Django forms: POST vs GET explanation#1864
Conversation
| ``` | ||
|
|
||
| When we submit the form, we are brought back to the same view, but this time we have some more data in `request`, more specifically in `request.POST` (the naming has nothing to do with a blog "post"; it's to do with the fact that we're "posting" data). Remember how in the HTML file, our `<form>` definition had the variable `method="POST"`? All the fields from the form are now in `request.POST`. You should not rename `POST` to anything else (the only other valid value for `method` is `GET`, but we have no time to explain what the difference is). | ||
| When we submit the form, we are brought back to the same view, but this time the `request` parameter is different. If we look at the `request.method` it will be `"POST"` (method for sending forms) instead of `"GET"` (method for requesting pages) and the `request.POST` field will contain all the fields form the form. The naming has nothing to do with a blog "post"; it's to do with the fact that we're "posting" data. |
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Is request.POST a "field"? I think Python calls instance members "attributes" (see the chapter on classes in the tutorial in the official Python documentation), not "fields" as e.g. Java does.
There was a problem hiding this comment.
| When we submit the form, we are brought back to the same view, but this time the `request` parameter is different. If we look at the `request.method` it will be `"POST"` (method for sending forms) instead of `"GET"` (method for requesting pages) and the `request.POST` field will contain all the fields form the form. The naming has nothing to do with a blog "post"; it's to do with the fact that we're "posting" data. | |
| When we submit the form, we are brought back to the same view, but this time the `request` parameter is different. If we look at the `request.method` it will be `"POST"` (method for sending forms) instead of `"GET"` (method for requesting pages) and the `request.POST` field will contain all the fields from the form. The naming has nothing to do with a blog "post"; it's to do with the fact that we're "posting" data. |
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Is
request.POSTa "field"? I think Python calls instance members "attributes" (see the chapter on classes in the tutorial in the official Python documentation), not "fields" as e.g. Java does.
(Also, "field" is already used for the special attributes in Django models that represent database table columns, as well (in this very sentence) for form fields, so we'd better avoid introducing it with yet another meaning.)
There was a problem hiding this comment.
You are absolutely right, the word attribute is better. Since this pull request is already merged and closed I created another one #1866 that fixes what you pointed out.
3 participants
I removed the sentence "You should not rename POST to anything else (the only other valid value for method is GET, but we have no time to explain what the difference is)" and I added a brief explanation that GET is for getting pages and POST is for sending forms. I also added explicit mention of the
request.methodfield to the paragraph so that the readers will recognise it later in code.I know that the world is more complicated than "GET is for getting pages and POST is for sending forms" (one can send forms with GET) but I think giving that general idea helps with reading the code that follows (when we compare the
request.methodwith"POST") and this is not a complete lie.