django-auditable-model 0.1.4

A Django app providing reusable abstract models.

About

This library creates Abstract models which will be used to reduce work across all the models of your application. You can just import the library and inherit it in other models to make usage of its functionality.

Usage

from django_auditable_models.models import AbstractAuditableModel

class MyModel(models.Model,AbstractAuditableModel):
    name = models.CharField(max_length = 150,null=True,blank=True)
    
test = MyModel()
test.name = 'TestName'
test.save()

print(test.created_on)

Use the Mixin in Your Serializers

When defining serializers for your models, inherit from both AuditableModelMixin and serializers.ModelSerializer (or any other base serializer class you're using). The AuditableModelMixin ensures that the created_by field is automatically populated from the request context.

from myapp.models import MyModel
from rest_framework import serializers
from django_auditable_models.serializers import AuditableModelMixin

class MyModelSerializer(AuditableModelMixin, serializers.ModelSerializer):
    class Meta:
        model = MyModel
        fields = ['id', 'name', 'created_by']
        read_only_fields = ('created_by',)

Ensure the Request Context is Passed to the Serializer

In your views, ensure that the serializer's context includes the request object. This is automatically handled if you're using DRF's generic views or viewsets.

from myapp.models import MyModel
from myapp.serializers import MyModelSerializer
from rest_framework import generics

class MyModelListCreateAPIView(generics.ListCreateAPIView):
    queryset = MyModel.objects.all()
    serializer_class = MyModelSerializer

If you're not using DRF's view classes that automatically pass the context, make sure to include the request context manually when initializing the serializer.

serializer = MyModelSerializer(data=request.data, context={'request': request})

Advantages

• Separation of Concerns: This approach keeps the logic for assigning the created_by field within the API layer, maintaining a clear separation from the model layer.
• Flexibility and Reusability: By using a mixin, you can easily apply this functionality to any serializer without duplicating code.
• Explicit Context Usage: It leverages the serializer context, which is explicitly designed for passing additional information like the request object, ensuring that the implementation aligns with DRF's design patterns.

This serializer-level solution is particularly suited for Django projects that use DRF for building APIs, providing a clean, reusable way to automatically handle created_by fields across different models and serializers.