TLT: Adding Columns to Postgres Database with Django

I wanted to add another model to my Django application. I'm storing using Postgres. There's nothing serious about this -- it's fairly simple. Still, I encountered an error.

The Problem

I don't have the exact error on-hand at the moment, but essentially, Django was trying to store data submitted by form in my Postgres database. When I added a new model for a field and tried submitting a completed form with the new field included, Django raised an error because the Postgres column of the new field didn't exist.

The Solution

A new column needed to be created in the Postgres database prior to rendering/submitting the form. Even if the form displays, storage is a separate process from rendering, so the database tables need to be on the same page as the Django models.

To add the column, you can use South to perform a database migration.

OR

You can go with manually adding the column via the Postgres shell.

Example Django application name: Ads

Initial Django model:

class DooSomething(models.Model):  
    name        = models.CharField(max_length=50)
    email       = models.EmailField()
    category    = models.CharField(max_length=3, choices=CATEGORIES)
    expire      = models.DateField()

Initial Postgres table:

CREATE TABLE ads_doosomething  
(
  id serial NOT NULL,
  name character varying(50) NOT NULL,
  email character varying(75) NOT NULL,
  category character varying(50) NOT NULL,
  expire date NOT NULL,
  CONSTRAINT ads_doosomething_pkey PRIMARY KEY (id)
)

Final Django model:

class DooSomething(models.Model):  
    name        = models.CharField(max_length=50)
    email       = models.EmailField()
    category    = models.CharField(max_length=3, choices=CATEGORIES)
    location    = models.CharField(max_length=3, choices=LOCATIONS) #THE CHANGE
    expire      = models.DateField()

Go to your Postgres shell and connect to the appropriate database (the one with your table in it).

Once connected, enter the following, with the appropriate substitutions:

ALTER TABLE ads_doosomething ADD COLUMN <model_name [postgres restraints]>;

In the case of our above model, we want to add the location field with a 3-char restraint. Therefore:

ALTER TABLE ads_doosomething ADD COLUMN location varchar(3);

Everything should work now.

I miss you, Renee. It's insane. Going to keep driving. A lot more to work for.