Скачать или смотреть How to Display Nested JSON in Django REST Framework

Learn how to effectively display nested JSON structures in Django REST Framework by customizing serializers for complex data models.
---
This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/73346273/ asked by the user 'rafaelHTML' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/19325656/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/73346342/ provided by the user 'Ankit Tiwari' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/14457833/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

Visit these links for original content and any more details, such as alternate solutions, latest updates/developments on topic, comments, revision history etc. For example, the original title of the Question was: DRF display nested JSON

Also, Content (except music) licensed under CC BY-SA https://meta.stackexchange.com/help/l...
The original Question post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license, and the original Answer post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license.

If anything seems off to you, please feel free to write me at vlogize [AT] gmail [DOT] com.
---
How to Display Nested JSON in Django REST Framework

In the realm of web development, effectively managing and displaying data is crucial. One common scenario you may face while working with Django REST Framework (DRF) is the need to display nested JSON data. Specifically, you might encounter instances where your data structure involves relationships among models, leading to the necessity of retrieving and presenting related entries cleanly. This guide will walk you through an example involving a wallet-app structure, providing a step-by-step guide on how to achieve your desired output.

The Problem: Retrieving Nested Data

Imagine you have a DRF application where one wallet can have multiple entries corresponding to incomes or expenses. When you call your API endpoint, the JSON data returned looks something like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

As seen in the response, the entry field is currently empty, meaning you need to modify your data representation to include details about each entry. Before we dive into the solution, let’s understand the model structures involved.

Understanding the Models

You have defined three models in your application:

Category: Defines types of budget entries.

BudgetEntry: Represents individual entries (either income or expense) linked to a category.

WalletInstance: Represents the wallet which holds the budget entries along with ownership details.

Here are the relevant parts of the model definitions:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

The Existing Serializer Structure

Now, let's look at your current serializer setup for these models:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

In this code, the WalletInstanceSerializer is responsible for serializing the wallet data, but it does not handle the nested BudgetEntry data. This limitation is why your entry field in the output was empty.

The Solution: Updating the Serializer

To retrieve and display the content of the entry variable, you need to update your serializer to incorporate the nested BudgetEntrySerializer. Here’s how to do it:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Breakdown of the Changes:

Nested Serializer: By adding the line entry = BudgetEntrySerializer(many=True, read_only=True), you are specifying that the entry field should utilize the BudgetEntrySerializer to serialize the related budget entries.

Many Relationship: The many=True keyword argument indicates that there can be multiple BudgetEntry instances linked to a single WalletInstance, which allows for a proper representation of the nested data.

Implementation in Views

No changes are required in your views if they are set up correctly, which aligns with the DRF framework to retrieve data based on the request. Here is the relevant part for context:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

The WalletViewset ensures authenticated access and retrieves the WalletInstance objects based on their owner.

Conclusion

After implementing the changes in the serializer, calling your endpoint will now properly display nested JSON data, including all related entries for each wallet instance. This not only enhances your API's functionality but also provides a clearer and more usable interface for clients consuming your API.

By understanding model relationships and leveraging serializers in Django REST Framework, you can build robust applications capable of handling complex data structures efficiently.

Now, you can easily modify and enhance your solutions based on your app's requirements. Happy coding!