JSON Serialization of a Django inherited model

Question

Hello,

I have the following Django models

class ConfigurationItem(models.Model):

    path = models.CharField('Path', max_length=1024)
    name = models.CharField('Name', max_length=1024, blank=True)
    description = models.CharField('Description', max_length=1024, blank=True)
    active = models.BooleanField('Active', default=True)
    is_leaf = models.BooleanField('Is a Leaf item', default=True)

class Location(ConfigurationItem):

    address = models.CharField(max_length=1024, blank=True)
    phoneNumber = models.CharField(max_length=255, blank=True)
    url = models.URLField(blank=True)
    read_acl = models.ManyToManyField(Group, default=None)
    write_acl = models.ManyToManyField(Group, default=None)
    alert_group= models.EmailField(blank=True)

The full model file is here if it helps.

You can see that Company is a child class of ConfigurationItem.

I'm trying to use JSON serialization using either the django.core.serializers.serializer or the WadofStuff serializer.

Both serializers give me the same problem...

>>> from cmdb.models import *
>>> from django.core import serializers
>>> serializers.serialize('json', [ ConfigurationItem.objects.get(id=7)])
    '[{"pk": 7, "model": "cmdb.configurationitem", "fields": {"is_leaf": true,    "extension_attribute_10": "", "name": "", "date_modified": "2010-05-19 14:42:53", "extension_attribute_11": false, "extension_attribute_5": "", "extension_attribute_2": "", "extension_attribute_3": "", "extension_attribute_1": "", "extension_attribute_6": "", "extension_attribute_7": "", "extension_attribute_4": "", "date_created": "2010-05-19 14:42:53", "active": true, "path": "/Locations/London", "extension_attribute_8": "", "extension_attribute_9": "", "description": ""}}]'
>>> serializers.serialize('json', [ Location.objects.get(id=7)])
    '[{"pk": 7, "model": "cmdb.location", "fields": {"write_acl": [], "url": "", "phoneNumber": "", "address": "", "read_acl": [], "alert_group": ""}}]'
>>>

The problem is that serializing the Company model only gives me the fields directly associated with that model, not the fields from it's parent object.

Is there a way of altering this behaviour or should I be looking at building a dictionary of objects and using simplejson to format the output?

Thanks in advance

~sm

Answer 1

I am currently working at a serializer that would cover this feature. If you still have no answer in ~one week, I can come back to you and give you the google code link to download it.