✅ What Are They?
Feature | _inherit | _inherits |
| Inheritance | Classical Odoo inheritance | Delegation inheritance |
| DB Structure | Works on same table (shared) | Works on multiple tables (linked) |
| Use Case | Extend behavior or add fields | Compose new models using others |
| Field Access | Direct | Delegated via foreign key |
📌 Realistic Examples : Sales Summary by Customer
🔧 Example:
class InheritPartner(models.Model):
_inherit = ‘res.partner’
loyalty_points = fields.Integer(string=“Loyalty Points”)
def custom_method(self):
# extending existing method
pass
✅ This will add a new field directly to the res.partner table.
📌 Use Case:
Used when you want to reuse another model’s fields and data but store your own fields in a separate table.
🔧 Example:
class StudentRecord(models.Model):
_name = ‘student.record’
_inherits = {‘res.partner’: ‘partner_id’}
partner_id = fields.Many2one(‘res.partner’, required=True, ondelete=‘cascade’)
student_code = fields.Char(string=‘Student Code’)
⚠️ Key Points
Concept | Details |
| _auto = False | Prevents Odoo from creating a DB table. |
| init() method | Used to manually create SQL view via raw SQL. |
| tools.drop_view_if_exists() | Utility to safely recreate views on module upgrade. |
| id field | Must be present and unique in the view for Odoo to work properly. |
✅ This allows you to:
- Store student-specific data in student.record
- Reuse all res.partner fields as if they belong to student.record
student = self.env[‘student.record’].browse(1)
print(student.name) # from res.partner
print(student.student_code) # from student.record
🎯 When to Use What?
Use Case | Use _inherit | Use _inherits |
| Extend existing model’s features | ✅ Yes | 🚫 No |
| Combine models like composition | 🚫 No | ✅ Yes |
| Need separate table and identity | 🚫 No | ✅ Yes |
| Add or override methods | ✅ Yes | 🚫 Limited |
⚙️ Internal Difference
Feature | _inherit | _inherits |
| Field resolution | From current model/table | Redirected to foreign model via M2O |
| Record identity | Same record ID and table | Separate IDs (joined by foreign key) |
| DB schema | Fields added directly to base model | Separate table with relationship |
✅ Summary Table
Attribute | Purpose | Storage | Real Use Case |
| _inherit | Extend existing model (fields/methods) | Shared table | Add extra fields to res.partner |
| _inherits | Reuse another model with linkage | Separate table | Create student.record from partner |
🧠 Developer Tips
- Use _inherit for 90% of extension work.
- Use _inherits only when modeling something structurally distinct but sharing core data.
- Avoid mixing both in the same model unless explicitly required.
- Be careful with record deletion in _inherits – always set ondelete=’cascade’ for clean joins.
