes are related to it until those other model classes are loaded?
+
+The answer lies in the :setting:`INSTALLED_APPS` setting. The first time any model is
+loaded, Django iterates over every model in :setting:`INSTALLED_APPS` and creates the
+backward relationships in memory as needed. Essentially, one of the functions
+of :setting:`INSTALLED_APPS` is to tell Django the entire model domain.
+
+Queries over related objects
+----------------------------
+
+Queries involving related objects follow the same rules as queries involving
+normal value fields. When specifying the value for a query to match, you may
+use either an object instance itself, or the primary key value for the object.
+
+For example, if you have a Blog object ``b`` with ``id=5``, the following
+three queries would be identical::
+
+ Entry.objects.filter(blog=b) # Query using object instance
+ Entry.objects.filter(blog=b.id) # Query using id from instance
+ Entry.objects.filter(blog=5) # Query using id directly
+
+Falling back to raw SQL
+=======================
+
+If you find yourself needing to write an SQL query that is too complex for
+Django's database-mapper to handle, you can fall back on writing SQL by hand.
+Django has a couple of options for writing raw SQL queries; see
+:doc:`/topics/db/sql`.
+
+Finally, it's important to note that the Django database layer is merely an
+interface to your database. You can access your database via other tools,
+programming languages or database frameworks; there's nothing Django-specific
+about your database.