? Class-Based Views (CBVs)

✨ Quick Overview

Class-Based Views (CBVs) provide a structured, reusable, and scalable way to handle requests in Django. Instead of writing logic inside functions, CBVs encapsulate behavior inside Python classes.

? Key Concepts

• Views are written as Python classes
• Each HTTP method maps to a class method
• Highly reusable and extendable
• Built-in generic views reduce boilerplate

? Syntax / Theory

A CBV inherits from Django’s base View class or one of its generic subclasses like TemplateView, ListView, etc.

Basic Structure of a CBV

# Import required Django classes
from django.http import HttpResponse
from django.views import View

# Define a class-based view
class MyView(View):
    def get(self, request):
        return HttpResponse("Hello, World!")

? Mapping CBVs to URLs

CBVs must be connected using the as_view() method which converts the class into a callable view.

# URL configuration for CBV
from django.urls import path
from .views import MyView

urlpatterns = [
    path('hello/', MyView.as_view(), name='hello'),
]

? Built-In Generic Class-Based Views

• TemplateView – Render static templates
• ListView – Display lists of objects
• DetailView – Show object details
• CreateView – Create new objects
• UpdateView – Update objects
• DeleteView – Delete objects

TemplateView Example

# Render a template using TemplateView
from django.views.generic import TemplateView

class HomeView(TemplateView):
    template_name = 'home.html'

? Live Output / Explanation

When the browser hits the mapped URL, Django creates an instance of the CBV and executes the corresponding HTTP method such as get() or post().

? Interactive Example

Change the URL path or response message and observe how CBVs dynamically control request handling.

class DemoView(View):
  def get(self, req):
    return "Displaying Page"
    
  def post(self, req):
    return "Data Saved!"

? Use Cases

• Large applications with repeated logic
• CRUD operations
• Dashboard and admin panels
• REST-style structured views