Django is a robust web framework that enables the rapid development of dynamic websites. In this article, we'll cover the basics of Django development, including project structure, URL routing, and views. Keep reading to learn more about Django development!

What is Django development?

Django development is a web development framework written in Python. Django enables the rapid development of websites and web applications with a clean and pragmatic design philosophy. A large community of developers contributes to Django, creating reusable libraries, templates, and tools. Django is based on the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern. It includes an object-relational mapper (ORM), which allows you to map objects to database tables without writing any SQL code. Django also provides a templating and forms processing system, making it possible to build complete web applications without needing to write any HTML or CSS code.

When creating a project in Django, you must first create a project directory. You must create several files within this directory, including an __init__.py file. This file is necessary for Python projects and tells the interpreter that the directory is a Python package. The following file you will need to create is called settings.py. This file contains your project's configuration information, such as database settings and user authentication information. After that, you will need to create your models and views using the Django Model and View classes. Finally, you will need to set up your project's URL structure by creating a urls.py file.

What are URL routing and views?

URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) are the addresses for resources on the internet. They are composed of a protocol, a domain name, and a resource path. The protocol is the method by which the resource is accessed. HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) and HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) are the most common protocols. The domain name is the server's name where the resource resides, and the resource path is the location of the resource on the server. In Django development, URLs are used to point to views.

Views are a vital part of most web applications and allow developers to easily create and manage the logic behind displaying data to users. In Django, views are Python classes that take an HttpRequest object as their first argument and return an HttpResponse object. The view class handles all the logic for processing the request and returning a response. This can include retrieving data from a database or other source, formatting it into HTML, and sending it back to the user's browser.

The view can also perform any necessary business logic or authentication before returning a response. Django provides several helper methods developers can use to make everyday tasks easier. These include methods for querying the database, rendering templates, and creating redirects. Additionally, developers can write their custom helper methods if needed. Creating custom views is relatively easy in Django, thanks to its well-defined architecture and helpful built-in helpers. Following a few simple guidelines, you can quickly create powerful views that handle all of the necessary logic for your web application.

What are Django templates?

Templates are a fundamental part of Django web development. A template is a text file that contains HTML, CSS, and Python code. When a user visits a web page, the Django framework will automatically load the appropriate template and render it on the page. This makes it easy to create consistent and professional-looking web pages.

Django has several built-in templates you can use as-is or customize to suit your needs. You can also create your custom templates. To do this, you'll need to create a new directory inside your project's templates folder. The name of this directory will be used as the prefix for all of the templates in that directory. For example, if you create a directory called "my_templates," all of the templates in that directory will have the prefix "my_."

Inside your new template directory, you'll need to create two files: one for the HTML code and one for the Python code. The HTML file will be named after the template itself (e.g., my_template.html), and the Python file will be named after the view it belongs to (e.g., my_view.py).