Django - Function inside a model. How to call it from a view?

Question

I\'m designing a model in Django but I don\'t know if this is the best way. I have a model called \"History\" and inside this model I\'ve a specialized function that will handle

Answer 1

To insert data to the History model I will always have to use the insert_history function.

Yes, it will set the field3, a datetime, based on some logic that I will write inside insert_history

The easiest way is to override the save method:

class History(models.Model):
    field1 = models.ForeignKey(Request)
    field2 = models.BooleanField()
    field3 = models.DateTimeField()

    def __unicode__(self):
        return unicode(self.field1.id) # __unicode__ should return unicode,
                                       # not string.

    class Meta: #
        ordering = ['-field3']

    def save(self, *args, **kwargs):
        self.field3 = your calculated value
        super(History, self).save(*args, **kwargs)

Now, whenever you save your method - field3's value will be whatever is the result of the calculation in your custom save method. You don't need to modify anything in your views for this to work.