Django and djangorestframework `views`

Django views are versatile for rendering web pages, while DRF generic views streamline API development with standardized CRUD operations and serialization support.

Example

Class-Based API ViewsGeneric API ViewsCombining

These are Python classes that provide more structure and reusability.

from rest_framework.views import APIView

from rest_framework.views import APIView
from rest_framework.response import Response
from rest_framework import status
from .models import Book
from .serializers import BookSerializer

class BookList(APIView):
    def get(self, request):
        books = Book.objects.all()
        serializer = BookSerializer(books, many=True)
        return Response(serializer.data)

    def post(self, request):
        serializer = BookSerializer(data=request.data)
        if serializer.is_valid():
            serializer.save()
            return Response(serializer.data, status=status.HTTP_201_CREATED)
        return Response(serializer.errors, status=status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST)

Generic API views abstract common patterns to make view development easier and faster. DRF provides a set of built-in generic views for common tasks, such as listing, creating, retrieving, updating, and deleting objects.

from rest_framework.generics import ListAPIView

ListAPIViewCreateAPIViewRetrieveAPIViewUpdateAPIViewDestroyAPIView

Used to retrieve a list of objects.

from rest_framework.generics import ListAPIView
from .models import Book
from .serializers import BookSerializer

class BookListView(ListAPIView):
    queryset = Book.objects.all()
    serializer_class = BookSerializer

Used to create a new object.

from rest_framework.generics import CreateAPIView
from .models import Book
from .serializers import BookSerializer

class BookCreateView(CreateAPIView):
    queryset = Book.objects.all()
    serializer_class = BookSerializer

Used to retrieve a single object.

from rest_framework.generics import RetrieveAPIView
from .models import Book
from .serializers import BookSerializer

class BookDetailView(RetrieveAPIView):
    queryset = Book.objects.all()
    serializer_class = BookSerializer

Used to update an existing object.

from rest_framework.generics import UpdateAPIView
from .models import Book
from .serializers import BookSerializer

class BookUpdateView(UpdateAPIView):
    queryset = Book.objects.all()
    serializer_class = BookSerializer

Used to delete an existing object.

from rest_framework.generics import DestroyAPIView
from .models import Book
from .serializers import BookSerializer

class BookDeleteView(DestroyAPIView):
    queryset = Book.objects.all()
    serializer_class = BookSerializer

Combining Multiple Generic API Views

For more complex workflows, you can combine multiple generic views to handle different actions.

Combining List and Create Views

from django.urls import path
from .views import BookListView, BookCreateView

urlpatterns = [
    path('books/', BookListView.as_view(), name='book-list'),
    path('books/new/', BookCreateView.as_view(), name='book-create'),
]

Using ViewSets

Viewsets combine the logic for multiple views into a single class. They are a more concise way to handle standard create, retrieve, update, and delete actions.

from rest_framework import viewsets
from .models import Book
from .serializers import BookSerializer

class BookViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
    queryset = Book.objects.all()
    serializer_class = BookSerializer

Router Configuration

from django.urls import path, include
from rest_framework.routers import DefaultRouter
from .views import BookViewSet

router = DefaultRouter()
router.register(r'books', BookViewSet)

urlpatterns = [
    path('', include(router.urls)),
]

Django Generic Views and Generic API Views

Django Generic Views

View Name	Description	Example Usage	Import
ListView	Displays a list of objects.	`class BookListView(ListView)`	`from django.views.generic import ListView`
DetailView	Displays a single object.	`class BookDetailView(DetailView)`	`from django.views.generic import DetailView`
CreateView	Displays a form for creating a new object and handles form submission.	`class BookCreateView(CreateView)`	`from django.views.generic import CreateView`
UpdateView	Displays a form for updating an existing object and handles form submission.	`class BookUpdateView(UpdateView)`	`from django.views.generic import UpdateView`
DeleteView	Displays a confirmation page and deletes an existing object.	`class BookDeleteView(DeleteView)`	`from django.views.generic import DeleteView`
TemplateView	Renders a template.	`class MyTemplateView(TemplateView)`	`from django.views.generic import TemplateView`
RedirectView	Redirects to a given URL.	`class MyRedirectView(RedirectView)`	`from django.views.generic import RedirectView`
FormView	Displays a form and handles form submission.	`class MyFormView(FormView)`	`from django.views.generic import FormView`
ArchiveIndexView	Displays an archive index of date-based items.	`class MyArchiveIndexView(ArchiveIndexView)`	`from django.views.generic.dates import ArchiveIndexView`
YearArchiveView	Displays an archive of items for a specific year.	`class MyYearArchiveView(YearArchiveView)`	`from django.views.generic.dates import YearArchiveView`
MonthArchiveView	Displays an archive of items for a specific month.	`class MyMonthArchiveView(MonthArchiveView)`	`from django.views.generic.dates import MonthArchiveView`
WeekArchiveView	Displays an archive of items for a specific week.	`class MyWeekArchiveView(WeekArchiveView)`	`from django.views.generic.dates import WeekArchiveView`
DayArchiveView	Displays an archive of items for a specific day.	`class MyDayArchiveView(DayArchiveView)`	`from django.views.generic.dates import DayArchiveView`
TodayArchiveView	Displays an archive of items for today.	`class MyTodayArchiveView(TodayArchiveView)`	`from django.views.generic.dates import TodayArchiveView`
DateDetailView	Displays a single object for a specific date.	`class MyDateDetailView(DateDetailView)`	`from django.views.generic.dates import DateDetailView`

DRF Generic API Views

View Name	Description	Example Usage	Import
ListAPIView	Used for read-only endpoints to represent a collection of model instances.	`class BookListView(ListAPIView)`	`from rest_framework.generics import ListAPIView`
CreateAPIView	Used for create-only endpoints.	`class BookCreateView(CreateAPIView)`	`from rest_framework.generics import CreateAPIView`
RetrieveAPIView	Used for read-only endpoints to represent a single model instance.	`class BookDetailView(RetrieveAPIView)`	`from rest_framework.generics import RetrieveAPIView`
UpdateAPIView	Used for update-only endpoints for a single model instance.	`class BookUpdateView(UpdateAPIView)`	`from rest_framework.generics import UpdateAPIView`
DestroyAPIView	Used for delete-only endpoints for a single model instance.	`class BookDeleteView(DestroyAPIView)`	`from rest_framework.generics import DestroyAPIView`
ListCreateAPIView	Used for read-write endpoints to represent a collection of model instances.	`class BookListCreateView(ListCreateAPIView)`	`from rest_framework.generics import ListCreateAPIView`
RetrieveUpdateAPIView	Used for read or update endpoints to represent a single model instance.	`class BookRetrieveUpdateView(RetrieveUpdateAPIView)`	`from rest_framework.generics import RetrieveUpdateAPIView`
RetrieveDestroyAPIView	Used for read or delete endpoints to represent a single model instance.	`class BookRetrieveDestroyView(RetrieveDestroyAPIView)`	`from rest_framework.generics import RetrieveDestroyAPIView`
RetrieveUpdateDestroyAPIView	Used for read, update or delete endpoints to represent a single model instance.	`class BookRetrieveUpdateDestroyView(RetrieveUpdateDestroyAPIView)`	`from rest_framework.generics import RetrieveUpdateDestroyAPIView`

Django and djangorestframework views

Using ViewSets

Django Generic Views and Generic API Views

Reference

Django and djangorestframework `views`