Some heavy refactoring to the 1.2 release notes.

Don't bury the lede, folks!

git-svn-id: http://code.djangoproject.com/svn/django/trunk@13271 bcc190cf-cafb-0310-a4f2-bffc1f526a37
This commit is contained in:
Jacob Kaplan-Moss 2010-05-17 16:32:29 +00:00
parent b496518623
commit acd8dcd5b0
1 changed files with 514 additions and 423 deletions

View File

@ -4,35 +4,372 @@
Django 1.2 release notes
========================
May 14, 2010
*May 17, 2010.*
Welcome to Django 1.2!
Nearly a year in the making, Django 1.2 packs an impressive list of
`new features`_, and lots of bugfixes. These release notes cover the
new features, as well as important changes you'll want to be aware of
when upgrading from Django 1.1 or older versions.
Nearly a year in the making, Django 1.2 packs an impressive list of `new
features`_ and lots of bug fixes. These release notes cover the new features,
as well as important changes you'll want to be aware of when upgrading from
Django 1.1 or older versions.
.. _new features: `What's new in Django 1.2`_
Overview
========
Django 1.2 introduces several large, important new features, including:
* Support for `multiple database connections`_ in a single Django instance.
* `Model validation`_ inspired by Django's form validation.
* Vastly `improved protection against Cross-Site Request Forgery`_ (CSRF).
* A new `user "messages" framework`_ with support for cookie- and session-based
message for both anonymous and authenticated users.
* Hooks for `object-level permissions`_, `permissions for anonymous users`_,
and `more flexible username requirements`_.
* Customization of e-mail sending via `e-mail backends`_.
* New :ref:`"smart" if template tag <new-in-1.2-smart-if>` which supports
comparison operators.
.. _multiple database connections: `support for multiple databases`_
.. _improved protection against Cross-Site Request Forgery: `improved CSRF protection`_
.. _user "messages" framework: `messages framework`_
.. _more flexible username requirements: `relaxed requirements for usernames`_
These are just the highlights; full details and a complete list of features `may
be found below`_.
.. _may be found below: `what's new in django 1.2`
.. seealso::
`Django Advent`_ covered the release of Django 1.2 with a series of
articles and tutorials that cover some of the new features in depth.
.. _django advent: http://djangoadvent.com/
Wherever possible these features have been introduced in a backwards-compatible
manner per :ref:`our API stability policy <misc-api-stability>` policy.
However, a handful of features *have* changed in ways that, for some users, will be
backwards-incompatible. The big changes are:
* The new CSRF protection framework is not backwards-compatible with
the old system. Users of the old system will not be affected until
the old system is removed in Django 1.4
However, upgrading to the new CSRF protection framework requires a few
important backwards-incompatible changes, detailed in `CSRF Protection`_,
below.
* Authors of custom :class:`~django.db.models.Field` subclasses should be
aware that a number of methods have had a change in prototype, detailed
under `get_db_prep_*() methods on Field`_, below.
* The internals of template tags have changed somewhat; authors of custom
template tags that need to store state (e.g. custom control flow tags)
should ensure that their code follows the new rules for `stateful template
tags`_
* The :func:`~django.contrib.auth.decorators.user_passes_test`,
:func:`~django.contrib.auth.decorators.login_required`, and
:func:`~django.contrib.auth.decorators.permission_required`, decorators
from :mod:`django.contrib.auth` only apply to functions and no longer
work on methods. There's a simple one-line fix `detailed below`_.
.. _detailed below: `user_passes_test, login_required and permission_required`_
Again, these are just the big features that will affect the most users. Users
upgrading from previous versions of Django are heavily encouraged to consult
the complete list of :ref:`backwards-incompatible changes
<backwards-incompatible-changes-1.2>` and the list of :ref:`deprecated
features <deprecated-features-1.2>`.
What's new in Django 1.2
========================
Support for multiple databases
------------------------------
Django 1.2 adds the ability to use :ref:`more than one database
<topics-db-multi-db>` in your Django project. Queries can be issued at a
specific database with the `using()` method on ``QuerySet`` objects. Individual
objects can be saved to a specific database by providing a ``using`` argument
when you call ``save()``.
Model validation
----------------
Model instances now have support for :ref:`validating their own data
<validating-objects>`, and both model and form fields now accept configurable
lists of :ref:`validators <ref-validators>` specifying reusable, encapsulated
validation behavior. Note, however, that validation must still be performed
explicitly. Simply invoking a model instance's ``save()`` method will not
perform any validation of the instance's data.
Improved CSRF protection
------------------------
Django now has much improved protection against :ref:`Cross-Site Request Forgery
(CSRF) attacks<ref-contrib-csrf>`. This type of attack occurs when a malicious
Web site contains a link, a form button or some JavaScript that is intended to
perform some action on your Web site, using the credentials of a logged-in user
who visits the malicious site in their browser. A related type of attack, "login
CSRF," where an attacking site tricks a user's browser into logging into a site
with someone else's credentials, is also covered.
Messages framework
------------------
Django now includes a robust and configurable :ref:`messages framework
<ref-contrib-messages>` with built-in support for cookie- and session-based
messaging, for both anonymous and authenticated clients. The messages framework
replaces the deprecated user message API and allows you to temporarily store
messages in one request and retrieve them for display in a subsequent request
(usually the next one).
Object-level permissions
------------------------
A foundation for specifying permissions at the per-object level has been added.
Although there is no implementation of this in core, a custom authentication
backend can provide this implementation and it will be used by
:class:`django.contrib.auth.models.User`. See the :ref:`authentication docs
<topics-auth>` for more information.
Permissions for anonymous users
-------------------------------
If you provide a custom auth backend with ``supports_anonymous_user`` set to
``True``, AnonymousUser will check the backend for permissions, just like
User already did. This is useful for centralizing permission handling - apps
can always delegate the question of whether something is allowed or not to
the authorization/authentication backend. See the :ref:`authentication
docs <topics-auth>` for more details.
Relaxed requirements for usernames
----------------------------------
The built-in :class:`~django.contrib.auth.models.User` model's
:attr:`~django.contrib.auth.models.User.username` field now allows a wider range
of characters, including ``@``, ``+``, ``.`` and ``-`` characters.
E-mail backends
---------------
You can now :ref:`configure the way that Django sends e-mail
<topic-email-backends>`. Instead of using SMTP to send all e-mail, you
can now choose a configurable e-mail backend to send messages. If your
hosting provider uses a sandbox or some other non-SMTP technique for
sending mail, you can now construct an e-mail backend that will allow
Django's standard :ref:`mail sending methods<topics-email>` to use
those facilities.
This also makes it easier to debug mail sending. Django ships with
backend implementations that allow you to send e-mail to a
:ref:`file<topic-email-file-backend>`, to the
:ref:`console<topic-email-console-backend>`, or to
:ref:`memory<topic-email-memory-backend>`. You can even configure all
e-mail to be :ref:`thrown away<topic-email-dummy-backend>`.
.. _new-in-1.2-smart-if:
"Smart" :ttag:`if` tag
----------------------
The :ttag:`if` tag has been upgraded to be much more powerful. First, we've
added support for comparison operators. No longer will you have to type:
.. code-block:: html+django
{% ifnotequal a b %}
...
{% endifnotequal %}
You can now do this:
.. code-block:: html+django
{% if a != b %}
...
{% endif %}
There's really no reason to use ``{% ifequal %}`` or ``{% ifnotequal %}``
anymore, unless you're the nostalgic type.
The operators supported are ``==``, ``!=``, ``<``, ``>``, ``<=``, ``>=``,
``in`` and ``not in``, all of which work like the Python operators, in addition
to ``and``, ``or`` and ``not``, which were already supported.
Also, filters may now be used in the ``if`` expression. For example:
.. code-block:: html+django
<div
{% if user.email|lower == message.recipient|lower %}
class="highlight"
{% endif %}
>{{ message }}</div>
Template caching
----------------
In previous versions of Django, every time you rendered a template, it
would be reloaded from disk. In Django 1.2, you can use a :ref:`cached
template loader <template-loaders>` to load templates once, then
cache the result for every subsequent render. This can lead to a
significant performance improvement if your templates are broken into
lots of smaller subtemplates (using the ``{% extends %}`` or ``{%
include %}`` tags).
As a side effect, it is now much easier to support non-Django template
languages. For more details, see the :ref:`notes on supporting
non-Django template languages<topic-template-alternate-language>`.
Natural keys in fixtures
------------------------
Fixtures can now refer to remote objects using
:ref:`topics-serialization-natural-keys`. This lookup scheme is an
alternative to the normal primary-key based object references in a
fixture, improving readability and resolving problems referring to
objects whose primary key value may not be predictable or known.
Fast failure for tests
----------------------
Both the :djadmin:`test` subcommand of ``django-admin.py`` and the
``runtests.py`` script used to run Django's own test suite now support a
``--failfast`` option. When specified, this option causes the test runner to
exit after encountering a failure instead of continuing with the test run. In
addition, the handling of ``Ctrl-C`` during a test run has been improved to
trigger a graceful exit from the test run that reports details of the tests that
were run before the interruption.
``BigIntegerField``
-------------------
Models can now use a 64-bit :class:`~django.db.models.BigIntegerField` type.
Improved localization
---------------------
Django's :ref:`internationalization framework <topics-i18n>` has been expanded
with locale-aware formatting and form processing. That means, if enabled, dates
and numbers on templates will be displayed using the format specified for the
current locale. Django will also use localized formats when parsing data in
forms. See :ref:`Format localization <format-localization>` for more details.
``readonly_fields`` in ``ModelAdmin``
-------------------------------------
:attr:`django.contrib.admin.ModelAdmin.readonly_fields` has been added to
enable non-editable fields in add/change pages for models and inlines. Field
and calculated values can be displayed alongside editable fields.
Customizable syntax highlighting
--------------------------------
You can now use a ``DJANGO_COLORS`` environment variable to modify or disable
the colors used by ``django-admin.py`` to provide :ref:`syntax highlighting
<syntax-coloring>`.
Syndication feeds as views
--------------------------
:ref:`Syndication feeds <ref-contrib-syndication>` can now be used directly as
views in your :ref:`URLconf <topics-http-urls>`. This means that you can
maintain complete control over the URL structure of your feeds. Like any other
view, feeds views are passed a ``request`` object, so you can do anything you
would normally do with a view, like user based access control, or making a feed
a named URL.
GeoDjango
---------
The most significant new feature for ref:`GeoDjango <ref-contrib-gis>`
in 1.2 is support for multiple spatial databases. As a result,
the following :ref:`spatial database backends <spatial-backends>`
are now included:
* :mod:`django.contrib.gis.db.backends.postgis`
* :mod:`django.contrib.gis.db.backends.mysql`
* :mod:`django.contrib.gis.db.backends.oracle`
* :mod:`django.contrib.gis.db.backends.spatialite`
GeoDjango now supports the rich capabilities added
in the `PostGIS 1.5 release <http://postgis.refractions.net/documentation/manual-1.5/>`_.
New features include suppport for the the :ref:`geography type <geography-type>`
and enabling of :ref:`distance queries <distance-queries>`
with non-point geometries on geographic coordinate systems.
Support for 3D geometry fields was added, and may be enabled
by setting the :attr:`~django.contrib.gis.db.models.GeometryField.dim`
keyword to 3 in your :class:`~django.contrib.gis.db.models.GeometryField`.
The :class:`~django.contrib.gis.db.models.Extent3D` aggregate
and :meth:`~django.contrib.gis.db.models.GeoQuerySet.extent3d` ``GeoQuerySet``
method were added as a part of this feature.
The following :class:`~django.contrib.gis.db.models.GeoQeurySet`
methods are new in 1.2:
* :meth:`~django.contrib.gis.db.models.GeoQuerySet.force_rhr`
* :meth:`~django.contrib.gis.db.models.GeoQuerySet.reverse_geom`
* :meth:`~django.contrib.gis.db.models.GeoQuerySet.geohash`
The :ref:`GEOS interface <ref-geos>` was updated to use
thread-safe C library functions when available on the platform.
The :ref:`GDAL interface <ref-gdal>` now allows the user to
set a :attr:`~django.contrib.gis.gdal.Layer.spatial_filter` on
the features returned when iterating over a
:class:`~django.contrib.gis.gdal.Layer`.
Finally, :ref:`GeoDjango's documentation <ref-contrib-gis>` is now
included with Django's and is no longer
hosted separately at `geodjango.org <http://geodjango.org/>`_.
.. _1.2-js-assisted-inlines:
JavaScript-assisted handling of inline related objects in the admin
-------------------------------------------------------------------
If a user has JavaScript enabled in their browser, the interface for
inline objects in the admin now allows inline objects to be
dynamically added and removed. Users without JavaScript-enabled
browsers will see no change in the behavior of inline objects.
New ``now`` template tag format specifier characters: ``c`` and ``u``
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The argument to the :ttag:`now` has gained two new format characters:
``c`` to specify that a datetime value should be formatted in ISO 8601
format, and ``u`` that allows output of the microseconds part of a
datetime or time value.
These are also available in others parts like the :tfilter:`date` and
:tfilter:`time` template filters, the ``humanize`` template tag library
and the new `format localization`_ framework.
.. _format localization: `Improved localization`_
.. _backwards-incompatible-changes-1.2:
Backwards-incompatible changes in 1.2
=====================================
There are a number of changes in Django 1.2 which will be
backwards-incompatible; per :ref:`our API stability policy
<misc-api-stability>`, most such changes are being introduced
gradually to allow adequate time to upgrade existing code. For most of
the changes listed below, code written for Django 1.1 or older will
simply raise a ``PendingDeprecationWarning`` in Django 1.2, followed
by a ``DeprecationWarning`` in Django 1.3 before such code finally
stops working entirely in Django 1.4.
Wherever possible the new features above have been introduced in a
backwards-compatible manner per :ref:`our API stability policy
<misc-api-stability>` policy.
Do note, however, that some of the items listed below may require
immediate changes; we encourage you to read these notes carefully to
determine how they'll impact your code.
However, a handful of features *have* changed in ways that, for some users, will be
backwards-incompatible. Those changes are detailed below.
CSRF Protection
---------------
@ -59,119 +396,6 @@ should be aware of:
compatible imports in the old locations, which are deprecated and
will cease to be supported in Django 1.4).
:ttag:`if` tag changes
----------------------
Due to new features in the :ttag:`if` template tag, it no longer
accepts 'and', 'or' and 'not' as valid **variable** names. Previously,
these strings could be used as variable names. Now, the keyword status
is always enforced, and template code such as ``{% if not %}`` or ``{%
if and %}`` will throw a ``TemplateSyntaxError``. Also, ``in`` is a
new keyword and so is not a valid variable name in this tag.
``LazyObject``
--------------
``LazyObject`` is an undocumented utility class used for lazily
wrapping other objects of unknown type. In Django 1.1 and earlier, it
handled introspection in a non-standard way, depending on wrapped
objects implementing a public method named
``get_all_members()``. Since this could easily lead to name clashes,
it has been changed to use the standard Python introspection method,
involving ``__members__`` and ``__dir__()``. If you used
``LazyObject`` in your own code and implemented the
``get_all_members()`` method for wrapped objects, you need to make the
following changes:
* If your class does not have special requirements for introspection (i.e., you
have not implemented ``__getattr__()`` or other methods that allow for
attributes not discoverable by normal mechanisms), you can simply remove the
``get_all_members()`` method. The default implementation on ``LazyObject``
will do the right thing.
* If you have more complex requirements for introspection, first
rename the ``get_all_members()`` method to ``__dir__()``. This is
the standard method, from Python 2.6 onwards, for supporting
introspection. If you require support for Python versions earlier
than 2.6, add the following code to the class::
__members__ = property(lambda self: self.__dir__())
.. _specifying-databases:
Specifying databases
--------------------
Prior to Django 1.2, Django used a number of settings to control
access to a single database. Django 1.2 introduces support for
multiple databases, and as a result the way you define database
settings has changed.
Any existing Django settings file will continue to work as expected
until Django 1.4. Until then, old-style database settings will be
automatically translated to the new-style format.
In the old-style (pre 1.2) format, you had a number of ``DATABASE_``
settings in your settings file. For example::
DATABASE_NAME = 'test_db'
DATABASE_ENGINE = 'postgresql_psycopg2'
DATABASE_USER = 'myusername'
DATABASE_PASSWORD = 's3krit'
These settings are now in a dictionary named
:setting:`DATABASES`. Each item in the dictionary corresponds to a
single database connection, with the name ``'default'`` describing the
default database connection. The setting names have also been
shortened. The previous sample settings would now look like this::
DATABASES = {
'default': {
'NAME': 'test_db',
'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql_psycopg2',
'USER': 'myusername',
'PASSWORD': 's3krit',
}
}
This affects the following settings:
========================================= ==========================
Old setting New Setting
========================================= ==========================
:setting:`DATABASE_ENGINE` :setting:`ENGINE`
:setting:`DATABASE_HOST` :setting:`HOST`
:setting:`DATABASE_NAME` :setting:`NAME`
:setting:`DATABASE_OPTIONS` :setting:`OPTIONS`
:setting:`DATABASE_PASSWORD` :setting:`PASSWORD`
:setting:`DATABASE_PORT` :setting:`PORT`
:setting:`DATABASE_USER` :setting:`USER`
:setting:`TEST_DATABASE_CHARSET` :setting:`TEST_CHARSET`
:setting:`TEST_DATABASE_COLLATION` :setting:`TEST_COLLATION`
:setting:`TEST_DATABASE_NAME` :setting:`TEST_NAME`
========================================= ==========================
These changes are also required if you have manually created a database
connection using ``DatabaseWrapper()`` from your database backend of choice.
In addition to the change in structure, Django 1.2 removes the special
handling for the built-in database backends. All database backends
must now be specified by a fully qualified module name (i.e.,
``django.db.backends.postgresql_psycopg2``, rather than just
``postgresql_psycopg2``).
``__dict__`` on model instances
-------------------------------
Historically, the ``__dict__`` attribute of a model instance has only contained
attributes corresponding to the fields on a model.
In order to support multiple database configurations, Django 1.2 has
added a ``_state`` attribute to object instances. This attribute will
appear in ``__dict__`` for a model instance. If your code relies on
iterating over ``__dict__`` to obtain a list of fields, you must now
be prepared to handle or filter out the ``_state`` attribute.
``get_db_prep_*()`` methods on ``Field``
----------------------------------------
@ -282,27 +506,6 @@ the state of the :ttag:`cycle` tag would leak between multiple
renderings of the same :ttag:`include`. Now that the :ttag:`cycle` tag
is thread safe, this leakage no longer occurs.
Test runner exit status code
----------------------------
The exit status code of the test runners (``tests/runtests.py`` and ``python
manage.py test``) no longer represents the number of failed tests, because a
failure of 256 or more tests resulted in a wrong exit status code. The exit
status code for the test runner is now 0 for success (no failing tests) and 1
for any number of test failures. If needed, the number of test failures can be
found at the end of the test runner's output.
Cookie encoding
---------------
To fix bugs with cookies in Internet Explorer, Safari, and possibly
other browsers, our encoding of cookie values was changed so that the
comma and semicolon are treated as non-safe characters, and are
therefore encoded as ``\054`` and ``\073`` respectively. This could
produce backwards incompatibilities, especially if you are storing
comma or semi-colon in cookies and have javascript code that parses
and manipulates cookie values client-side.
``user_passes_test``, ``login_required`` and ``permission_required``
--------------------------------------------------------------------
@ -355,6 +558,78 @@ change also applies to other decorators introduced since 1.1,
including ``csrf_protect``, ``cache_control`` and anything created
using ``decorator_from_middleware``.
:ttag:`if` tag changes
----------------------
Due to new features in the :ttag:`if` template tag, it no longer
accepts 'and', 'or' and 'not' as valid **variable** names. Previously,
these strings could be used as variable names. Now, the keyword status
is always enforced, and template code such as ``{% if not %}`` or ``{%
if and %}`` will throw a ``TemplateSyntaxError``. Also, ``in`` is a
new keyword and so is not a valid variable name in this tag.
``LazyObject``
--------------
``LazyObject`` is an undocumented-but-often-used utility class used for lazily
wrapping other objects of unknown type.
In Django 1.1 and earlier, it handled introspection in a non-standard way,
depending on wrapped objects implementing a public method named
``get_all_members()``. Since this could easily lead to name clashes, it has been
changed to use the standard Python introspection method, involving
``__members__`` and ``__dir__()``.
If you used ``LazyObject`` in your own code
and implemented the ``get_all_members()`` method for wrapped objects, you'll need
to make a couple of changes:
First, if your class does not have special requirements for introspection (i.e.,
you have not implemented ``__getattr__()`` or other methods that allow for
attributes not discoverable by normal mechanisms), you can simply remove the
``get_all_members()`` method. The default implementation on ``LazyObject`` will
do the right thing.
If you have more complex requirements for introspection, first rename the
``get_all_members()`` method to ``__dir__()``. This is the standard
introspection method for Python 2.6 and above. If you require support for Python
versions earlier than 2.6, add the following code to the class::
__members__ = property(lambda self: self.__dir__())
``__dict__`` on model instances
-------------------------------
Historically, the ``__dict__`` attribute of a model instance has only contained
attributes corresponding to the fields on a model.
In order to support multiple database configurations, Django 1.2 has
added a ``_state`` attribute to object instances. This attribute will
appear in ``__dict__`` for a model instance. If your code relies on
iterating over ``__dict__`` to obtain a list of fields, you must now
be prepared to handle or filter out the ``_state`` attribute.
Test runner exit status code
----------------------------
The exit status code of the test runners (``tests/runtests.py`` and ``python
manage.py test``) no longer represents the number of failed tests, because a
failure of 256 or more tests resulted in a wrong exit status code. The exit
status code for the test runner is now 0 for success (no failing tests) and 1
for any number of test failures. If needed, the number of test failures can be
found at the end of the test runner's output.
Cookie encoding
---------------
To fix bugs with cookies in Internet Explorer, Safari, and possibly
other browsers, our encoding of cookie values was changed so that the
comma and semicolon are treated as non-safe characters, and are
therefore encoded as ``\054`` and ``\073`` respectively. This could
produce backwards incompatibilities, especially if you are storing
comma or semi-colon in cookies and have javascript code that parses
and manipulates cookie values client-side.
``ModelForm.is_valid()`` and ``ModelForm.errors``
-------------------------------------------------
@ -414,6 +689,89 @@ will need to update your FormSet and/or admin definitions.
Features deprecated in 1.2
==========================
Finally, Django 1.2 deprecates some features from earlier releases.
These features are still supported, but will be gradually phased out
over the next few release cycles.
Code take advantage of any of the features below will raise a
``PendingDeprecationWarning`` in Django 1.2. This warning will be silent by
default, but may be turned on using Python's `warnings module`_, or by running
Python with a ``-Wd`` or `-Wall` flag.
.. _warnings module: http://docs.python.org/library/warnings.html
In Django 1.3, these warnings will become a ``DeprecationWarning``, which is *not* silent. In Django 1.4
support for these features will be removed entirely.
.. seealso::
For more details, see the documentation :ref:`Django's release process
<internals-release-process>` and our :ref:`deprecation timeline
<internals-deprecation>`.`
.. _specifying-databases:
Specifying databases
--------------------
Prior to Django 1.2, Django used a number of settings to control
access to a single database. Django 1.2 introduces support for
multiple databases, and as a result the way you define database
settings has changed.
Any existing Django settings file will continue to work as expected
until Django 1.4. Until then, old-style database settings will be
automatically translated to the new-style format.
In the old-style (pre 1.2) format, you had a number of ``DATABASE_``
settings in your settings file. For example::
DATABASE_NAME = 'test_db'
DATABASE_ENGINE = 'postgresql_psycopg2'
DATABASE_USER = 'myusername'
DATABASE_PASSWORD = 's3krit'
These settings are now in a dictionary named
:setting:`DATABASES`. Each item in the dictionary corresponds to a
single database connection, with the name ``'default'`` describing the
default database connection. The setting names have also been
shortened. The previous sample settings would now look like this::
DATABASES = {
'default': {
'NAME': 'test_db',
'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql_psycopg2',
'USER': 'myusername',
'PASSWORD': 's3krit',
}
}
This affects the following settings:
========================================= ==========================
Old setting New Setting
========================================= ==========================
:setting:`DATABASE_ENGINE` :setting:`ENGINE`
:setting:`DATABASE_HOST` :setting:`HOST`
:setting:`DATABASE_NAME` :setting:`NAME`
:setting:`DATABASE_OPTIONS` :setting:`OPTIONS`
:setting:`DATABASE_PASSWORD` :setting:`PASSWORD`
:setting:`DATABASE_PORT` :setting:`PORT`
:setting:`DATABASE_USER` :setting:`USER`
:setting:`TEST_DATABASE_CHARSET` :setting:`TEST_CHARSET`
:setting:`TEST_DATABASE_COLLATION` :setting:`TEST_COLLATION`
:setting:`TEST_DATABASE_NAME` :setting:`TEST_NAME`
========================================= ==========================
These changes are also required if you have manually created a database
connection using ``DatabaseWrapper()`` from your database backend of choice.
In addition to the change in structure, Django 1.2 removes the special
handling for the built-in database backends. All database backends
must now be specified by a fully qualified module name (i.e.,
``django.db.backends.postgresql_psycopg2``, rather than just
``postgresql_psycopg2``).
``postgresql`` database backend
-------------------------------
@ -543,12 +901,12 @@ The same applies to the globals found in ``django.forms.fields``:
Use ``django.utils.formats.get_format()`` to get the appropriate formats.
email_re
--------
``email_re``
------------
An undocumented regex for validating email addresses has been moved from
django.form.fields to django.core.validators. You will need to update
your imports if you are using it.
An undocumented regular expression for validating email addresses has been moved
from ``django.form.fields`` to ``django.core.validators``. You will need to
update your imports if you are using it.
Function-based test runners
---------------------------
@ -744,270 +1102,3 @@ Language code ``no``
The currently used language code for Norwegian Bokmål ``no`` is being
replaced by the more common language code ``nb``.
What's new in Django 1.2
========================
Improved CSRF protection
------------------------
Django now has much improved protection against :ref:`Cross-Site
Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks<ref-contrib-csrf>`. This type of attack
occurs when a malicious Web site contains a link, a form button or
some JavaScript that is intended to perform some action on your Web
site, using the credentials of a logged-in user who visits the
malicious site in their browser. A related type of attack, "login
CSRF," where an attacking site tricks a user's browser into logging
into a site with someone else's credentials, is also covered.
E-mail backends
---------------
You can now :ref:`configure the way that Django sends e-mail
<topic-email-backends>`. Instead of using SMTP to send all e-mail, you
can now choose a configurable e-mail backend to send messages. If your
hosting provider uses a sandbox or some other non-SMTP technique for
sending mail, you can now construct an e-mail backend that will allow
Django's standard :ref:`mail sending methods<topics-email>` to use
those facilities.
This also makes it easier to debug mail sending. Django ships with
backend implementations that allow you to send e-mail to a
:ref:`file<topic-email-file-backend>`, to the
:ref:`console<topic-email-console-backend>`, or to
:ref:`memory<topic-email-memory-backend>`. You can even configure all
e-mail to be :ref:`thrown away<topic-email-dummy-backend>`.
Messages framework
------------------
Django now includes a robust and configurable :ref:`messages framework
<ref-contrib-messages>` with built-in support for cookie- and session-based
messaging, for both anonymous and authenticated clients. The messages framework
replaces the deprecated user message API and allows you to temporarily store
messages in one request and retrieve them for display in a subsequent request
(usually the next one).
Support for multiple databases
------------------------------
Django 1.2 adds the ability to use :ref:`more than one database
<topics-db-multi-db>` in your Django project. Queries can be
issued at a specific database with the `using()` method on
``QuerySet`` objects. Individual objects can be saved to a specific database
by providing a ``using`` argument when you call ``save()``.
"Smart" :ttag:`if` tag
----------------------
The :ttag:`if` tag has been upgraded to be much more powerful. First, we've
added support for comparison operators. No longer will you have to type:
.. code-block:: html+django
{% ifnotequal a b %}
...
{% endifnotequal %}
You can now do this:
.. code-block:: html+django
{% if a != b %}
...
{% endif %}
There's really no reason to use ``{% ifequal %}`` or ``{% ifnotequal %}``
anymore, unless you're the nostalgic type.
The operators supported are ``==``, ``!=``, ``<``, ``>``, ``<=``, ``>=``,
``in`` and ``not in``, all of which work like the Python operators, in addition
to ``and``, ``or`` and ``not``, which were already supported.
Also, filters may now be used in the ``if`` expression. For example:
.. code-block:: html+django
<div
{% if user.email|lower == message.recipient|lower %}
class="highlight"
{% endif %}
>{{ message }}</div>
Template caching
----------------
In previous versions of Django, every time you rendered a template, it
would be reloaded from disk. In Django 1.2, you can use a :ref:`cached
template loader <template-loaders>` to load templates once, then
cache the result for every subsequent render. This can lead to a
significant performance improvement if your templates are broken into
lots of smaller subtemplates (using the ``{% extends %}`` or ``{%
include %}`` tags).
As a side effect, it is now much easier to support non-Django template
languages. For more details, see the :ref:`notes on supporting
non-Django template languages<topic-template-alternate-language>`.
Natural keys in fixtures
------------------------
Fixtures can now refer to remote objects using
:ref:`topics-serialization-natural-keys`. This lookup scheme is an
alternative to the normal primary-key based object references in a
fixture, improving readability and resolving problems referring to
objects whose primary key value may not be predictable or known.
``BigIntegerField``
-------------------
Models can now use a 64-bit :class:`~django.db.models.BigIntegerField` type.
Fast failure for tests
----------------------
Both the :djadmin:`test` subcommand of ``django-admin.py`` and the ``runtests.py``
script used to run Django's own test suite now support a ``--failfast`` option.
When specified, this option causes the test runner to exit after encountering
a failure instead of continuing with the test run. In addition, the handling
of ``Ctrl-C`` during a test run has been improved to trigger a graceful exit
from the test run that reports details of the tests that were run before the
interruption.
Improved localization
---------------------
Django's :ref:`internationalization framework <topics-i18n>` has been
expanded with locale-aware formatting and form processing. That means, if
enabled, dates and numbers on templates will be displayed using the format
specified for the current locale. Django will also use localized formats
when parsing data in forms. See
:ref:`Format localization <format-localization>` for more details.
``readonly_fields`` in ``ModelAdmin``
-------------------------------------
:attr:`django.contrib.admin.ModelAdmin.readonly_fields` has been added to
enable non-editable fields in add/change pages for models and inlines. Field
and calculated values can be displayed alongside editable fields.
Customizable syntax highlighting
--------------------------------
You can now use a ``DJANGO_COLORS`` environment variable to modify
or disable the colors used by ``django-admin.py`` to provide
:ref:`syntax highlighting <syntax-coloring>`.
Model validation
----------------
Model instances now have support for :ref:`validating their own data
<validating-objects>`, and both model and form fields now accept
configurable lists of :ref:`validators <ref-validators>` specifying
reusable, encapsulated validation behavior. Note, however, that
validation must still be performed explicitly. Simply invoking a model
instance's ``save()`` method will not perform any validation of the
instance's data.
Object-level permissions
------------------------
A foundation for specifying permissions at the per-object level has been added.
Although there is no implementation of this in core, a custom authentication
backend can provide this implementation and it will be used by
:class:`django.contrib.auth.models.User`. See the :ref:`authentication docs
<topics-auth>` for more information.
Permissions for anonymous users
-------------------------------
If you provide a custom auth backend with ``supports_anonymous_user`` set to
``True``, AnonymousUser will check the backend for permissions, just like
User already did. This is useful for centralizing permission handling - apps
can always delegate the question of whether something is allowed or not to
the authorization/authentication backend. See the :ref:`authentication
docs <topics-auth>` for more details.
Syndication feeds as views
--------------------------
:ref:`Syndication feeds <ref-contrib-syndication>` can now be used directly as
views in your :ref:`URLconf <topics-http-urls>`. This means that you can
maintain complete control over the URL structure of your feeds. Like any other view, feeds views are passed a ``request`` object, so you can
do anything you would normally do with a view, like user based access control,
or making a feed a named URL.
Relaxed requirements for usernames
----------------------------------
The built-in :class:`~django.contrib.auth.models.User` model's
:attr:`~django.contrib.auth.models.User.username` field now allows a wider range
of characters, including ``@``, ``+``, ``.`` and ``-`` characters.
GeoDjango
---------
The most significant new feature for ref:`GeoDjango <ref-contrib-gis>`
in 1.2 is support for multiple spatial databases. As a result,
the following :ref:`spatial database backends <spatial-backends>`
are now included:
* :mod:`django.contrib.gis.db.backends.postgis`
* :mod:`django.contrib.gis.db.backends.mysql`
* :mod:`django.contrib.gis.db.backends.oracle`
* :mod:`django.contrib.gis.db.backends.spatialite`
GeoDjango now supports the rich capabilities added
in the `PostGIS 1.5 release <http://postgis.refractions.net/documentation/manual-1.5/>`_.
New features include suppport for the the :ref:`geography type <geography-type>`
and enabling of :ref:`distance queries <distance-queries>`
with non-point geometries on geographic coordinate systems.
Support for 3D geometry fields was added, and may be enabled
by setting the :attr:`~django.contrib.gis.db.models.GeometryField.dim`
keyword to 3 in your :class:`~django.contrib.gis.db.models.GeometryField`.
The :class:`~django.contrib.gis.db.models.Extent3D` aggregate
and :meth:`~django.contrib.gis.db.models.GeoQuerySet.extent3d` ``GeoQuerySet``
method were added as a part of this feature.
The following :class:`~django.contrib.gis.db.models.GeoQeurySet`
methods are new in 1.2:
* :meth:`~django.contrib.gis.db.models.GeoQuerySet.force_rhr`
* :meth:`~django.contrib.gis.db.models.GeoQuerySet.reverse_geom`
* :meth:`~django.contrib.gis.db.models.GeoQuerySet.geohash`
The :ref:`GEOS interface <ref-geos>` was updated to use
thread-safe C library functions when available on the platform.
The :ref:`GDAL interface <ref-gdal>` now allows the user to
set a :attr:`~django.contrib.gis.gdal.Layer.spatial_filter` on
the features returned when iterating over a
:class:`~django.contrib.gis.gdal.Layer`.
Finally, :ref:`GeoDjango's documentation <ref-contrib-gis>` is now
included with Django's and is no longer
hosted separately at `geodjango.org <http://geodjango.org/>`_.
.. _1.2-js-assisted-inlines:
JavaScript-assisted handling of inline related objects in the admin
-------------------------------------------------------------------
If a user has JavaScript enabled in their browser, the interface for
inline objects in the admin now allows inline objects to be
dynamically added and removed. Users without JavaScript-enabled
browsers will see no change in the behavior of inline objects.
New ``now`` template tag format specifier characters: ``c`` and ``u``
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The argument to the :ttag:`now` has gained two new format characters:
``c`` to specify that a datetime value should be formatted in ISO 8601
format, and ``u`` that allows output of the microseconds part of a
datetime or time value.
These are also available in others parts like the :tfilter:`date` and
:tfilter:`time` template filters, the ``humanize`` template tag library
and the new `format localization`_ framework.
.. _format localization: `Improved localization`_