Mongoengine is a popular Python ORM for MongoDB that provides a Django-like interface for defining document schemas and interacting with MongoDB collections. It allows defining document fields and embedding documents, and can be used with or without Django. When used with Django, it provides integration with Django features like authentication, sessions, and storage, but some aspects like caching, testing, and generic views require additional configuration to work as expected with MongoDB.

1. Django and Mongoengine Austin Gross [email_address] http://loc-cit.com

2. Mongoengine Active on GitHub Most popular MongoDB ORM for Python (so common gotchas are easily googled) Django-like "Document" classes Integrated with Django API Sessions, Authentication, and Storage Can be used without Django

3. How does it work? Cf. screencast on setting up "Mumblr" at montylounge . Search for "Integrating MongoDB and Django" Document schemas defined in a file of your choosing; they inherit from type "Document" subclasses will be stored in the same collection Call mongoengine.connect(dbname) in settings.py

4. Schemas Support for dynamically-schema'd Documents is in development! Otherwise, familiar look and feel But no JOINs: for high performance, embedding documents recommended Lists of "Embedded Documents" recommended in appropriate cases Otherwise, ListField(ReferenceField(target_doc))

5. Schemas II But Embeds can't be nested manageably! With MongoDB's $ operator, it's impossible to update a single comment embedded in a reply embedded in a thread. At best, retrieve and change all comments and set them all at once. Embedded Documents in Mongoengine don't work like Django models, even though MongoDB encourages Embeds as an alternative to References. No .save() method--in fact, no methods at all; can only be updated by .update_one() on the parent document. Still, manageable for one layer

6. Django Functionality Auth, Sessions, and File serving all fine More complicated: Caching Generic views Testing ModelForms

7. Caching Try django-mongodb-cache? (I haven't)

8. Testing Before unit tests, call: mongoengine.connect('unit-tests') ...That's it! Import your models and testing works as expected on test database 'unit-tests'

9. ModelForms: a lot of work Might be more complicated. A GitHub project exists: "django-mongoforms" It's buggy and the last commit was in March ReferenceField supported No MultipleReferenceField! No custom widgets Workable, but takes work Would be pretty complicated for any model we store as an Embedded Document

10. Generic views: easily adapted For example, in django.views.generic.create_update: document._meta.app_label doesn't exist automatically, but can be added same for document._meta.verbose_name ... or remove that from the view. You'll have to incorporate the mongoengine-compatible version of ModelForms, since create_update otherwise will try to use Django's ModelForm

11. Bells and Whistles Registration forms, etc. Things like Ajax-based autocomplete are available for Django, not yet for mongoengine

12. GitHub links Mongoengine. Try Django-mumblr for a working mongoengine application Django-mongoforms. Some branches might be more useful than the original, so cf. the network.