Django Table

 

WEEK 9 – THURSDAY

TOPIC: Creating a Database Table in Django Using MySQL

Sub-topic: Creating a Student Table with Django Models and Migrations

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What We Are Doing in This Practical

We already have:

• A Django project

• A Django app called students

• A MySQL database called student_portal

• Django connected to MySQL in settings.py

Now, we want to create a Student table inside the student_portal database.

The table will store:

• Student full name

• Student email

• Student course

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STEP 1: Open the models.py File

Go to this file:

students/models.py

What we are doing

We are opening the file where Django allows us to describe a database table using Python code.

In Django, we do not need to first create the table manually in MySQL. We create a model in models.py, and Django uses it to create the table for us.

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STEP 2: Import Django Database Tools

Inside students/models.py, write:

from django.db import models

What we are doing

We are bringing Django’s database tools into our file.

We need these tools because they help us create:

• Tables

• Columns

• Text fields

• Email fields

• Number fields

• Date fields

Meaning of the code

Code	Meaning
from	Take something from another place
django	The Django framework
.db	Django database section
import	Bring a tool into this file
models	Tools for creating tables and columns

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STEP 3: Create the Student Model

Under the import line, write:

class Student(models.Model):

What we are doing

We are creating a Django model called Student.

A model is like a blueprint for a database table.

Django will use this blueprint to create a table for students inside MySQL.

Meaning of the code

Code	Meaning
class	Create a blueprint/template
Student	The name of our model
models.Model	Tells Django that this is a database table
:	Starts the code inside the model

Table name Django will create

Because our app is called students and our model is called Student, Django will normally create:

students_student

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STEP 4: Create the Full Name Column

Inside the Student model, write:

full_name = models.CharField(max_length=100)

What we are doing

We are creating a column called full_name.

This column will store each student’s name.

Examples:

Musa Ibrahim
Aisha Bello
John David

Meaning of the code

Code	Meaning
full_name	Name of the column
=	Give this column a field type
models.CharField	Store short text
max_length=100	Allow a maximum of 100 characters

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STEP 5: Create the Email Column

Write:

email = models.EmailField()

What we are doing

We are creating a column called email.

This column will store each student’s email address.

Examples:

musa@gmail.com
aisha@gmail.com

Meaning of the code

Code	Meaning
email	Name of the column
=	Give this column a field type
models.EmailField()	Store email addresses and check email format

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STEP 6: Create the Course Column

Write:

course = models.CharField(max_length=100)

What we are doing

We are creating a column called course.

This column will store the course each student is studying.

Examples:

Python Programming
Web Development
Data Analysis

Meaning of the code

Code	Meaning
course	Name of the column
models.CharField	Store short text
max_length=100	Allow a maximum of 100 characters

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STEP 7: Save the Complete Model

Your complete students/models.py file should look like this:

from django.db import models

class Student(models.Model):
    full_name = models.CharField(max_length=100)
    email = models.EmailField()
    course = models.CharField(max_length=100)

What we have done

We have created the blueprint for a student table.

At this point, the table is not yet inside MySQL. Django only knows what the table should look like.

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STEP 8: Create a Migration File

Open your terminal inside the project folder where manage.py is located.

Run:

python manage.py makemigrations

What we are doing

We are telling Django:

“Look at my model and prepare instructions for creating the table.”

Django creates a migration file inside:

students/migrations/

You may see:

Migrations for 'students':
  students/migrations/0001_initial.py
    + Create model Student

Meaning of the command

Code	Meaning
python	Run Python
manage.py	Django command file
makemigrations	Create instructions for database changes

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STEP 9: Send the Table to MySQL

Run:

python manage.py migrate

What we are doing

We are telling Django:

“Use the migration instructions and create the table inside the MySQL database.”

Django connects to the database named student_portal because that is the database name written in settings.py.

After this command, the students_student table is created inside MySQL.

Meaning of the command

Code	Meaning
python	Run Python
manage.py	Django command file
migrate	Apply the migration instructions to the database

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STEP 10: Check the Table in MySQL

Open MySQL Workbench.

Run:

USE student_portal;

What we are doing

We are selecting the database where our table was created.

Meaning of the code

Code	Meaning
USE	Select a database
student_portal	The database name
;	End the MySQL command

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STEP 11: Show All Tables

Run:

SHOW TABLES;

What we are doing

We are asking MySQL to show every table inside the student_portal database.

You should see:

students_student

You may also see Django tables such as:

auth_user
django_admin_log
django_migrations
django_session

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STEP 12: Check the Columns in the Student Table

Run:

DESCRIBE students_student;

What we are doing

We are asking MySQL to show the columns inside the students_student table.

You should see columns similar to:

Column	Meaning
id	Automatic student number created by Django
full_name	Student’s full name
email	Student’s email
course	Student’s course

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Final Summary

Create Student model in models.py
        ↓
Create migration with makemigrations
        ↓
Run migrate
        ↓
Django creates students_student table in MySQL
        ↓
Check the table in MySQL Workbench