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diff --git a/docs/api-guide/viewsets.md b/docs/api-guide/viewsets.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..83b486dd --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/api-guide/viewsets.md @@ -0,0 +1,145 @@ +<a class="github" href="viewsets.py"></a> + +# ViewSets + +Django REST framework allows you to combine the logic for a set of related views in a single class, called a `ViewSet`. In other frameworks you may also find conceptually similar implementations named something like 'Resources' or 'Controllers'. + +A `ViewSet` class is simply **a type of class-based View, that does not provide any method handlers** such as `.get()` or `.post()`, and instead provides actions such as `.list()` and `.create()`. + +The method handlers for a `ViewSet` are only bound to the corresponding actions at the point of finalizing the view, using the `.as_view()` method. + +Typically, rather than exlicitly registering the views in a viewset in the urlconf, you'll register the viewset with a router class, that automatically determines the urlconf for you. + +## Example + +Let's define a simple viewset that can be used to listing or retrieving all the users in the system. + + class UserViewSet(ViewSet): + """ + A simple ViewSet that for listing or retrieving users. + """ + queryset = User.objects.all() + + def list(self, request): + serializer = UserSerializer(self.queryset, many=True) + return Response(serializer.data) + + def retrieve(self, request, pk=None): + user = get_object_or_404(self.queryset, pk=pk) + serializer = UserSerializer(user) + return Response(serializer.data) + +If we need to, we can bind this viewset into two seperate views, like so: + + user_list = UserViewSet.as_view({'get': 'list'}) + user_detail = UserViewSet.as_view({'get': 'retrieve'}) + +Typically we wouldn't do this, but would instead register the viewset with a router, and allow the urlconf to be automatically generated. + +There are two main advantages of using a `ViewSet` class over using a `View` class. + +* Repeated logic can be combined into a single class. In the above example, we only need to specify the `queryset` once, and it'll be used across multiple views. +* By using routers, we no longer need to deal with wiring up the URL conf ourselves. + +Both of these come with a trade-off. Using regular views and URL confs is more explicit and gives you more control. ViewSets are helpful if you want to get up and running quickly, or when you have a large API and you want to enforce a consistent URL configuration throughout. + + +# API Reference + +## ViewSet + +The `ViewSet` class inherits from `APIView`. You can use any of the standard attributes such as `permission_classes`, `authentication_classes` in order to control the API policy on the viewset. + +The `ViewSet` class does not provide any implementations of actions. In order to use a `ViewSet` class you'll override the class and define the action implementations explicitly. + +## ModelViewSet + +The `ModelViewSet` class inherits from `GenericAPIView` and includes implementations for various actions, by mixing in the behavior of the + +The actions provided by the `ModelViewSet` class are `.list()`, `.retrieve()`, `.create()`, `.update()`, and `.destroy()`. + +#### Example + +Because `ModelViewSet` extends `GenericAPIView`, you'll normally need to provide at least the `queryset` and `serializer_class` attributes. For example: + + class AccountViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet): + """ + A simple ViewSet for viewing and editing accounts. + """ + queryset = Account.objects.all() + serializer_class = AccountSerializer + permission_classes = [IsAccountAdminOrReadOnly] + +Note that you can use any of the standard attributes or method overrides provided by `GenericAPIView`. For example, to use a `ViewSet` that dynamically determines the queryset it should operate on, you might do something like this: + + class AccountViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet): + """ + A simple ViewSet for viewing and editing the accounts + associated with the user. + """ + serializer_class = AccountSerializer + permission_classes = [IsAccountAdminOrReadOnly] + + def get_queryset(self): + return request.user.accounts.all() + +Also note that although this class provides the complete set of create/list/retrieve/update/destroy actions by default, you can restrict the available operations by using the standard permission classes. + +## ReadOnlyModelViewSet + +The `ReadOnlyModelViewSet` class also inherits from `GenericAPIView`. As with `ModelViewSet` it also includes implementations for various actions, but unlike `ModelViewSet` only provides the 'read-only' actions, `.list()` and `.retrieve()`. + +#### Example + +As with `ModelViewSet`, you'll normally need to provide at least the `queryset` and `serializer_class` attributes. For example: + + class AccountViewSet(viewsets.ReadOnlyModelViewSet): + """ + A simple ViewSet for viewing accounts. + """ + queryset = Account.objects.all() + serializer_class = AccountSerializer + +Again, as with `ModelViewSet`, you can use any of the standard attributes and method overrides available to `GenericAPIView`. + +# Custom ViewSet base classes + +Any standard `View` class can be turned into a `ViewSet` class by mixing in `ViewSetMixin`. You can use this to define your own base classes. + +For example, the definition of `ModelViewSet` looks like this: + + class ModelViewSet(mixins.CreateModelMixin, + mixins.RetrieveModelMixin, + mixins.UpdateModelMixin, + mixins.DestroyModelMixin, + mixins.ListModelMixin, + viewsets.ViewSetMixin, + generics.GenericAPIView): + """ + A viewset that provides actions for `create`, `retrieve`, + `update`, `destroy` and `list` actions. + + To use it, override the class and set the `.queryset` + and `.serializer_class` attributes. + """ + pass + +By creating your own base `ViewSet` classes, you can provide common behavior that can be reused in multiple views across your API. + +For advanced usage, it's worth noting the that `ViewSetMixin` class can also be applied to the standard Django `View` class. Doing so allows you to use REST framework's automatic routing, but don't want to use it's permissions, authentication and other API policies. + +--- + +# Routers + +Routers provide a convenient and simple shortcut for wiring up your application's URLs. + + router = routers.DefaultRouter() + router.register('^/', APIRoot, 'api-root') + router.register('^users/', UserViewSet, 'user') + router.register('^groups/', GroupViewSet, 'group') + router.register('^accounts/', AccountViewSet, 'account') + + urlpatterns = router.urlpatterns + +[cite]: http://guides.rubyonrails.org/routing.html
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