Merge pull request #1784 from tomchristie/remove-model-attribute

Deprecate `.model` attribute on views

README.md

@@ -39,40 +39,51 @@ Add `'rest_framework'` to your `INSTALLED_APPS` setting.
 
     INSTALLED_APPS = (
         ...
-        'rest_framework',        
+        'rest_framework',
     )
 
 # Example
 
 Let's take a look at a quick example of using REST framework to build a simple model-backed API for accessing users and groups.
 
-Here's our project's root `urls.py` module:
+Startup up a new project like so... 
+
+    pip install django
+    pip install djangorestframework
+    django-admin startproject example .
+    ./manage.py syncdb
+
+Now edit the `example/urls.py` module in your project:
 
 ```python
-from django.conf.urls.defaults import url, patterns, include
-from django.contrib.auth.models import User, Group
-from rest_framework import viewsets, routers
+from django.conf.urls import url, include
+from django.contrib.auth.models import User
+from rest_framework import serializers, viewsets, routers
+
+# Serializers define the API representation.
+class UserSerializer(serializers.HyperlinkedModelSerializer):
+    class Meta:
+        model = User
+        fields = ('url', 'username', 'email', 'is_staff')
+
 
 # ViewSets define the view behavior.
 class UserViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
-    model = User
-
-class GroupViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
-    model = Group
+    queryset = User.objects.all()
+    serializer_class = UserSerializer
 
     
-# Routers provide an easy way of automatically determining the URL conf
+# Routers provide a way of automatically determining the URL conf.
 router = routers.DefaultRouter()
 router.register(r'users', UserViewSet)
-router.register(r'groups', GroupViewSet)
 
 
 # Wire up our API using automatic URL routing.
 # Additionally, we include login URLs for the browseable API.
-urlpatterns = patterns('',
+urlpatterns = [
     url(r'^', include(router.urls)),
     url(r'^api-auth/', include('rest_framework.urls', namespace='rest_framework'))
-)
+]
 ```
 
 We'd also like to configure a couple of settings for our API.
@@ -80,12 +91,12 @@ We'd also like to configure a couple of settings for our API.
 Add the following to your `settings.py` module:
 
 ```python
-REST_FRAMEWORK = {
-    # Use hyperlinked styles by default.
-    # Only used if the `serializer_class` attribute is not set on a view.
-    'DEFAULT_MODEL_SERIALIZER_CLASS':
-        'rest_framework.serializers.HyperlinkedModelSerializer',
+INSTALLED_APPS = (
+    ...  # Make sure to include the default installed apps here.
+    'rest_framework',        
+)
 
+REST_FRAMEWORK = {
     # Use Django's standard `django.contrib.auth` permissions,
     # or allow read-only access for unauthenticated users.
     'DEFAULT_PERMISSION_CLASSES': [
@@ -93,10 +104,35 @@ REST_FRAMEWORK = {
     ]
 }
 ```
-Don't forget to make sure you've also added `rest_framework` to your `INSTALLED_APPS` setting.
 
 That's it, we're done!
 
+    ./manage.py runserver
+
+You can now open the API in your browser at `http://127.0.0.1:8000/`, and view your new 'users' API. If you use the `Login` control in the top right corner you'll also be able to add, create and delete users from the system.
+
+You can also interact with the API using command line tools such as [`curl`](http://curl.haxx.se/). For example, to list the users endpoint:
+
+    $ curl -H 'Accept: application/json; indent=4' -u admin:password http://127.0.0.1:8000/users/
+	[
+	    {
+	        "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8000/users/1/", 
+	        "username": "admin", 
+	        "email": "admin@example.com", 
+	        "is_staff": true, 
+	    }
+	]
+
+Or to create a new user:
+
+    $ curl -X POST -d username=new -d email=new@example.com -d is_staff=false -H 'Accept: application/json; indent=4' -u admin:password http://127.0.0.1:8000/users/
+    {
+        "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8000/users/2/", 
+        "username": "new", 
+        "email": "new@example.com", 
+        "is_staff": false, 
+    }
+
 # Documentation & Support
 
 Full documentation for the project is available at [http://www.django-rest-framework.org][docs].

docs/api-guide/generic-views.md

@@ -74,10 +74,6 @@ The following attributes control the basic view behavior.
 * `lookup_field` - The model field that should be used to for performing object lookup of individual model instances.  Defaults to `'pk'`.  Note that when using hyperlinked APIs you'll need to ensure that *both* the API views *and* the serializer classes set the lookup fields if you need to use a custom value.
 * `lookup_url_kwarg` - The URL keyword argument that should be used for object lookup.  The URL conf should include a keyword argument corresponding to this value.  If unset this defaults to using the same value as `lookup_field`.
 
-**Shortcuts**:
-
-* `model` - This shortcut may be used instead of setting either (or both) of the `queryset`/`serializer_class` attributes, although using the explicit style is generally preferred.  If used instead of `serializer_class`, then `DEFAULT_MODEL_SERIALIZER_CLASS` setting will determine the base serializer class.  Note that `model` is only ever used for generating a default queryset or serializer class - the `queryset` and `serializer_class` attributes are always preferred if provided.
-
 **Pagination**:
 
 The following attributes are used to control pagination when used with list views.
@@ -91,6 +87,10 @@ The following attributes are used to control pagination when used with list view
 
 * `filter_backends` - A list of filter backend classes that should be used for filtering the queryset.  Defaults to the same value as the `DEFAULT_FILTER_BACKENDS` setting.
 
+**Deprecated attributes**:
+
+* `model` - This shortcut may be used instead of setting either (or both) of the `queryset`/`serializer_class` attributes. The explicit style is preferred over the `.model` shortcut, and usage of this attribute is now deprecated.
+
 ### Methods
 
 **Base methods**:

docs/api-guide/permissions.md

@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ This permission is suitable if you want to your API to allow read permissions to
 
 ## DjangoModelPermissions
 
-This permission class ties into Django's standard `django.contrib.auth` [model permissions][contribauth].  When applied to a view that has a `.model` property, authorization will only be granted if the user *is authenticated* and has the *relevant model permissions* assigned.
+This permission class ties into Django's standard `django.contrib.auth` [model permissions][contribauth].  This permission must only be applied to views that has a `.queryset` property set. Authorization will only be granted if the user *is authenticated* and has the *relevant model permissions* assigned.
 
 * `POST` requests require the user to have the `add` permission on the model.
 * `PUT` and `PATCH` requests require the user to have the `change` permission on the model.
@@ -124,6 +124,12 @@ The default behaviour can also be overridden to support custom model permissions
 
 To use custom model permissions, override `DjangoModelPermissions` and set the `.perms_map` property.  Refer to the source code for details.
 
+#### Using with views that do not include a `queryset` attribute.
+
+If you're using this permission with a view that uses an overridden `get_queryset()` method there may not be a `queryset` attribute on the view. In this case we suggest also marking the view with a sential queryset, so that this class can determine the required permissions. For example:
+
+    queryset = User.objects.none()  # Required for DjangoModelPermissions
+
 ## DjangoModelPermissionsOrAnonReadOnly
 
 Similar to `DjangoModelPermissions`, but also allows unauthenticated users to have read-only access to the API.
@@ -132,7 +138,7 @@ Similar to `DjangoModelPermissions`, but also allows unauthenticated users to ha
 
 This permission class ties into Django's standard [object permissions framework][objectpermissions] that allows per-object permissions on models.  In order to use this permission class, you'll also need to add a permission backend that supports object-level permissions, such as [django-guardian][guardian].
 
-When applied to a view that has a `.model` property, authorization will only be granted if the user *is authenticated* and has the *relevant per-object permissions* and *relevant model permissions* assigned.
+As with `DjangoModelPermissions`, this permission must only be applied to views that have a `.queryset` property. Authorization will only be granted if the user *is authenticated* and has the *relevant per-object permissions* and *relevant model permissions* assigned.
 
 * `POST` requests require the user to have the `add` permission on the model instance.
 * `PUT` and `PATCH` requests require the user to have the `change` permission on the model instance.

docs/api-guide/routers.md

@@ -41,9 +41,9 @@ The example above would generate the following URL patterns:
 
 **Note**: The `base_name` argument is used to specify the initial part of the view name pattern.  In the example above, that's the `user` or `account` part.
 
-Typically you won't *need* to specify the `base-name` argument, but if you have a viewset where you've defined a custom `get_queryset` method, then the viewset may not have any `.model` or `.queryset` attribute set.  If you try to register that viewset you'll see an error like this:
+Typically you won't *need* to specify the `base-name` argument, but if you have a viewset where you've defined a custom `get_queryset` method, then the viewset may not have a `.queryset` attribute set.  If you try to register that viewset you'll see an error like this:
 
-    'base_name' argument not specified, and could not automatically determine the name from the viewset, as it does not have a '.model' or '.queryset' attribute.
+    'base_name' argument not specified, and could not automatically determine the name from the viewset, as it does not have a '.queryset' attribute.
 
 This means you'll need to explicitly set the `base_name` argument when registering the viewset, as it could not be automatically determined from the model name.
 

docs/api-guide/settings.md

@@ -100,12 +100,6 @@ Default: `'rest_framework.negotiation.DefaultContentNegotiation'`
 
 *The following settings control the behavior of the generic class based views.*
 
-#### DEFAULT_MODEL_SERIALIZER_CLASS
-
-A class that determines the default type of model serializer that should be used by a generic view if `model` is specified, but `serializer_class` is not provided.
-
-Default: `'rest_framework.serializers.ModelSerializer'`
-
 #### DEFAULT_PAGINATION_SERIALIZER_CLASS
 
 A class the determines the default serialization style for paginated responses.

docs/index.md

@@ -96,16 +96,11 @@ Note that the URL path can be whatever you want, but you must include `'rest_fra
 
 Let's take a look at a quick example of using REST framework to build a simple model-backed API.
 
-We'll create a read-write API for accessing users and groups.
+We'll create a read-write API for accessing information on the users of our project.
 
 Any global settings for a REST framework API are kept in a single configuration dictionary named `REST_FRAMEWORK`.  Start off by adding the following to your `settings.py` module:
 
     REST_FRAMEWORK = {
-        # Use hyperlinked styles by default.
-        # Only used if the `serializer_class` attribute is not set on a view.
-        'DEFAULT_MODEL_SERIALIZER_CLASS':
-            'rest_framework.serializers.HyperlinkedModelSerializer',
-
         # Use Django's standard `django.contrib.auth` permissions,
         # or allow read-only access for unauthenticated users.
         'DEFAULT_PERMISSION_CLASSES': [
@@ -118,34 +113,37 @@ Don't forget to make sure you've also added `rest_framework` to your `INSTALLED_
 We're ready to create our API now.
 Here's our project's root `urls.py` module:
 
-    from django.conf.urls import url, patterns, include
-    from django.contrib.auth.models import User, Group
-    from rest_framework import viewsets, routers
+    from django.conf.urls import url, include
+    from django.contrib.auth.models import User
+    from rest_framework import routers, serializers, viewsets
+
+	# Serializers define the API representation.
+	class UserSerializer(serializers.HyperlinkedModelSerializer):
+	    class Meta:
+	        model = User
+	        fields = ('url', 'username', 'email', 'is_staff')
 
     # ViewSets define the view behavior.
     class UserViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
-        model = User
-
-    class GroupViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
-        model = Group
-
+        queryset = User.objects.all()
+        serializer_class = UserSerializer
 
     # Routers provide an easy way of automatically determining the URL conf.
     router = routers.DefaultRouter()
     router.register(r'users', UserViewSet)
-    router.register(r'groups', GroupViewSet)
-
 
     # Wire up our API using automatic URL routing.
     # Additionally, we include login URLs for the browseable API.
-    urlpatterns = patterns('',
+    urlpatterns = [
         url(r'^', include(router.urls)),
         url(r'^api-auth/', include('rest_framework.urls', namespace='rest_framework'))
-    )
+    ]
+
+You can now open the API in your browser at [http://127.0.0.1:8000/](http://127.0.0.1:8000/), and view your new 'users' API. If you use the login control in the top right corner you'll also be able to add, create and delete users from the system.
 
 ## Quickstart
 
-Can't wait to get started?  The [quickstart guide][quickstart] is the fastest way to get up and running, and building APIs with REST framework.
+Can't wait to get started? The [quickstart guide][quickstart] is the fastest way to get up and running, and building APIs with REST framework.
 
 ## Tutorial
 

docs/topics/2.4-accouncement.md

@@ -15,6 +15,16 @@ The optional authtoken application now includes support for *both* Django 1.7 sc
 
 **If you are using authtoken, and you want to continue using `south`, you must upgrade your `south` package to version 1.0.**
 
+## Deprecation of `.model` view attribute
+
+The `.model` attribute on view classes is an optional shortcut for either or both of `.serializer_class` and `.queryset`. It's usage results in more implicit, less obvious behavior.
+
+The documentation has previously stated that usage of the more explict style is prefered, and we're now taking that one step further and deprecating the usage of the `.model` shortcut.
+
+Doing so will mean that there are cases of API code where you'll now need to include a serializer class where you previously were just using the `.model` shortcut. However we firmly believe that it is the right trade-off to make. Removing the shortcut takes away an unneccessary layer of abstraction, and makes your codebase more explict without any significant extra complexity.
+
+The `DEFAULT_MODEL_SERIALIZER_CLASS` API setting is now also deprecated.
+
 ## Updated test runner
 
 We now have a new test runner for developing against the project,, that uses the excellent [py.test](http://pytest.org) library.

docs/topics/release-notes.md

@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ You can determine your currently installed version using `pip freeze`:
 
 * Added compatibility with Django 1.7's database migration support.
 * New test runner, using `py.test`.
+* Deprecated `.model` view attribute in favor of explict `.queryset` and `.serializer_class` attributes. The `DEFAULT_MODEL_SERIALIZER_CLASS` setting is also deprecated.
 * `@detail_route` and `@list_route` decorators replace `@action` and `@link`.
 * Support customizable view name and description functions, using the `VIEW_NAME_FUNCTION` and `VIEW_DESCRIPTION_FUNCTION` settings.
 * Added `NUM_PROXIES` setting for smarter client IP identification.

docs/tutorial/quickstart.md

@@ -18,34 +18,23 @@ Create a new Django project named `tutorial`, then start a new app called `quick
     pip install django
     pip install djangorestframework
 
-    # Set up a new project
-    django-admin.py startproject tutorial
-
-    # Create a new app
-    python manage.py startapp quickstart
-
-Next you'll need to get a database set up and synced.  If you just want to use SQLite for now, then you'll want to edit your `tutorial/settings.py` module to include something like this:
-
-    DATABASES = {
-        'default': {
-            'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.sqlite3',
-            'NAME': 'database.sql',
-            'USER': '',
-            'PASSWORD': '',
-            'HOST': '',
-            'PORT': ''
-        }
-    }
+    # Set up a new project with a single application
+    django-admin.py startproject tutorial .
+    cd tutorial
+    django-admin.py startapp quickstart
+	cd ..
 
-The run `syncdb` like so:
+Now sync your database for the first time:
 
     python manage.py syncdb
 
+Make sure to create an initial user named `admin` with a password of `password`. We'll authenticate as that user later in our example.
+
 Once you've set up a database and got everything synced and ready to go, open up the app's directory and we'll get coding...
 
 ## Serializers
 
-First up we're going to define some serializers in `quickstart/serializers.py` that we'll use for our data representations.
+First up we're going to define some serializers. Let's create a new module named `tutorial/quickstart/serializers.py` that we'll use for our data representations.
 
     from django.contrib.auth.models import User, Group
     from rest_framework import serializers
@@ -66,11 +55,11 @@ Notice that we're using hyperlinked relations in this case, with `HyperlinkedMod
 
 ## Views
 
-Right, we'd better write some views then.  Open `quickstart/views.py` and get typing.
+Right, we'd better write some views then.  Open `tutorial/quickstart/views.py` and get typing.
 
     from django.contrib.auth.models import User, Group
     from rest_framework import viewsets
-    from quickstart.serializers import UserSerializer, GroupSerializer
+    from tutorial.quickstart.serializers import UserSerializer, GroupSerializer
 
 
     class UserViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
@@ -100,9 +89,9 @@ For trivial cases you can simply set a `model` attribute on the `ViewSet` class
 
 Okay, now let's wire up the API URLs.  On to `tutorial/urls.py`...
 
-    from django.conf.urls import patterns, url, include
+    from django.conf.urls import url, include
     from rest_framework import routers
-    from quickstart import views
+    from tutorial.quickstart import views
 
     router = routers.DefaultRouter()
     router.register(r'users', views.UserViewSet)
@@ -110,10 +99,10 @@ Okay, now let's wire up the API URLs.  On to `tutorial/urls.py`...
 
     # Wire up our API using automatic URL routing.
     # Additionally, we include login URLs for the browseable API.
-    urlpatterns = patterns('',
+    urlpatterns = [
         url(r'^', include(router.urls)),
         url(r'^api-auth/', include('rest_framework.urls', namespace='rest_framework'))
-    )
+    ]
 
 Because we're using viewsets instead of views, we can automatically generate the URL conf for our API, by simply registering the viewsets with a router class.
 
@@ -172,6 +161,8 @@ Or directly through the browser...
 
 ![Quick start image][image]
 
+If you're working through the browser, make sure to login using the control in the top right corner.
+
 Great, that was easy!
 
 If you want to get a more in depth understanding of how REST framework fits together head on over to [the tutorial][tutorial], or start browsing the [API guide][guide].

rest_framework/generics.py

@@ -252,6 +252,12 @@ class GenericAPIView(views.APIView):
         if serializer_class is not None:
             return serializer_class
 
+        warnings.warn(
+            'The `.model` attribute on view classes is now deprecated in favor '
+            'of the more explicit `serializer_class` and `queryset` attributes.',
+            DeprecationWarning, stacklevel=2
+        )
+
         assert self.model is not None, \
             "'%s' should either include a 'serializer_class' attribute, " \
             "or use the 'model' attribute as a shortcut for " \
@@ -282,6 +288,11 @@ class GenericAPIView(views.APIView):
             return self.queryset._clone()
 
         if self.model is not None:
+            warnings.warn(
+                'The `.model` attribute on view classes is now deprecated in favor '
+                'of the more explicit `serializer_class` and `queryset` attributes.',
+                DeprecationWarning, stacklevel=2
+            )
             return self.model._default_manager.all()
 
         error_format = "'%s' must define 'queryset' or 'model'"

rest_framework/permissions.py

@@ -108,6 +108,9 @@ class DjangoModelPermissions(BasePermission):
         return [perm % kwargs for perm in self.perms_map[method]]
 
     def has_permission(self, request, view):
+        # Note that `.model` attribute on views is deprecated, although we
+        # enforce the deprecation on the view `get_serializer_class()` and
+        # `get_queryset()` methods, rather than here.
         model_cls = getattr(view, 'model', None)
         queryset = getattr(view, 'queryset', None)
 

rest_framework/routers.py

@@ -128,6 +128,9 @@ class SimpleRouter(BaseRouter):
         If `base_name` is not specified, attempt to automatically determine
         it from the viewset.
         """
+        # Note that `.model` attribute on views is deprecated, although we
+        # enforce the deprecation on the view `get_serializer_class()` and
+        # `get_queryset()` methods, rather than here.
         model_cls = getattr(viewset, 'model', None)
         queryset = getattr(viewset, 'queryset', None)
         if model_cls is None and queryset is not None:
@@ -135,7 +138,7 @@ class SimpleRouter(BaseRouter):
 
         assert model_cls, '`base_name` argument not specified, and could ' \
             'not automatically determine the name from the viewset, as ' \
-            'it does not have a `.model` or `.queryset` attribute.'
+            'it does not have a `.queryset` attribute.'
 
         return model_cls._meta.object_name.lower()