? Introduction to CBVs

✨ Quick Overview

Class-Based Views (CBVs) are a powerful feature in Django that allow you to organize your views as Python classes rather than functions. This approach improves modularity, reuse, and maintainability, especially in large or complex applications.

? Key Concepts

Reusability: Inherit and extend built-in views.
Modularity: Logic is split into well-defined methods.
Extensibility: Override only what you need.

? Syntax / Theory

TemplateView – Render templates
ListView – Display object lists
DetailView – Show a single object
CreateView – Create objects
UpdateView – Update objects
DeleteView – Delete objects

? Code Example

? View Code Example

# CBV for listing books using Django ListView
from django.views.generic import ListView
from .models import Book

class BookListView(ListView):
    model = Book
    template_name = 'book_list.html'
    context_object_name = 'books'

? Using CBVs with URLs

? View Code Example

# URL configuration for BookListView
from django.urls import path
from .views import BookListView

urlpatterns = [
    path('books/', BookListView.as_view(), name='book_list'),
]

? Live Output / Explanation

The BookListView automatically fetches all Book objects and sends them to the template as books. The as_view() method converts the class into a callable view.

? Interactive Concept

Think of CBVs as Lego blocks: Django provides ready-made blocks (generic views), and you only customize the pieces you need. Use the generator below to see how changing parameters changes the code.

?️ CBV Code Generator

Generic View Type

Model Name

Template Name

from django.views.generic import ListView from .models import Product class ProductListView(ListView): model = Product template_name = 'product_list.html' context_object_name = 'products'

? Use Cases

Listing database records
Handling CRUD operations
Form handling with minimal boilerplate

✅ Tips & Best Practices

Prefer CBVs for complex views.
Override get_queryset() for filtering.
Use get_context_data() for extra template data.

? Try It Yourself

Create a DetailView for a model.
Override get_context_data().
Build a form using CreateView.