A generic object view tracking model.
This will store a "last viewed date" which says "everything that has changed" since this date, is unread. It also stores a list of primary keys, which has been read since that date.
Download and install the package using distutils:
pip install objtrack
Update your settings.py and add the installed apps settings:
INSTALLED_APPS = (
'django.contrib.admin',
'django.contrib.auth',
'django.contrib.contenttypes',
'django.contrib.sessions',
'objtrack',
)
Finally, run python manage.py syncdb to create the database tables.
Showing forums which have new posts in them:
from objtrack.models import ObjectTracker
def view_forum_list(request):
categories = Category.objects.all()
tracking = ObjectTracker.objects.get_for_request(request, Thread)
# Don't forget you still need to update a date field when a new thread
# is added to the forum.
for category in categories:
category.has_new_posts = tracking.has_viewed(category)
# Maybe we want to mark all forums as "i saw this" now?
tracking.mark_all_as_viewed()
return render(...)
Adding a has_viewed attribute to threads in the thread listing:
def view_thread_list(request):
threads = Thread.objects.all()
tracking = ObjectTracker.objects.get_for_request(request, Thread)
# This isn't the *best* approach to checking if it's been viewed, but it works
for thread in threads:
thread.has_viewed = tracking.has_viewed(thread)
return render(...)
Marking the thread object as read when it's viewed:
def view_thread(request, thread_id):
thread = Thread.objects.get(pk=thread_id)
tracking = ObjectTracker.objects.get_for_request(request, Thread)
tracking.mark_as_viewed(thread)
return render(...)
You can also use it within Coffin or Django templates:
{% load tracking %}
{% for instance, has_viewed in queryset|with_tracking(request.session, "date_field") %}
...
{% endfor %}