I am having a method in views.py as follows:
def index(self, request):
initial = get_initial()
context = {"context" : initial_topics}
template = loader.get_template('index.html')
return HttpResponse(template.render(context, request))
How do I access the "context" dict in javascript ?? Like in my $(function(){});
You can access the context variable inside the HTML script tag.
Still, some rules apply:
safe filter:Warning: Never use safe filter on untrusted data (such as data submitted by a user). Always sanitize the data (escape unsafe characters) before using the safe filter. Read about XSS attacks to learn more.
Example:
<script>
$(function(){
var my_str = "{{ my_str }}";
var my_dict = {{ my_dict|safe }}; // no quotes here
var my_list = {{ my_list|safe }}; // no quotes here
});
</script>
You should convert the dict and list variables to json in your views because if there are any Python specific keywords, such as True or False or None in the dict, JS won't understand them and will raise an error.
In JS, the equivalent keywords are true, false and null. So, converting dicts and lists to json will transform the data into a JS compatible format.
Example:
import json
def my_view(...):
my_list = [...]
my_dict = {...}
context = {'my_list': json.dumps(my_list), 'my_dict': json.dumps(my_dict)}
return ...
var my_list = {{ my_list|safe }};
var my_dict = {{ my_dict|safe }};
If the javascript code lies in the html template being rendered, you can use it in the normal way {{ context }}. Else, declare a global in the html template and access that global from your separate js file.
If you want to insert into Javascript then make sure to use escapejs, and in more advanced cases you may need to use JSON.parse;
var context = "{{ context }}"
If you are still having issues, then try;
var context = JSON.parse("{{ context|escapejs }}");
The JSON.parse() method parses a JSON string, constructing the JavaScript value or object described by the string. An optional reviver function can be provided to perform a transformation on the resulting object before it is returned. doc