==========================
``QuerySet`` API reference
==========================
.. currentmodule:: django.db.models.query
This document describes the details of the ``QuerySet`` API. It builds on the
material presented in the :doc:`model </topics/db/models>` and :doc:`database
query </topics/db/queries>` guides, so you'll probably want to read and
understand those documents before reading this one.
Throughout this reference we'll use the :ref:`example Weblog models
<queryset-model-example>` presented in the :doc:`database query guide
</topics/db/queries>`.
.. _when-querysets-are-evaluated:
When ``QuerySet``\s are evaluated
=================================
Internally, a ``QuerySet`` can be constructed, filtered, sliced, and generally
passed around without actually hitting the database. No database activity
actually occurs until you do something to evaluate the queryset.
You can evaluate a ``QuerySet`` in the following ways:
* **Iteration.** A ``QuerySet`` is iterable, and it executes its database
query the first time you iterate over it. For example, this will print
the headline of all entries in the database::
for e in Entry.objects.all():
print(e.headline)
Note: Don't use this if all you want to do is determine if at least one
result exists. It's more efficient to use :meth:`~QuerySet.exists`.
* **Slicing.** As explained in :ref:`limiting-querysets`, a ``QuerySet`` can
be sliced, using Python's array-slicing syntax. Slicing an unevaluated
``QuerySet`` usually returns another unevaluated ``QuerySet``, but Django
will execute the database query if you use the "step" parameter of slice
syntax, and will return a list. Slicing a ``QuerySet`` that has been
evaluated also returns a list.
Also note that even though slicing an unevaluated ``QuerySet`` returns
another unevaluated ``QuerySet``, modifying it further (e.g., adding
more filters, or modifying ordering) is not allowed, since that does not
translate well into SQL and it would not have a clear meaning either.
* **Pickling/Caching.** See the following section for details of what
is involved when `pickling QuerySets`_. The important thing for the
purposes of this section is that the results are read from the database.
* **repr().** A ``QuerySet`` is evaluated when you call ``repr()`` on it.
This is for convenience in the Python interactive interpreter, so you can
immediately see your results when using the API interactively.
* **len().** A ``QuerySet`` is evaluated when you call ``len()`` on it.
This, as you might expect, returns the length of the result list.
Note: If you only need to determine the number of records in the set (and
don't need the actual objects), it's much more efficient to handle a count
at the database level using SQL's ``SELECT COUNT(*)``. Django provides a
:meth:`~QuerySet.count` method for precisely this reason.
* **list().** Force evaluation of a ``QuerySet`` by calling ``list()`` on
it. For example::
entry_list = list(Entry.objects.all())
* **bool().** Testing a ``QuerySet`` in a boolean context, such as using
``bool()``, ``or``, ``and`` or an ``if`` statement, will cause the query
to be executed. If there is at least one result, the ``QuerySet`` is
``True``, otherwise ``False``. For example::
if Entry.objects.filter(headline="Test"):
print("There is at least one Entry with the headline Test")
Note: If you only want to determine if at least one result exists (and don't
need the actual objects), it's more efficient to use :meth:`~QuerySet.exists`.
.. _pickling QuerySets:
Pickling ``QuerySet``\s
-----------------------
If you :mod:`pickle` a ``QuerySet``, this will force all the results to be loaded
into memory prior to pickling. Pickling is usually used as a precursor to
caching and when the cached queryset is reloaded, you want the results to
already be present and ready for use (reading from the database can take some
time, defeating the purpose of caching). This means that when you unpickle a
``QuerySet``, it contains the results at the moment it was pickled, rather
than the results that are currently in the database.
If you only want to pickle the necessary information to recreate the
``QuerySet`` from the database at a later time, pickle the ``query`` attribute
of the ``QuerySet``. You can then recreate the original ``QuerySet`` (without
any results loaded) using some code like this::
>>> import pickle
>>> query = pickle.loads(s) # Assuming 's' is the pickled string.
>>> qs = MyModel.objects.all()
>>> qs.query = query # Restore the original 'query'.
The ``query`` attribute is an opaque object. It represents the internals of
the query construction and is not part of the public API. However, it is safe
(and fully supported) to pickle and unpickle the attribute's contents as
described here.
.. admonition:: Restrictions on ``QuerySet.values_list()``
If you recreate :meth:`QuerySet.values_list` using the pickled ``query``
attribute, it will be converted to :meth:`QuerySet.values`::
>>> import pickle
>>> qs = Blog.objects.values_list('id', 'name')
>>> qs
<QuerySet [(1, 'Beatles Blog')]>
>>> reloaded_qs = Blog.objects.all()
>>> reloaded_qs.query = pickle.loads(pickle.dumps(qs.query))
>>> reloaded_qs
<QuerySet [{'id': 1, 'name': 'Beatles Blog'}]>
.. admonition:: You can't share pickles between versions
Pickles of ``QuerySets`` are only valid for the version of Django that
was used to generate them. If you generate a pickle using Django
version N, there is no guarantee that pickle will be readable with
Django version N+1. Pickles should not be used as part of a long-term
archival strategy.
Since pickle compatibility errors can be difficult to diagnose, such as
silently corrupted objects, a ``RuntimeWarning`` is raised when you try to
unpickle a queryset in a Django version that is different than the one in
which it was pickled.
.. _queryset-api:
``QuerySet`` API
================
Here's the formal declaration of a ``QuerySet``:
.. class:: QuerySet(model=None, query=None, using=None, hints=None)
Usually when you'll interact with a ``QuerySet`` you'll use it by
:ref:`chaining filters <chaining-filters>`. To make this work, most
``QuerySet`` methods return new querysets. These methods are covered in
detail later in this section.
The ``QuerySet`` class has two public attributes you can use for
introspection:
.. attribute:: ordered
``True`` if the ``QuerySet`` is ordered — i.e. has an
:meth:`order_by()` clause or a default ordering on the model.
``False`` otherwise.
.. attribute:: db
The database that will be used if this query is executed now.
.. note::
The ``query`` parameter to :class:`QuerySet` exists so that specialized
query subclasses can reconstruct internal query state. The value of the
parameter is an opaque representation of that query state and is not
part of a public API.
.. currentmodule:: django.db.models.query.QuerySet
Methods that return new ``QuerySet``\s
--------------------------------------
Django provides a range of ``QuerySet`` refinement methods that modify either
the types of results returned by the ``QuerySet`` or the way its SQL query is
executed.
``filter()``
~~~~~~~~~~~~
.. method:: filter(*args, **kwargs)
Returns a new ``QuerySet`` containing objects that match the given lookup
parameters.
The lookup parameters (``**kwargs``) should be in the format described in
`Field lookups`_ below. Multiple parameters are joined via ``AND`` in the
underlying SQL statement.
If you need to execute more complex queries (for example, queries with ``OR`` statements),
you can use :class:`Q objects <django.db.models.Q>` (``*args``).
``exclude()``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.. method:: exclude(*args, **kwarg