Add SerializedRelatedField for write-by-slug, read-as-nested representation

- Introduce SerializedRelatedField in rest_framework/relations.py
- Supports writing by slug/PK and reading as nested serializer
- Add corresponding tests in tests/test_relations.py

Author: HosseinSayyedMousavi

rest_framework/relations.py

@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 from rest_framework.reverse import reverse
 from rest_framework.settings import api_settings
 from rest_framework.utils import html
-
+from django.db import models
 
 def method_overridden(method_name, klass, instance):
     """
@@ -583,3 +583,40 @@ def iter_options(self):
             cutoff=self.html_cutoff,
             cutoff_text=self.html_cutoff_text
         )
+
+
+class SerializedRelatedField(SlugRelatedField):
+    """
+    A relational field that accepts a simple slug for writes
+    (like SlugRelatedField), but expands to a nested serializer
+    for reads if `serializer_class` is provided.
+
+    Example:
+        class OrderSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
+            address = SerializedRelatedField(
+                serializer_class=AddressSerializer,
+                queryset=Address.objects.all(),
+                lookup_field="pk",
+            )
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, serializer_class=None, lookup_field="pk", **kwargs):
+        self.serializer_class = serializer_class
+        kwargs["slug_field"] = lookup_field
+        super().__init__(**kwargs)
+
+        if self.serializer_class is not None and self.queryset is None:
+            raise AssertionError(
+                "SerializedRelatedField with serializer_class requires a queryset"
+            )
+
+    def to_representation(self, value):
+        # Ensure PKOnlyObject (used in select_related/prefetch) is resolved
+        if hasattr(value, "pk") and not isinstance(value, models.Model):
+            value = self.get_queryset().get(pk=value.pk)
+
+        if self.serializer_class is not None:
+            serializer = self.serializer_class(value, context=self.context)
+            return serializer.data
+
+        return super().to_representation(value)

rest_framework/serializers.py

@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@
 from rest_framework.relations import (  # NOQA # isort:skip
     HyperlinkedIdentityField, HyperlinkedRelatedField, ManyRelatedField,
     PrimaryKeyRelatedField, RelatedField, SlugRelatedField, StringRelatedField,
+    SerializedRelatedField
 )
 
 # Non-field imports, but public API

tests/test_relations.py

@@ -3,17 +3,19 @@
 import pytest
 from _pytest.monkeypatch import MonkeyPatch
 from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured, ObjectDoesNotExist
-from django.test import override_settings
+from django.test import TestCase, override_settings
 from django.urls import re_path
 from django.utils.datastructures import MultiValueDict
-
+ 
 from rest_framework import relations, serializers
 from rest_framework.fields import empty
 from rest_framework.test import APISimpleTestCase
-
+from django.db import models
 from .utils import (
     BadType, MockObject, MockQueryset, fail_reverse, mock_reverse
 )
+from tests.models import RESTFrameworkModel
+from django.utils.translation import gettext_lazy as _
 
 
 class TestStringRelatedField(APISimpleTestCase):
@@ -518,3 +520,101 @@ def test_can_be_pickled(self):
         upkled = pickle.loads(pickle.dumps(self.default_hyperlink))
         assert upkled == self.default_hyperlink
         assert upkled.name == self.default_hyperlink.name
+
+
+class Address(RESTFrameworkModel):
+    postal_code = models.CharField(
+        max_length=20, unique=True, verbose_name=_("Postal Code")
+    )
+    province = models.CharField(max_length=100, verbose_name=_("Province"))
+    city = models.CharField(max_length=100, verbose_name=_("City"))
+    street = models.CharField(
+        max_length=255, blank=True, null=True, verbose_name=_("Street")
+    )
+    additional_info = models.TextField(
+        verbose_name=_("Additional Info"), blank=True, null=True
+    )
+
+
+class AddressSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
+    class Meta:
+        model = Address
+        fields = "__all__"
+
+
+class SerializedRelatedFieldTests(TestCase):
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.address = Address.objects.create(
+            postal_code="12345",
+            province="Tehran",
+            city="Tehran",
+            street="Valiasr",
+            additional_info="Test info"
+        )
+        Address.objects.create(
+            postal_code="123456",
+            province="Tehran",
+            city="Tehran",
+            street="Valiasr",
+            additional_info="Test info"
+        )
+        class OrderSerializerPostalCode(serializers.Serializer):
+            address = relations.SerializedRelatedField(
+                serializer_class=AddressSerializer,
+                queryset=Address.objects.all(),
+                lookup_field='postal_code',
+            )
+        class OrderSerializerCity(serializers.Serializer):
+            address = relations.SerializedRelatedField(
+                serializer_class=AddressSerializer,
+                queryset=Address.objects.all(),
+                lookup_field='city',
+            ) 
+        class OrderSerializerPK(serializers.Serializer):
+            address = relations.SerializedRelatedField(
+                serializer_class=AddressSerializer,
+                queryset=Address.objects.all(),
+            )
+        self.serializer_postal_code = OrderSerializerPostalCode
+        self.serializer_pk = OrderSerializerPK
+        self.serializer_city = OrderSerializerCity
+
+    def test_write_slug(self):
+        data = {"address": self.address.postal_code}
+        serializer = self.serializer_postal_code(data=data)
+        assert serializer.is_valid(), serializer.errors
+        assert serializer.validated_data["address"] == self.address
+
+    def test_read_nested(self):
+        data = {"address": self.address.postal_code}
+        serializer = self.serializer_postal_code(data=data)
+        assert serializer.is_valid(), serializer.errors
+        expected = AddressSerializer(self.address).data
+        assert serializer.data["address"] == expected
+
+    def test_write_default(self):
+        data = {"address": self.address.pk}
+        serializer = self.serializer_pk(data=data)
+        assert serializer.is_valid(), serializer.errors
+        expected = AddressSerializer(self.address).data
+        assert serializer.data["address"] == expected
+
+    def test_read_default(self):
+        data = {"address": self.address.pk}
+        serializer = self.serializer_pk(data=data)
+        assert serializer.is_valid(), serializer.errors
+        expected = AddressSerializer(self.address).data
+        assert serializer.data["address"] == expected
+
+    def test_duplicated(self):
+        data = {"address": "Tehran"}
+        serializer = self.serializer_city(data=data)
+        with pytest.raises(Address.MultipleObjectsReturned) as exc_info:
+            serializer.is_valid(raise_exception=True)
+        assert "returned more than one Address -- it returned 2!" in str(exc_info.value)
+
+    def test_not_fount(self):
+        data = {"address": "Isfahan"}
+        serializer = self.serializer_city(data=data)
+        serializer.is_valid()
+        assert "Object with city=Isfahan does not exist." in serializer.errors["address"]