The 'redirect' from django.shortcuts does not work in a view function when the only parameter is a URL string

[sergzach]

The fragment of urls.py:

urlpatterns = patterns('',
    # Examples:
	url(r'^$', 'home.views.home', name='home'),
        url(r'^viewer', 'home.views.viewer', name='viewer'),
    ...
    # Uncomment the next line to enable the admin:
    # url(r'^admin/', include(admin.site.urls)),
)

The home/views.py:

...
def viewer( request ):	

	from django.shortcuts import redirect
	return redirect( '/' )
...

I tested the redirect in another similar project, in both cases the traceback is similar:

File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\django\core\handlers\base.py" in get_response
  115.                         response = callback(request, *callback_args, **callback_kwargs)
File "C:\cygwin\home\sergzach\lads\lads\views.py" in response
  14. 		request, result = view( *args, **kwargs )
File "C:\cygwin\home\sergzach\lads\home\views.py" in viewer
  106. 	return redirect( '/' )
File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\django\shortcuts\__init__.py" in redirect
  70.     return redirect_class(resolve_url(to, *args, **kwargs))
File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\django\shortcuts\__init__.py" in resolve_url
  143.         return urlresolvers.reverse(to, args=args, kwargs=kwargs)
File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\django\core\urlresolvers.py" in reverse
  496.     return iri_to_uri(resolver._reverse_with_prefix(view, prefix, *args, **kwargs))
File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\django\core\urlresolvers.py" in _reverse_with_prefix
  382.         possibilities = self.reverse_dict.getlist(lookup_view)
File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\django\core\urlresolvers.py" in reverse_dict
  297.             self._populate()
File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\django\core\urlresolvers.py" in _populate
  286.                 lookups.appendlist(pattern.callback, (bits, p_pattern, pattern.default_args))
File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\django\core\urlresolvers.py" in callback
  230.         self._callback = get_callable(self._callback_str)
File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\django\utils\functional.py" in wrapper
  29.         result = func(*args)
File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\django\core\urlresolvers.py" in get_callable
  92.         mod_name, func_name = get_mod_func(lookup_view)
File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\django\core\urlresolvers.py" in get_mod_func
  142.         dot = callback.rindex('.')

Exception Type: AttributeError at /viewer/
Exception Value: 'TemplateView' object has no attribute 'rindex'

The function worked in Django-1.3 (I updated from Django-1.3 or some release of Django-1.4). In current releases Django-1.4.3 and Django-1.5c1 it does not work as expected.

[The docs](​https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.5/topics/http/shortcuts/#django.shortcuts.redirect) says we could pass the string URL as the first parameter.

[Claude Paroz]

I'm quite sure your problem is not related to the redirect function, but to something wrong in your urls definition. The traceback shows that the error is occurring in RegexURLResolver._populate(). Could you post your entire urls definitions for the failing project?

[sergzach]

The main lads/urls.py:

from django.conf.urls import patterns, include, url
from django.views.generic import TemplateView

# Uncomment the next two lines to enable the admin:
# from django.contrib import admin
# admin.autodiscover()

urlpatterns = patterns('',
    # Examples:
	url(r'^$', 'home.views.home', name='home'),
    url(r'^viewer', 'home.views.viewer', name='viewer'),
    url(r'^lazy-load', 'home.views.viewer_lazy_load'),
	url( r'^delete-image', 'home.views.delete_image' ),
    url( r'^photo-log', 'home.views.photo_log' ),
    url( r'^unhandled', 'home.views.unhandled_lad_profile' ),
    url( r'^proxy', 'home.views.proxy' ),
	url( r'^how-many', 'home.views.how_many' ),
    url( r'^get-photos', 'home.views.get_photos' ),
    url( r'^all-lads', 'home.views.all_lads' ),
    url( r'^add-lad', 'home.views.add_lad' ),
    url( r'^filter-lads', 'home.views.filter_lads' ),
    url( r'^save-thumbnail', 'home.views.save_thumbnail' ),
    url( r'^google001d510d0966bd9a.html', TemplateView( template_name = "home/google001d510d0966bd9a.html" ) ),
    url( r'^yandex_6af1bdaeb51f904e.html', TemplateView( template_name = "home/yandex_6af1bdaeb51f904e.html" ) ),
	url( r'^robots.txt', TemplateView( template_name = "home/empty.html" ) ),
	#url( r'^myauth', include( 'myauth.urls' ) ),
	url( r'^myauth', 'myauth.views.vk_view' ),
	url( r'^([\w\-]+)', 'home.views.lad_profile' ),
    # url(r'^lads/', include('lads.foo.urls')),

    # Uncomment the admin/doc line below to enable admin documentation:
    # url(r'^admin/doc/', include('django.contrib.admindocs.urls')),

    # Uncomment the next line to enable the admin:
    # url(r'^admin/', include(admin.site.urls)),
)

There is also an urls.py file in myauth, but it is not included in the main file:

from django.conf.urls import patterns, url
from views import vk_view

# Uncomment the next two lines to enable the admin:
# from django.contrib import admin
# admin.autodiscover()

urlpatterns = patterns('',
    # Examples:
	url(r'^vk', vk_view ),
)



"""from django.conf.urls.defaults import *
from orders.views import OrdersView, OrderDetailView

from django.contrib.auth.decorators import login_required

urlpatterns = patterns(	'',
			url( r'(\d+)', login_required( OrderDetailView.as_view() ) ),
			url( r'(\w)', login_required( OrdersView.as_view() ) ),
			)"""

    # Uncomment the next line to enable the admin:
    # url(r'^admin/', include(admin.site.urls)),
)

Thank you.

[sergzach]

Yes, I see the problem. I used TemplateView( template_name = ... ) instead of TemplateView.as_view( template_name = ... ).