Opened 2 years ago
Closed 2 years ago
#33821 closed Cleanup/optimization (wontfix)
Use _fk as suffix for augmented related model value fields
| Reported by: | Anton Agestam | Owned by: | nobody |
|---|---|---|---|
| Component: | Database layer (models, ORM) | Version: | 4.0 |
| Severity: | Normal | Keywords: | |
| Cc: | Triage Stage: | Unreviewed | |
| Has patch: | no | Needs documentation: | no |
| Needs tests: | no | Patch needs improvement: | no |
| Easy pickings: | no | UI/UX: | no |
Description
Django uses _id as suffix [1] for accessing the underlying related value for relationship fields (ForeignKey et al). This is cause for a lot of confusion when used in conjunction with to_field, that is when having a relation to a non-primary key field. It's also confusing if the primary key field of the related model isn't named id.
[1]: https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.0/ref/models/fields/#database-representation
To make this situation better, I propose replacing the _id suffix with _fk instead, which makes it more obvious that this value is a sort of proxy to a value on the related model. Of course this change couldn't be made without a proper deprecation cycle, so the _id suffix should work in parallel with the new _fk field for a sufficient length of time to be phased out.
Thanks for this suggestion, however the proposed change is highly backward incompatible and cannot be moved forward without a strong consensus on the DevelopersMailingList. Please first start a discussion on the DevelopersMailingList, where you'll reach a wider audience and see what other think, and follow the guidelines with regards to requesting features. Personally, I don't think it's worth changing.