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Correct Way to Structure Models, Views and Serializers

I have the following structure of Parent and Child models, where the child references the parent.
class ParentModel(models.Model):
name = models.CharField(max_length=255)
class ChildModel(models.Model):
name = models.CharField(max_length=255)
parent = models.ForeignKey(
ParentModel, related_name='children', on_delete=models.CASCADE
)
created_by = models.ForeignKey(User, on_delete=models.CASCADE)
class ParentSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
class Meta:
model = ParentModel
fields = (
'name',
'children',
)
class ChildSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
class Meta:
models = ChildModel
fields = (
'name'
)
class ParentViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
serializer_class = ParentSerializer
queryset = ParentModel.objects.all()
class ChildViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
serializer_class = ChildSerializer
def get_queryset(self):
user = self.request.user
return ChildModel.objects.filter(created_by=user)
I would like for ParentSerializer.children to only include the ChildModel objects with created_by as self.request.user.
What is the correct way to filter ParentSerializer.children to the current user?
I am open to changing the models as well.

First I think you got a n+1 issue with your code.
When DRF will serialize ParentModel, accessing current_parent.children.all() will produce an SQL query for each parent.
To prevent this you can use prefetch_related so:
class ParentViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
serializer_class = ParentSerializer
queryset = ParentModel.objects.prefetch_related(Prefetch("children"))
This will result in 2 SQL queries instead of N+1 (with N being the number of ParentModel row).
Additionnaly you can use prefetch_related to filter the related model:
class ParentViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
serializer_class = ParentSerializer
def get_queryset(self):
user = self.request.user
return ParentModel.objects.prefetch_related(Prefetch("children", queryset=ChildrenModel.objects.filter(created_by=user)))
Which is what you are looking for I think.

Django Rest Framework Serializer Doesn't Display ALL Fields

I have a problem where DRF isn't displaying all of my fields correctly for a model class / reference table (specifically the primary key).
My Model Class looks like this (very simple):
class UnitOfIssue(models.Model):
code = models.CharField(max_length=2, primary_key=True)
description = models.CharField(max_length=16)
class Meta:
ordering = ('code',)
def __str__(self):
return "{0} - {1}".format(self.code, self.description)
My Serializer Looks like this:
class UnitOfIssueSerializer(serializers.HyperlinkedModelSerializer):
"""
"""
url = serializers.HyperlinkedIdentityField(
read_only=True,
view_name='unitofissue-detail',
format='html',
lookup_field='code')
class Meta:
model = UnitOfIssue
fields = ('code', 'description', 'url')
# fields = '__all__'
And I'm using a generic view:
class UnitOfIssueDetail(generics.RetrieveUpdateDestroyAPIView):
queryset = UnitOfIssue.objects.all()
serializer_class = UnitOfIssueSerializer
permission_classes = (permissions.IsAuthenticatedOrReadOnly,)
lookup_field = 'code'
In order for the UnitOfIssue primary key code to be displayed in the auto-generated UI, I have to define fields = ('code', 'description', 'url') in the serializer instead of fields = '__all__'.
I want to just be able to use the '__all__' syntax but I can't figure out what's going wrong.
Also, I'm using Django==1.11.13 and djangorestframework==3.8.2

This issue plagued me for weeks, and yet it was such a simple error. I fixed it by changing the serializer base class from:
class UnitOfIssueSerializer(serializers.HyperlinkedModelSerializer):
to:
class UnitOfIssueSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):

Lack of data with serialization model with ManyToManyField

Here's are examples I have:
models.py:
class Example(models.Model):
title = models.CharField(...)
description = models.CharField(...)
class Foo(models.Model):
example = models.ManyToManyField(Example)
serializers.py:
class FooSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
class Meta:
model = Foo
fields = '__all__'
depth = 1
views.py:
...
serialized_data = [FooSerializer(foo).data for foo in Foo.objects.all().get]
In output, I receive only Example's IDs, but is there any way I could get title and description fields also (details of m2mfield)? As I understand, Foo.objects.all().get simply doesn't contain this data, but maybe I could somehow get it and use it?
I could also rebuild models if needed, but currently I use m2mf because of needs to contain multiple objects as related to this model data.
update
models.py:
class Event(models.Model):
ts = models.BigIntegerField(editable=False)
class Foo(Event):
user = models.ForeignKey(User, ...)
example = *...(remains to be the same)*
foos = models.ForeignKey('self', **somemore** null=True)
serializers.py:
class EventSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
class Meta:
model = Event
fields = '__all__'
def to_representation(self, instance):
result = {'ts': instance.ts}
if isinstance(instance, Foo):
result['foo'] = FooSerializer(instance).data
return result
class UserSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
class Meta:
model = User
fields = ('id', 'username')
class FooSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
# user = UserSerializer(read_only=True) # with this I have an error: Got AttributeError when attempting to get a value for field 'username' on #serializer 'UserSerializer'
class Meta:
model = Foo
fields = '__all__'
depth = 1

You could use depth attribute to achieve desired output.
The default ModelSerializer uses primary keys for relationships, but
you can also easily generate nested representations using the depth
option.The depth option should be set to an integer value that
indicates the depth of relationships that should be traversed before
reverting to a flat representation.
class FooSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
class Meta:
model = Foo
fields = '__all__'
depth = 1
Apart from the answer, I would like to change your views.py code, cause it seems like very bad :(. Do it on DRF Way as
serialized_data = FooSerializer(Foo.objects.all(), many=True).data<br>
Example View
from rest_framework.viewsets import ModelViewSet
class FooViewset(ModelViewSet):
serializer_class = FooSerializer
queryset = Foo.objects.all()
UPDATE-1
class UserSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
class Meta:
model = User
exclude = ('password',) # add fields that are need to be excluded
class FooSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
user = UserSerializer()
class Meta:
model = Foo
fields = '__all__'
depth = 1
depth = 1 will serializer all fields in the model, (It's same as setting the fields=='__all__' in Meta class of serializer)
UPDATE-2
class FooSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
user = UserSerializer()
class Meta:
model = Foo
fields = '__all__'
depth = 1
def to_representation(self, instance):
real_data = super().to_representation(instance).copy()
# DO YOUR EXTRA CHECKS
child = UserSerializer(instance.child_foo).data
if child:
real_data.update({"child_data": child})
# After your checks, add it to "real_data"
return real_data
and I assumed I have a Foo model as
class Foo(models.Model):
example = models.ManyToManyField(Example)
user = models.ForeignKey(User)
child_foo = models.ForeignKey('self', null=True, blank=True)

In your serializer add depth = 1. Example where 'users' is the related field:
FooSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
class Meta:
model = Foo
fields = ('id', 'account_name', 'users', 'created')
depth = 1

Pass extra arguments to nested Serializer in Django Rest Framework

I have such serializer:
class FirstModelSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
secondModel = SecondModelSerializer()
class Meta:
model = FirstModel
fields = '__all__'
Where secondModel is ManyToMany field of FirstModel.
Is there any way to pass FirstModel object id to SecondModelSerializer?

It was easier then I thought. I just had to use context like this
class FirstModelSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
secondModel = SerializerMethodField()
class Meta:
model = FirstModel
fields = '__all__'
def get_secondModel(self, obj):
return SecondModelSerializer(obj.secondModel.all(), many=True, context={'first_model_id': obj.id)).data
And use self.context.get('first_model_id') in SecondModelSerializer to get to this id.

Django rest framework serializing many to many field

How do I serialize a many-to-many field into list of something, and return them through rest framework? In my example below, I try to return the post together with a list of tags associated with it.
models.py
class post(models.Model):
tag = models.ManyToManyField(Tag)
text = models.CharField(max_length=100)
serializers.py
class PostSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
class Meta:
model = Post
fields = ("text", "tag"??)
views.py
class PostViewSet(viewsets.ReadOnlyModelViewSet):
queryset = Post.objects.all()
serializer_class = PostSerializer

You will need a TagSerializer, whose class Meta has model = Tag. After TagSerializer is created, modify the PostSerializer with many=True for a ManyToManyField relation:
class PostSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
tag = TagSerializer(read_only=True, many=True)
class Meta:
model = Post
fields = ('tag', 'text',)
Answer is for DRF 3

This is what I did, let´s suppose a Book can have more than one author and an Author can have more than one book:
On Model:
class Author(models.Model):
name = models.CharField(max_length=100, default="")
last_name = models.IntegerField(default=0)
class Book(models.Model):
authors = models.ManyToManyField(Author, related_name="book_list", blank=True)
name = models.CharField(max_length=100, default="")
published = models.BooleanField(default=True)
On Serializers:
class BookSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
authors = serializers.PrimaryKeyRelatedField(queryset=Author.objects.all(), many=True)
class Meta:
model = Book
fields = ('id', 'name', 'published', 'authors')
class AuthorSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
book_list = BookSerializer(many=True, read_only=True)
class Meta:
model = Author
fields = ('id', 'name', 'last_name', 'book_list')

Adding to #Brian's answer
"tags": [{"name": "tag1"}] can be simplified to "tags": ["tag1", "tag2",...] in this way:
class TagListingField(serializers.RelatedField):
def to_representation(self, value):
return value.name
class PostSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
tag = TagListingField(many=True, read_only=True)
class Meta:
...
More info here: https://www.django-rest-framework.org/api-guide/relations/#custom-relational-fields

The default ModelSerializer uses primary keys for relationships. However, you can easily generate nested representations using the Meta depth attribute:
class PostSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
class Meta:
model = Post
fields = ("text", "tag")
depth = 1
As mentioned in the documentation :
The depth option should be set to an integer value that indicates the depth of relationships that should be traversed before reverting to a flat representation.

This works for me.
tag = TagSerializer(source="tag", read_only=True, many=True)

Django 2.0
For many to many field, if you want specific one:
class QuestionSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
topics_list = serializers.SerializerMethodField()
def get_topics_list(self, instance):
names = []
a = instance.topics.get_queryset()
for i in a:
names.append(i.desc)
return names
class Meta:
model = Question
fields = ('topics_list',)

In the serializer on init method you can pass the queryset to the field and rest_framework valide the ids on that queryset
1) first extend your serializer from serializers.ModelSerializer
class YourSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
2) include the field on the meta class
class YourSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
class Meta:
fields = (..., 'your_field',)
3) in the init method:
def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
super(YourSerializer, self).__init__(*args, **kwargs)
self.fields['your_field].queryset = <the queryset of your field>
You can limit the queryset for that field under any argument using filter or exclude like normally you do. In case that you want include all just use .objects.all()

models.py
class Tag(models.Model):
name = models.CharField(max_length=100)
# ===============
# ... rest of the fields ...
class Post(models.Model):
tag = models.ManyToManyField(Tag)
text = models.CharField(max_length=100)
serialiazers.py
class TagSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
class Meta:
model = Tag
fields = '__all__'
class PostSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
tags = TagSerializer(many=True, read_only=True)
class Meta:
model = Post
fields = ("text", "tag")
views.py
## FUNCTION BASED VIEW
def fbvPost_ListView(request):
# list
if request.method == "GET":
posts = Post.objects.all()
serializer = PostSerializer(instance=posts, many=True)
return JsonResponse(serializer.data, safe=False)
return JsonResponse({"success": False})
# ===========================================================
## CLASS BASED VIEW
class cbvPost_ListView(viewsets.ReadOnlyModelViewSet):
queryset = Post.objects.all()
serializer_class = PostSerializer
NB: Tag, Post are two models & we need to serialize them. Here, Post model have a dependency of Tag models, so here we explicitly mention it, [tags = TagSerializer(many=True, read_only=True)] or its return it's primary field value.
DETAILS HERE

Hi I will be showing many to many for update and create. The context is the event can have many dances and dances can have many event.
The request will be as followed.
{
"competition": 2,
"title": "the title",
"dances":[ {"id":1},{"id":2}],
"description": "the desc"
}
The Create Function will be as followed.
def create(self, validated_data):
try:
dance_ids = []
for dance in self.initial_data['dances']:
if 'id' not in dance:
raise serializers.ValidationError({'detail': 'key error'})
dance_ids.append(dance['id'])
new_event = models.Event.objects.create(**validated_data)
if dance_ids:
for dance_id in dance_ids:
new_event.dances.add(dance_id)
new_event.save()
return new_event
except Exception as e:
raise serializers.ValidationError({'detail': e})
The Update Function will be as followed.
def update(self, instance, validated_data):
# Delete all records of genres.
try:
for current_genre in instance.dances.all():
instance.dances.remove(current_genre)
# Repopulate genres into instance.
for dance in self.initial_data['dances']:
if 'id' not in dance:
raise serializers.ValidationError({'detail': 'key error'})
dance_obj = models.Dance.objects.get(pk=dance['id'])
instance.dances.add(dance_obj)
event_updated = super().update(instance, validated_data)
return event_updated
except Exception as e:
raise serializers.ValidationError({'detail': e})
If you want to just do "dances":[1,2] instead, just make some amendments to the
for dance in self.initial_data['dances']:
if 'id' not in dance:
raise serializers.ValidationError({'detail': 'key error'})
dance_ids.append(dance['id'])
part. I hope this will be able to help yall out! :)

First, Tag needs its own serializer too
class TagSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
class Meta:
model = Tag
fields = '__all__'
Then in your PostSerializer, add one line
class PostSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
tag = TagSerializer(read_only=True, many=True).data
class Meta:
model = Post
fields = ("text", "tag")
This will make it so your Tag field in Post is an array of tag ids. if you don't put the ".data" part, it will put all of the attributes of tag, which is probably too much in most cases

You can use serializers.SlugRelatedField() or serializers.StringRelatedField(many=True) Serializer relations
In your case :
class PostSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
tag = serializers.StringRelatedField(many=True) # this will return a list
class Meta:
model = Post
fields = ('tag', 'text',)