Smart Choices

A better choices interface for Django apps

A common Django pattern is to create this complicated tuple list of tuples that represent key/value pairs. The utilities here help make that a bit easier.

The basics

To use, implement a Choices class like this:

    class KennyRogers(smartchoices.Choices):
        HOLD_EM = smartchoices.Choice()
        FOLD_EM = smartchoices.Choice()
        WALK_AWAY = smartchoices.Choice()
        RUN = smartchoices.Choice()

Then reference it in a model choices field like this:

gambler = models.IntegerField(choices=KennyRogers.choices)

All values provided from a smartchoices Choices object will be integers, so the Django field needs to be an IntegerField. This is smarter for your database, too.

Smart names

Optionally, if you'd like to expose nicer looking names for the choices, you can specify them in the Choice creation, like so:

    Choice(name="The Quick Brown Fox")

Or you may turn on smart_names in the Meta class of the Choices object like this:

    class TypingClass(smartchoices.Choices):
        class Meta:
            smart_names = True
        THE_QUICK_BROWN_FOX = smartchoices.CHOICE()

Set values like an enum

Just like enums, you may also choose to manually set the value of a choice.

    class JayZProblems(smartchoices.Choices):
        FOES_THAT_WANNA_MAKE_SURE_MY_CASKETS_CLOSED = smartchoices.Choice()
        YOUNG = smartchoices.Choice()
        BLACK = smartchoices.Choice()
        HATS_REAL_LOW = smartchoices.Choice()

        THE_B_WORD = smartchoices.Choice(100)
        MONEY = smartchoices.Choice()

Just like an enum, the counting starts 0, 1, 2, 3 and then jumps to 100, and continues on with a value of 101 for MONEY.