**Course Title:** Mastering Django Framework: Building Scalable Web Applications **Section Title:** Forms and User Input Handling **Topic:** Creating model forms and custom forms In this topic, we will explore how to create model forms and custom forms in Django, which are essential components for handling user input and validating data. We will cover the following topics: ### What are Model Forms? Model forms are a type of form in Django that are automatically generated from your models. They provide a convenient way to create forms that are tied to your database models, making it easier to validate and save data. ### Creating Model Forms To create a model form, you need to use the `ModelForm` class from the `django.forms` module. Here's an example of how to create a model form for a `Book` model: ```python # models.py from django.db import models class Book(models.Model): title = models.CharField(max_length=200) author = models.CharField(max_length=100) # forms.py from django import forms from .models import Book class BookForm(forms.ModelForm): class Meta: model = Book fields = ('title', 'author') ``` In this example, we define a `BookForm` class that inherits from `ModelForm`. The `Meta` class specifies the model that the form is tied to, as well as the fields that should be included in the form. ### Custom Forms Custom forms are forms that are not generated from a model. They are useful when you need to create a form that is not tied to a specific database model. Here's an example of how to create a custom form: ```python # forms.py from django import forms class ContactForm(forms.Form): name = forms.CharField(max_length=100) email = forms.EmailField() message = forms.CharField(widget=forms.Textarea) ``` In this example, we define a `ContactForm` class that inherits from `Form`. We specify the fields that should be included in the form, as well as the widgets that should be used to render each field. ### Rendering Forms To render a form in a Django template, you need to use the `as_p` or `as_table` method to convert the form to HTML. Here's an example of how to render a form in a template: ```html <!-- templates/contact.html --> <form method="post"> {% csrf_token %} {{ form.as_p }} <button type="submit">Submit</button> </form> ``` In this example, we use the `as_p` method to convert the form to HTML paragraphs. We also include a CSRF token to prevent cross-site request forgery attacks. ### Validating Forms To validate a form, you need to use the `is_valid` method to check if the form data is valid. Here's an example of how to validate a form: ```python # views.py from django.shortcuts import render, redirect from .forms import ContactForm def contact(request): if request.method == 'POST': form = ContactForm(request.POST) if form.is_valid(): # Save the form data form.save() return redirect('success') else: form = ContactForm() return render(request, 'contact.html', {'form': form}) ``` In this example, we use the `is_valid` method to check if the form data is valid. If the form is valid, we save the form data and redirect the user to a success page. ### Conclusion In this topic, we covered how to create model forms and custom forms in Django. We also covered how to render forms in templates and validate form data. With this knowledge, you should be able to create forms that are tied to your database models and handle user input effectively. **What's Next?** In the next topic, we will cover how to manage form submissions and handle errors. **Leave a comment or ask for help if you have any questions or need further clarification on any of the concepts covered in this topic.**