django-sortedone2many 0.2.2
Provide a one-to-many relationship that also remembers the order of related objects.
License: MIT
Keywords: django,model,field,one-to-many,SortedOneToManyField

=====================
django-sortedone2many
=====================

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``sortedone2many`` provides a ``SortedOneToManyField`` for django Model that establishes a
one-to-many relationship (which can also remember the order of related objects).

Depends on ``SortedManyToManyField`` from the great library django-sortedm2m_ (check it out!).

.. _django-sortedm2m: https://github.com/gregmuellegger/django-sortedm2m


Installation
============

``pip install django-sortedone2many``

PyPI repository: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/django-sortedone2many


Usecases
========

Sorted ``OneToMany`` relationship
---------------------------------

The ``OneToMany`` relationship has been long missing from django ORM.
A similar relationship, ``ManyToOne``, is provided via a ``ForeignKey``,
which is always declared on the "many" side of the relationship.
In the following example (using ``related_name`` on a ``ForeignKey``):

.. code-block:: python

    class Category(models.Model):
        name = models.CharField(max_length=50)

    class Item(models.Model):
        category = ForeignKey(Category, related_name="items")

``item.category`` is a ``ManyToOne`` relationship, while
``category.items`` is a ``OneToMany`` relationship.
However, it is not easy to
manage the order of the list of ``items`` in a ``category``.

To address this need, simply add a ``SortedOneToManyField`` (from this package) to
the model on the "one" side of the relationship:

.. code-block:: python

    class Category(models.Model):
        name = models.CharField(max_length=50)
        items = SortedOneToManyField(Item, sorted=True, blank=True)

``SortedOneToManyField`` uses an intermediary model with an extra
``sort_value`` field to manage the orders of the related objects.
It is very useful to represent **an ordered list of items**
(according to their added order or user-specified order).

Also, ``OneToMany`` relationship offers better **semantics** and **readability** than ``ForeignKey``,
especially for scenarios like ``master-detail`` or ``category-item``
(where each item only belongs to one category).
`This blog explains it nicely <http://blog.amir.rachum.com/blog/2013/06/15/a-case-for-a-onetomany-relationship-in-django/>`_.

Adding ``OneToMany`` to existing models
---------------------------------------

Since ``OneToMany`` relationship uses an intermediary model,
it can work without altering already-existing models/tables,
thus providing better **extensibility** than ``ForeignKey``
(which requires adding a ``ForeignKey`` field to the model/table).
This is a big advantage when the existing models can't be changed
(e.g., models in a third-party library, or shared among several applications).

This package provides a shortcut function ``add_sorted_one2many_relation``
to inject ``OneToMany`` relationship to existing models without editing the
model source code or subclassing the models.


Usage
=====

Add the ``SortedOneToManyField`` to the model on the "one" side of the
relationship (as opposed to ``ForeignKey`` on the "many" side):

.. code-block:: python

    from django.db import models
    from sortedone2many.fields import SortedOneToManyField

    class Item(models.Model):
        name = models.CharField(max_length=50)

    class Category(models.Model):
        name = models.CharField(max_length=50)
        items = SortedOneToManyField(Item, sorted=True, blank=True)

Here, ``category.items`` is the manager for related ``Item`` objects (the same as
the normal ``ManyToManyField``); use it like ``category.items.add(new_item)``,
``category.items.all()``. By default, the list of ``items`` (e.g., ``category.items.all()``)
is sorted according to the order that each ``item`` is added.

On the other side, ``item.category`` is an *instance* (not manager) of ``Category`` (similar
to a ``OneToOneField``); use it like ``item.category.pk``, ``item.category = new_category``.

Strictly speaking, ``item.category`` is an instance of
``sortedone2many.fields.OneToManyRelatedObjectDescriptor``
(a type of `python descriptor <https://docs.python.org/3.4/howto/descriptor.html>`_),
which directly exposes the *single* related object (i.e., the ``category`` instance).
This is different from the ``ManyRelatedObjectsDescriptor`` (as in the normal ``ManyToManyField``)
which exposes the ``manager`` of the *potentially multiple* related objects
(which is not as convenient to use in the ``OneToMany`` relationship).

``SortedOneToManyField``
------------------------
Similar to ``SortedManyToManyField``,
it uses an intermediary model that holds a ForeignKey field pointed at
the model on the "one" side of the relationship, a OneToOneField field
pointed at the model on the "many" side (to ensure the unique relationship
to the "one" side), and another field storing the
sort value (to remember to orders of the objects on the "many" side).

``SortedOneToManyField`` accepts a boolean ``sorted`` attribute which specifies if relationship is
ordered or not. Default is set to ``True``.

Refer to django-sortedm2m_ for more details.

Admin
_____

First, add ``"sortedm2m"`` to your ``INSTALLED_APPS`` settings,
which provides the static ``js`` and ``css`` files to render
the related objects in a ``SortedOneToManyField`` as a list of
checkboxes that can be sorted by drag'n'drop.
(That is similar to the behavior of a ``SortedManyToManyField``).

By default, a ``SortedOneToManyField`` is translated into a form field
``sortedone2many.forms.SortedMultipleChoiceWithDisabledField`` for rendering.
This form field also adds a special function to the widget:
disables those checkboxes that should not be directly selected
in the current admin view (to ensure the unique ``OneToMany`` relationship).

E.g., in the image below, in the admin view for ``category 1``,
``item1.category`` is ``category 2``, so the checkbox for ``item1`` is disabled
because ``category 2`` has to remove ``item1`` from its ``items`` list before
``category 1`` can select ``item1`` in the admin view.

.. image:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ShenggaoZhu/django-sortedone2many/master/docs/category.jpg

In the admin site, to display a related object on the reverse side of
a ``SortedOneToManyField`` (e.g., to display ``item1.category`` in the
admin view of ``item1``), simply use ``sortedone2many.admin.One2ManyModelAdmin``
as the ``admin class`` to register your model:

.. code-block:: python

    from django.contrib import admin
    from sortedone2many.admin import One2ManyModelAdmin
    admin.site.register(MyItemModel, One2ManyModelAdmin)

Or, use the shortcut function ``sortedone2many.admin.register``:

.. code-block:: python

    from sortedone2many.admin import register
    register(MyItemModel)

The related object will be rendered as a dropdown <select> list,
through which you can assign it a different value.
Two additional "change" and "add" buttons are also listed after the dropdown list
as the shortcuts to edit the ``category``
(similar to the appearance of a ``ForeignKey``), as shown below:

.. image:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ShenggaoZhu/django-sortedone2many/master/docs/item.jpg

Internally, ``One2ManyModelAdmin`` uses ``One2ManyModelForm`` for rendering,
which automatically finds related ``SortedOneToManyField`` from the model defined in the
form's Meta class, and add these fields to the form.
Your can subclass ``One2ManyModelForm`` to customize it for your own model.

Utility functions
-----------------
Use the following helper functions in ``sortedone2many.utils``
to inject extra fields to existing models:

.. code-block:: python

   inject_extra_field_to_model(from_model, field_name, field)

   add_sorted_one2many_relation(model_one, model_many, field_name_on_model_one=None,
                                related_name_on_model_many=None)

Working with existing models
----------------------------
``SortedOneToManyField`` (or generally, any extra model field) can be added to an existing model
that can't be edited directly (e.g., in another library/app). For example, add the field to
the ``User`` model in ``django.contrib.auth.models``.

It is recommended to use `django migrations`_ to do this.

.. _`django migrations`: https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.8/topics/migrations/

1. First, add the existing model (``User``) into django ``migrations`` using a migrations folder
   **outside the original library/app** (e.g., in your own app).
   This can be achieved by configuring the ``MIGRATION_MODULES`` dictionary in your django ``settings``:

   .. code-block:: python

    MIGRATION_MODULES = {
        "auth": "my_app.migrations_auth",
    }

   The key (``"auth"``) of ``MIGRATION_MODULES`` is the name (``app_label``) of the library/app,
   and the value is package/folder to store the migration files for this library/app.

   **Note**: this value will supercede/shield the original migrations folder in the library/app
   (if it already uses django migrations), i.e., ``django.contrib.auth.migrations``.

2. Next, run ``manage.py makemigrations auth`` and ``manage.py migrate auth``
   to migrate the existing model as if for the first time (no matter whether the model used migrations before).
   A new migration file ``0001_initial.py`` should be generated in the specified folder.
   If the database table is already created for the model, no actual migrations will be applied.

3. Add a ``SortedOneToManyField`` named ``items`` to the ``User`` model using the helper function:

   .. code-block:: python

    inject_extra_field_to_model(User, 'items', SortedOneToManyField(Item, related_name='owner'))

4. Run ``manage.py makemigrations auth`` and ``manage.py migrate auth`` again to create the
   intermediary table (``auth_user_items`` by default).

That's it! Now ``user.items`` and ``item.owner`` are available as if you defined the
``items`` field in the ``User`` model source code.

Testing
=======
1. Setup database::

    python manage.py makemigrations auth tests app2
    python manage.py migrate

2. Run tests::

    python manage.py test tests

+ ``test_project`` contains the django project ``settings.py``
+ ``tests`` folder contains all the testcases
+ Tested with django 1.8, 1.9 and Python 2.7, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5