Django: Why are quotes around the model in a ForeignKey definition

Question

I want to know what the difference between these two foreignkey definitions are.

(1) MyFKField = models.ForeignKey('MyModel')
(2) MyFKField = models.ForeignKey(MyModel)

I understand (I think...) that (1) MyModel needs to be defined in that same file and the other needs to be imported, but I'm unsure of the reason/benifits of doing it either way.

I had a look through the Django docs but couldnt find anything, and Im also not sure if this is the right place to ask, so apologies if not.

Cheers

Answer 1

Django docs states that you would use a string to (1):

• You want a recursive relationship (eg - model.ForeignKey('self'))
• For referring to a model that is possibly not defined yet (for cyclic relationships).
• A shortcut to refer to a model in another application (eg - model.ForeignKey('app.mymodel'))

But in general, specifying the model class directly is clear where it's coming from (2).