What are serializers and viewsets in Django REST framework?

What are serializers and viewsets in Django REST framework?

Serializers in Django REST framework are used to convert complex data types, like querysets and model instances, into native Python data types that can then be easily rendered into JSON or XML. Viewsets, on the other hand, provide a way to define the logic for handling requests for a specific resource, combining the logic for multiple views into a single class.

Can you give me an example of how to create a serializer?

Sure! Here's a simple example of a serializer for a model called Book:

from rest_framework import serializers

class BookSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
    class Meta:
        model = Book
        fields = ['id', 'title', 'author', 'published_date']

How do I use a viewset with this serializer?

You can create a viewset like this:

from rest_framework import viewsets

class BookViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
    queryset = Book.objects.all()
    serializer_class = BookSerializer
``` This viewset will handle CRUD operations for the `Book` model.

What routes do I need to set up for the viewset?

You can set up the routes in your urls.py like this:

from django.urls import path, include
from rest_framework.routers import DefaultRouter

router = DefaultRouter()
router.register(r'books', BookViewSet)

urlpatterns = [
    path('', include(router.urls)),
]
``` This will automatically create routes for all CRUD operations.