Django 6.1 fetch modes and DB_CASCADE: what to watch for
Django 6.1 adds two ORM changes with a shared goal: let the database do useful work without making the application opaque. Fetch modes change what happens when a field is loaded on demand. DB_CASCADE moves a cascade delete from Python to an SQL constraint. Both can remove a great deal of work, but enabling them without examining their side effects is risky. The Django 6.1 release notes frame these APIs as optimizations. In practice, they change where the work happens. That is the key point to understand before upgrading. ...