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Models Basics

  • Introduction to Django Models, understanding fields, attributes, and how models represent database tables in Django ORM.

  • What are Models in Django?

    A Model in Django is a Python class that represents a database table.

    • Each model = one table

    • Each attribute = one column

    • Each object = one row

    Django uses ORM (Object Relational Mapping) to interact with the database without writing SQL queries.

    Why Models are Important?

    • No need to write SQL manually

    • Database-independent (MySQL, SQLite, PostgreSQL)

    • Clean, readable, and reusable code

    • Easy CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete)

    Real-Life Example

    Real World

    Django

    Student Register

    Student Model

    Rows

    Objects

    Columns

    Fields

    Django Model Workflow

    Model (Python Class)

            ↓

    Django ORM

            ↓

    Database Table

    Creating a Model (Basic Structure)

Basic Model Structure

This code shows how to create a Django model using models.Model. 

from django.db import models

class Student(models.Model):
    name = models.CharField(max_length=100)
    age = models.IntegerField()

  • Explanation

    • models.Model → Base class for all models

    • Student → Table name

    • name, age → Table columns

    Model Fields & Data Types

    Django provides many field types to define database columns.

    1. CharField

    Used For:

    Short text (name, title, city)

CharField Example

Stores small text with a maximum length. 

name = models.CharField(max_length=50)

  • max_length is mandatory

    2. TextField

    Used For:

    Long text (description, address)

TextField Example 

description = models.TextField()

  • 3. IntegerField

    Used For:

    Whole numbers (age, quantity)

IntegerField Example 

age = models.IntegerField()

  • 4. FloatField

    Used For:

    Decimal values (price, rating)


FloatField Example 

price = models.FloatField()

  • 5. BooleanField

    Used For:

    True / False values

BooleanField Example 

is_active = models.BooleanField(default=True)

  • 6. DateField

    Used For:

    Date only (DOB)

DateField Example 

dob = models.DateField()

  • 7. DateTimeField

    Used For:

    Date + Time (created time)


DateTimeField Example 

created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)

  • auto_now_add=True → sets value once

    8. EmailField

    Used For:

    Email addresses


EmailField Example 

email = models.EmailField()

  • 9. AutoField (Primary Key)

    Used For:

    Auto-generated ID

Primary Key Example 

id = models.AutoField(primary_key=True)

  • Django adds this automatically if not defined.

    Complete Model Example

Student Model

This example combines multiple fields used in real projects. 

from django.db import models

class Student(models.Model):
    name = models.CharField(max_length=100)
    email = models.EmailField()
    age = models.IntegerField()
    address = models.TextField()
    is_active = models.BooleanField(default=True)
    created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)

    def __str__(self):
        return self.name

  • Explanation

    Field

    Purpose

    name

    Student name

    email

    Email address

    age

    Age

    address

    Full address

    is_active

    Status

    created_at

    Record creation time

    str

    Human-readable object


    Model to Database Connection

    Steps to Apply Model in DB

    python manage.py makemigrations

    python manage.py migrate

    Explanation

    • makemigrations → creates migration file

    • migrate → creates table in database

    Viewing Model in Admin Panel

Register Model in Admin

Now model appears in Django Admin UI. 

from django.contrib import admin
from .models import Student

admin.site.register(Student)
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