from django.conf import settings
from django.contrib.auth.models import User


def get_user_model():
    """
    Return the User model

    Using this function instead of Django 1.5's get_user_model allows backwards
    compatibility with Django 1.4.
    """
    try:
        # Django 1.5+
        from django.contrib.auth import get_user_model
    except ImportError:
        # Django <= 1.4
        model = User
    else:
        model = get_user_model()

    # Test if user model has any custom fields and add attributes to the _meta
    # class
    core_fields = set([f.name for f in User._meta.fields])
    model_fields = set([f.name for f in model._meta.fields])
    new_fields = model_fields.difference(core_fields)
    model._meta.has_additional_fields = len(new_fields) > 0
    model._meta.additional_fields = new_fields

    return model


# A setting that can be used in foreign key declarations
AUTH_USER_MODEL = getattr(settings, 'AUTH_USER_MODEL', 'auth.User')
# Two additional settings that are useful in South migrations when
# specifying the user model in the FakeORM
AUTH_USER_APP_LABEL, AUTH_USER_MODEL_NAME = AUTH_USER_MODEL.split('.')

from django.conf import settings
from django.contrib.auth.models import User
from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured


def get_user_model():
    """
    Return the User model

    Using this function instead of Django 1.5's get_user_model allows backwards
    compatibility with Django 1.4.
    """
    try:
        # Django 1.5+
        from django.contrib.auth import get_user_model
    except ImportError:
        # Django <= 1.4
        model = User
    else:
        model = get_user_model()

    # Test if user model has any custom fields and add attributes to the _meta
    # class
    core_fields = set([f.name for f in User._meta.fields])
    model_fields = set([f.name for f in model._meta.fields])
    new_fields = model_fields.difference(core_fields)
    model._meta.has_additional_fields = len(new_fields) > 0
    model._meta.additional_fields = new_fields

    return model


# A setting that can be used in foreign key declarations
AUTH_USER_MODEL = getattr(settings, 'AUTH_USER_MODEL', 'auth.User')
# Two additional settings that are useful in South migrations when
# specifying the user model in the FakeORM
try:
    AUTH_USER_APP_LABEL, AUTH_USER_MODEL_NAME = AUTH_USER_MODEL.split('.')
except ValueError:
    raise ImproperlyConfigured("AUTH_USER_MODEL must be of the form 'app_label.model_name'")

Use better exception for AUTH_USER_MODEL
Use better exception for AUTH_USER_MODEL

If AUTH_USER_MODEL is improperly configured as 'project.customer.User',
the error is:

ValueError: too many values to unpack

Use rather standard Django's error:

ImproperlyConfigured: AUTH_USER_MODEL must be of the form
'app_label.model_name'
