What is the best way to format Django urls for two parameters, either of which are optional?

Question

I'm designing a gallery application for viewing vehicle pictures and there are two parameters:

1. Manufacturer
2. Vehicle type

Right now you can view either, but not both. Urls go like so:

1. /manufacturer/#
2. /type/#

Where # is an ID number. How/can I format my URLs so it can accept both? My current solution is to do: /both/#/# but this requires some retooling since the application doesn't know when you want to filter by both. Any insight would be appreciated.

Answer 1

If you're in a situation where both are optional, perhaps your best bet is to handle it through GET parameters.

Answer 2

Probably that scheme will work for you:

views.py:

def filtered_view (request, manufacturer_id=None, type_id=None):
    ...

urls.py:

    ...
    url(r'^manufacturer/(?P<manufacturer_id>[0-9]+)/((?P<type_id>[0-9])/)?$', filtered_view),
    url(r'^type/(?P<type_id>[0-9]+)/((?P<manufacturer_id>[0-9])/)?$', filtered_view),
    ...

And depending on user’s way through the site, urls will be /manufacturer/123/, /manufacturer/123/456/ or /type/456/, /type/456/123/ (where 123 is a manufacturer id, and 456 is vehicle type id.)