Скачать или смотреть Retrieve Data by Airport Code with Django Rest Framework

Learn how to customize your Django REST API to fetch destinations by their airport code instead of ID with this step-by-step guide.
---
This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/63558610/ asked by the user 'martin' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/12032502/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/63568471/ provided by the user 'zackcpetersen' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/13960978/ ) 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: Django Rest Framework: Get Data by Field

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.
---
Unlocking Django Rest Framework: Fetching Data by Airport Code

If you've just started learning Django, congratulations! You’re on the right path towards building robust web applications. One of the most common scenarios you might encounter while working with Django Rest Framework (DRF) is the need to retrieve data not by primary key (ID), but through other unique fields—in this case, an airport code. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to achieve this, enabling cleaner URLs and improved API usability.

The Problem

Imagine you have created a Django API for managing travel destinations. By default, your API retrieves data using the ID of a destination, such as /api/destination/1. However, there may be times when you want to fetch data using a more user-friendly format, such as an airport code (/api/destination/PMI) or destination name (/api/destination/mallorca). If you're wondering how to implement this in your existing Django project, you’ve come to the right place!

The Solution

Step 1: Update Your URLs

To get started, you need to make changes in the urls.py file. Instead of using a default router that references the destination by ID, you'll define a custom URL pattern. Here's a snippet with the necessary update:

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

Step 2: Create a Custom View

Next, you need to modify your views. Instead of using the ModelViewSet, you'll create a new view class using DRF's APIView. This allows you to tailor the retrieval method to grab destinations based on the airport code provided in the URL. Here's how your view will look:

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

Explanation of the View Code

Retrieval Logic: The get method checks for a destination using the provided code.

Response Handling: If a destination is found, it serializes the data and returns it with a 200 status. If not, a 400 status is returned with an error message.

Step 3: Return to Your Existing Architecture

With the URL routing and view established, everything else remains intact. Your serializer and model definitions don't require any changes, since they now complement your custom API endpoint.

Final Thoughts

By following these steps, you can now retrieve your destination data not only by ID but also through airport codes or even destination names. This small but important enhancement increases the usability of your API for users and developers alike.

Conclusion

You've successfully altered your Django REST Framework API to return data based on unique fields. Instead of the typical ID retrieval, you’ve integrated the ability to access destinations via airport codes, enhancing user experience and fulfilling a frequently encountered requirement in web development. Remember, customizing your routes makes your APIs intuitive and more aligned with user expectations.

If you have any more questions or topics you'd like to explore, feel free to ask. Happy coding!