Is there a way to customize how the value for a custom Model Field is displayed in a template?
- by Jordan Reiter
I am storing dates as an integer field in the format YYYYMMDD, where month or day is optional.
I have the following function for formatting the number:
def flexibledateformat(value):
import datetime, re
try:
value = str(int(value))
except:
return None
match = re.match(r'(\d{4})(\d\d)(\d\d)$',str(value))
if match:
year_val, month_val, day_val = [int(v) for v in match.groups()]
if day_val:
return datetime.datetime.strftime(datetime.date(year_val,month_val,day_val),'%b %e, %Y')
elif month_val:
return datetime.datetime.strftime(datetime.date(year_val,month_val,1),'%B %Y')
else:
return str(year_val)
Which results in the following outputs:
>>> flexibledateformat(20100415)
'Apr 15, 2010'
>>> flexibledateformat(20100400)
'April 2010'
>>> flexibledateformat(20100000)
'2010'
So I'm wondering if there's a function I can add under the model field class that would automatically call flexibledateformat.
So if there's a record
r = DataRecord(name='foo',date=20100400)
when processed in the form the value would be 20100400 but when output in a template using {{ r.date }} it shows up as "April 2010".
Further clarification
I do normally use datetime for storing date/time values. In this specific case, I need to record non-specific dates: "x happened in 2009", "y happened sometime in June 1996".
The easiest way to do this while still preserving most of the functionality of a date field, including sorting and filtering, is by using an integer in the format of yyyymmdd. That is why I am using an IntegerField instead of a DateTimeField.
This is what I would like to happen:
I store what I call a "Flexible
Date" in a FlexibleDateField as an
integer with the format yyyymmdd.
I render a form that includes a
FlexibleDateField, and the value
remains an integer so that functions
necessary for validating it and
rendering it in widgets work
correctly.
I call it in a template,
as in {{ object.flexibledate }} and
it is formatted according to the
flexibledateformat rules: 20100416
- April 16, 2010; 20100400 - April 2010; 20100000 - 2010. This
also applies when I'm not calling it
directly, such as when it's used as
a header in admin
(http://example.org/admin/app_name/model_name/).
I'm not aware if these specific things are possible.
