django_userdefinedtables

A Django application that enables end users to dynamically create and manage their own database tables through a web interface. This package provides an Entity-Attribute-Value (EAV) style framework that allows users to define custom data structures without requiring code changes or database migrations.

Loosely inspired by SharePoint lists, django_userdefinedtables gives your application the flexibility of user-defined schemas while maintaining the power and type safety of Django's ORM.

Key Features

• Dynamic table creation: Users can create their own "Lists" (tables) without developer intervention
• Multiple column types: Support for text, numbers, currency, dates, binary, images, URLs, choices, and lookups
• Type safety: Each column type has validation and appropriate Django field types
• Easy integration: Simple Django app that works with your existing models
• Admin interface: Full Django admin integration out of the box

Installation

Install the package from PyPI:

pip install django_userdefinedtables

Add userdefinedtables to your INSTALLED_APPS in Django settings:

INSTALLED_APPS = [
    ...
    'userdefinedtables',
    ...
]

Run migrations:

python manage.py migrate userdefinedtables

Use

Models

The models which are available for use are:

Organizational

• List: Akin to a table in a relational database.
• Column: Akin to a column/attribute in a relational database. The naked Column model should not be used, as it is the parent in a multi-table inheritance scheme used to simplify querying for instances of the various column models.
• Row: Akin to a row in a relational database. Manages order and membership of data entries.
• Entry: Like, Column, utilizes multi-table inheritance for simplified querying.

Data Type

• SingleLineOfTextColumn: brief text field. Corresponding value utilizes Django CharField.
• MultipleLineTextColumn: longer length field. Corresponding value utilizes Django TextField.
• ChoiceColumn: option among several user-defined choices. Supported by the Choice model, which captures the actual choices available.
• NumberColumn: A column which allows for entry of a decimal number. Supported by NumericalColumn abstract model, which Utilizes Django DecimalField.
• CurrencyColumn: defines a currency field with $ formatting. Otherwise identical to NumberColumn.
• DateTimeColumn: defines a datetime field. Corresponding value utilizes Django DateTimeField.
• BinaryColumn: defines a binary field. Corresponding value utilizes Django BooleanField.
• PictureColumn: defines a picture field. Corresponding value utilizes Django ImageField.
• LookupColumn: defines a way for end users to specify a reference to a value in another column. Utilizes several foreign key relationships.
• URLColumn: defines a url field. Corresponding value utilizes Django URLField.

Instance/Entry

Generally, these entries are self-explanatory, given an understanding of the Data Type models.

• SingleLineOfTextColumnEntry
• MultipleLineTextColumnEntry
• ChoiceEntry
• NumberEntry
• CurrencyEntry
• DateTimeColumnEntry
• BinaryColumnEntry
• LookupColumnEntry
• URLColumnEntry

Example

Please see the example page to see a complete working application demonstrating this package's features.

Contributing

This project is under active development and welcomes contributions from the community! Whether you want to:

• Report bugs or request features
• Improve documentation
• Submit pull requests with bug fixes or new features
• Share ideas for improvements

Please see our Contributing Guide for details on how to get started.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for a detailed history of changes to this project.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.