Introduction to Django Forms

Why Use Django Forms

Django Forms are Python classes that describe what fields a form has, generate the HTML automatically, and validate submitted data before your view code touches it.

Note: Think of a Form class as the single source of truth for a form's fields.

Example: Why Use Django Forms

Django Forms are Python classes that describe what fields a form has, generate the HTML automatically, and validate submitted data before your view code touches it.

from django import forms


class ContactForm(forms.Form):
    name = forms.CharField(max_length=100)
    email = forms.EmailField()
    message = forms.CharField(widget=forms.Textarea)

Using a Form in a View

A view creates a form instance, passes it to a template, and later re-creates it with submitted data to validate.

Note: An empty ContactForm() renders blank fields; ContactForm(request.POST) is bound to submitted data.

Example: Using a Form in a View

A view creates a form instance, passes it to a template, and later re-creates it with submitted data to validate.

from django.shortcuts import render


def contact(request):
    form = ContactForm()
    return render(request, 'contact.html', {'form': form})

Rendering the Form

Django can render every field of a form automatically with a single template variable, wrapping each field in paragraph tags.

Example: Rendering the Form

Django can render every field of a form automatically with a single template variable, wrapping each field in paragraph tags.

<form method="post">
  {% csrf_token %}
  {{ form.as_p }}
  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>