""" 17. Custom column/table names If your database column name is different than your model attribute, use the ``db_column`` parameter. Note that you'll use the field's name, not its column name, in API usage. If your database table name is different than your model name, use the ``db_table`` Meta attribute. This has no effect on the API used to query the database. If you need to use a table name for a many-to-many relationship that differs from the default generated name, use the ``db_table`` parameter on the ``ManyToMany`` field. This has no effect on the API for querying the database. """ from django.db import models class Author(models.Model): first_name = models.CharField(max_length=30, db_column='firstname') last_name = models.CharField(max_length=30, db_column='last') def __unicode__(self): return u'%s %s' % (self.first_name, self.last_name) class Meta: db_table = 'my_author_table' ordering = ('last_name','first_name') class Article(models.Model): headline = models.CharField(max_length=100) authors = models.ManyToManyField(Author, db_table='my_m2m_table') def __unicode__(self): return self.headline class Meta: ordering = ('headline',) __test__ = {'API_TESTS':""" # Create a Author. >>> a = Author(first_name='John', last_name='Smith') >>> a.save() >>> a.id 1 # Create another author >>> a2 = Author(first_name='Peter', last_name='Jones') >>> a2.save() # Create an article >>> art = Article(headline='Django lets you build web apps easily') >>> art.save() >>> art.authors = [a, a2] # Although the table and column names on Author have been set to custom values, # nothing about using the Author model has changed... # Query the available authors >>> Author.objects.all() [, ] >>> Author.objects.filter(first_name__exact='John') [] >>> Author.objects.get(first_name__exact='John') >>> Author.objects.filter(firstname__exact='John') Traceback (most recent call last): ... FieldError: Cannot resolve keyword 'firstname' into field. Choices are: article, first_name, id, last_name >>> a = Author.objects.get(last_name__exact='Smith') >>> a.first_name u'John' >>> a.last_name u'Smith' >>> a.firstname Traceback (most recent call last): ... AttributeError: 'Author' object has no attribute 'firstname' >>> a.last Traceback (most recent call last): ... AttributeError: 'Author' object has no attribute 'last' # Although the Article table uses a custom m2m table, # nothing about using the m2m relationship has changed... # Get all the authors for an article >>> art.authors.all() [, ] # Get the articles for an author >>> a.article_set.all() [] # Query the authors across the m2m relation >>> art.authors.filter(last_name='Jones') [] """}