Django - Polymorphic Models or one big Model?

Question

I\'m currently working on a model in Django involving one model that can have a variety of different traits depending on what kind of object it is. So, let\'s say we have a mod

Answer 1

My recommendation, in general with database design, is to avoid inheritance. It complicates both the access and updates.

In Django, try using an abstract class for your base model. That means a db table will not be created for it. Its fields/columns will be auto-created in its child models. The benefit is: code reuse in Django/Python code and a simple, flat design in the database. The penalty is: it's more work to manage/query a mixed collection of child models.

See an example here: Django Patterns: Model Inheritance

Alternatively, you could change the concept of "Mammal" to "MammalTraits." And include a MammalTraits object inside each specific mammal class. In code, that is composition (has-a). In the db, that will be expressed as a foreign key.