Django Tutorial: Let’s take a deep dive into Django’s web framework

by TechVidvan Team

Today, we’ll look at a popular framework that many businesses use to build online apps. In this Django
tutorial, we’ll go over the basics of the framework.

This Django course is designed for web developers who are new to the framework and will show you how
to create web apps using Django so that you can create websites with this Python backend.

We’ll learn about the Django framework, why you should learn it, its features, architecture, and benefits
in this tutorial. In this Django tutorial, we’ll also go over the prerequisites for learning Django, the history
of Django, and the companies that utilise it.

When we hear the word “Django”, we immediately ask ourselves, “What is Django?” and “What are the
uses of Django?” Let’s start our journey with the definition of Django.

What is Django?

Django is a high-level Python web application framework that facilitates quick web application
development. It accomplishes this through a pragmatic, much cleaner design that is also simple to use (in
comparison to other frameworks), making it a popular choice among web developers.

It’s a backend framework for resolving database connectivity issues, other server issues, SEO solutions,
and so on so that a web developer doesn’t have to create the same code for each website’s identical
modules (such as database connection, admin interface).

The Django framework provides all of the functionality in the form of web applications. You just import
those applications as needed, allowing you to focus on your website’s specific application rather than all
of these underlying difficulties.

Why use Django?

A web framework is a collection of modular tools that withdraw away a lot of the complexity–and
repetition–in web development. Most websites, for example, require the same fundamental functionality:
the ability to connect to a database, configure URL routes, display content on a page, and appropriately
handle security.

Rather than reinventing the wheel, programmers have created web frameworks in all of the major
programming languages, including Python’s Django and Flask, Ruby’s Rails, and JavaScript’s Express,
among many others.

Django takes Python’s “batteries-included” approach and includes out-of-the-box support for basic web
development tasks, such as:

• user authentication

• testing

• database models, forms, URL routes, and templates

• admin interface

• security and performance upgrades

• support for multiple database backends

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Instead of recreating the wheel every time for conventional, secure online application functionality, this
method allows web developers to focus on what makes a website special.

Several popular frameworks, including Python’s Flask and JavaScript’s Express, take a “microframework”
approach. They only supply the bare minimum for a basic web page, leaving it up to the developer to
install and configure third-party packages to reproduce basic website functionality. This method gives the
developer more flexibility, but it also increases the chances of making mistakes.

Django has already been used by millions of programmers to create websites, which is undoubtedly a
positive thing. Web creation is difficult. It’s pointless to rewrite the same code–and make the same
mistakes–when a big community of great developers has already done it.

Django, on the other hand, is still in active development and has a yearly release plan. The Django
community is always introducing new features and improving security. And, most of all, it’s developed in
the Python programming language, which is both readable and powerful. In short, if you’re starting from
scratch, Django is an excellent choice.

History of Django

Django Reinhardt, the guitarist, was honoured with the framework’s name. Adrian Holovaty and Simon
Willison, two web engineers at the Lawrence Journal-World newspaper, founded Django in 2003. It was
released to the public under the BSD licence in July 2005.

Django was created because it inherited Python’s “batteries-included” approach and contains premade
modules and applications for typical web development chores such as user authentication, templates,
routes, and views, an admin interface, solid security, and support for numerous database backends.

It has solved certain important challenges for web developers that were previously solved at the cost of
time and money.

Django Version History

Version Date Description

0.90 16 Nov 2005 –

0.91 11 Jan 2006 magic removal

0.96 23 Mar 2007 newforms, testing tools

1.0 3 Sep 2008 API stability, decoupled admin, Unicode

1.1 29 Jul 2009 Aggregates, transaction-based tests

1.2 17 May 2010 Multiple db connections, CSRF, model validation

1.3 23 Mar 2011 Time Zones, in-browser testing, app templates.

1.5 26 Feb 2013 Support for Python 3 and a user model that can be customised.

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1.6 6 Nov 2013 Dedicated to Malcolm Tredinnick, connection pooling, and database transacti

1.7 2 Sep 2014 Migrations, application loading and configuration.

1.8 LTS 2 Sep 2014 Migrations, application loading and configuration.

1.9 1 Dec 2015 Automatic password validation. New styling for the admin interface.

1.10 1 Aug 2016 Full-text search for PostgreSQL. New-style middleware.

1.11 1.11 LTS The last version is to support Python 2.7. Supported until at least April 2020

2.0 Dec 2017 First Python 3-only release, Simplified URL routing syntax, Mobile friendly adm

How Popular is Django?

There is no technique to measure the popularity of server-side frameworks that is both trustworthy and
accurate ( Although measures such as tracking the number of GitHub projects and StackOverflow inquiries
for each platform can be used to determine popularity.)

A better thing to ask is if Django is “popular enough” to avoid the issues that come with unpopular
platforms. Is it still developing? Or is it possible to seek assistance if you require it? Is there a chance you’ll
be able to get compensated if you learn Django?

Yes, Django is a popular framework, based on the number of high-profile websites that use it, the number
of individuals contributing to the codebase, and the number of people giving both free and commercial
support.

Disqus, Instagram, Knight Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Mozilla, National Geographic, Open
Knowledge Foundation, and Pinterest are just a few of the high-profile sites that adopt Django.

Is Django “opinionated” or “unopinionated”?

The terms “opinionated” and “unopinionated” are frequently used to describe web frameworks.

Opinionated frames have strong outlooks about the “correct” approach to complete a task. Because the
appropriate way to accomplish something is usually well-understood and well-documented, they
frequently support rapid development in a specific domain (fixing problems of a specific sort). They are,
however, less versatile when it comes to handling challenges outside of their primary domain, with fewer
options for components and methodologies.

Unopinionated frameworks, on the other hand, contain significantly fewer constraints on how to connect
components to achieve a goal, or even what components should be employed. They make it a lot easier
for developers to employ the best tools for a given work but at the risk of having to find those components
yourself.

Hence, Django is “a little opinionated,” therefore it gives you the “best of both worlds”. It includes a set of
components for most web development jobs, as well as one (or two)recommended methods for using
them. Django’s loosely coupled architecture, on the other hand, allows you to pick and choose from a
variety of alternatives, or provide support for entirely new ones if necessary.

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Prerequisites to Learn Django

You should be familiar with Python and have a basic understanding of the command line
interface/PowerShell for Windows or Terminal for macOS/Linux.

Learning Django simply takes a basic understanding of these technologies, thus even a Django newbie may
quickly pick up the framework.

Overview on the Reasons to Learn Django

We should understand why we should learn a technology before we start learning it. So, here are some of
the reasons why you should learn Django.

Django has a lot of features and is a future-oriented emerging technology. It is worthwhile to learn Django
because it is based on Python, which is a very powerful language that will also be used significantly in the
future.

The following are some compelling reasons to learn Django:

1. Django Has Changed Through the Years

Since its release, Django has grown in popularity, and it is still going strong after more than a decade in the
business. It’s been a long time, and several releases have occurred throughout that time.

Django has corrected numerous security vulnerabilities and added other features, therefore this period
accounts for Django’s stability as well as the technology’s capacity to remain competitive.

2. Open-Source Technology

Django is an open-source technology, which means that where the documents aren’t given the attention
they deserve, this isn’t the case with Django.

Django has outstanding documentation from its release in 2005, and it is still well maintained, implying
that at the time of release, it was the only framework with decent documentation.

3. Great Community

The Django framework community is one of the best out there since they support all projects and respond
to any queries helpfully. One of the reasons for the Django community’s rapid growth is this.

As a result, more and more people are turning to Django, and it will become more widely used in the
future. This is why it is an excellent complement to your resume.

4. Pre-installed Packages

Because Django has such a vibrant community. It also contains several packages that might help you
address your difficulties quickly. These packages are easy to find thanks to well-maintained
documentation, allowing for quick developments.

Django Framework’s Features

Since the framework’s introduction, the Django project’s stability, performance, and community have
exploded. With each version, the Django framework gains additional features such as database migrations
and many more.

1. Stability

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Django is generally one of the first frameworks to respond to a newly discovered vulnerability. It signifies
that Django is a tested framework that has evolved through time. Django fixes a lot of bugs, but not all of
them.

As you’ve probably heard, “Humans get wiser with age; software improves through time”, which is a good
say for Django.

2. Documentation is excellent

Despite being an open-source project, Django provides excellent documentation, which is always up to
date by Django developers. It was one of the key characteristics that set Django different from other open-
source projects when it was first introduced, and it has only become better over time.

3. High Scalability

When employing any technology on larger projects with a vast scope, scalability is a critical consideration.
Django can run on any hardware you throw at it while yet being able to develop on smaller devices.

It’s built on a “share-nothing” architecture, which means you may add hardware at any level, including
database, server, web, and cache servers.

4. Handles Security Problems

Django eliminates many security vulnerabilities that exist in PHP frameworks by default. Django
accomplishes this by dynamically producing web pages and using templates to convey data to web
browsers via direct internet access.

5. Makes use of SEO

SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization,” which is a method of enhancing the quantity and quality of
traffic to your website by using natural search engine results. The lines between web development and
SEO appear to be blurring all the time. However, with Django, this should be less of an issue.

The Django framework uses human-readable website URLs, which aids search engines and is beneficial
not only to users but also to search engine algorithms that use the keywords in the URL when ranking
sites.

6. A Large Package Library

The Django community is large and supportive, and they supply packages for practically anything you
would need in a website, allowing you to quickly create management systems that suit your needs.

7. Possibilities for Pragmatic and Robust Design

Django’s key advantages include the ability to develop full-scale web applications with ease. Its code is
written from scratch rather than relying on pre-existing Python libraries.

What is a Web Framework?

A web framework is a piece of software that allows you to create and operate web applications. As a result,
you won’t have to waste time writing code on your own and hunting for errors and problems.

All applications were hand-coded in the early days of web development, and only the app’s developer
could alter or distribute it. The introduction of web frameworks provided a simple way out of this bind.
Because of the appearance of general performance, all the bother associated with updating an

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application’s structure has been put in order since 1995. Then came the emergence of web-specific
languages. Their wide range of options is now suitable for both static and dynamic web pages. Depending
on your purpose, you can choose a single framework that meets all of your requirements or combine
multiple.

Understanding Django’s Architecture:

We’ll start with the web application framework before moving on to Django architecture. The web
application framework is a programme that offers you pre-written components and modules to make
online applications easier.

Django offers a lot of features that make it extremely efficient, simple, and enjoyable to use. Django is built
on the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture, which is made up of three parts: model, view, and
controller.

Django’s design is MVT (Model-View-Template), with Template replacing View and View replacing
Controller. The procedure is the same, with the change of the terminologies.

There is a common misperception that the view in MVT functions similarly to the controller in MVC.
However, this is not the case. In the coming articles, we’ll go through this in greater detail.

• Model:

The model, which is represented by a database, is the logical data structure that supports the entire
application (generally relational databases such as MySQL, Postgres).

• View:

When you visit a website, the View is the user interface that appears in your browser. HTML/CSS/JavaScript
files are used to display it.

• Controller:

The Controller acts as a link between the view and the model. Data is transferred from the model to the
view via the controller.

Your application will revolve around the model in MVC design, either displaying it or altering it.

For example, a user will type a URL into their browser, and the request will be sent to a server over the
internet protocol (HTTP), which will then call Django.

If the URL path matches, Django will call the Controller, which will retrieve an entry from your database
and render a View (HTML/CSS/JavaScript Web page).

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MVC Architecture’s Drawbacks –

1. The framework’s navigation can be difficult at times. Users understand the MVC decomposition criteria
as a result of the introduction of three layers with abstractions.

2. Parallel programming requires multiple developers.

3. Expertise in a variety of technologies is required.

4. Keeping track of a large number of codes in the controller.

How does Django code appear?

A web application waits for HTTP requests from the web browser in a standard data-driven website (or
other clients).

When an application receives a request, it determines what is required based on the URL and perhaps
information in the POST or GET payload. It may next read or write information from a database or do other
operations to complete the request, depending on what is necessary.

The program will then send a response to the web browser, commonly by putting the acquired data into
placeholders in an HTML template and dynamically constructing an HTML page for the browser to display.

The code for each of these steps is usually split up into separate files in Django web applications:

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Urls:

While it is possible to process requests from all URLs with a single function, writing a separate view
function for each resource is far more maintainable. Based on the request URL, a URL mapper is used to
redirect HTTP requests to the appropriate view. The URL mapper can also look for specific patterns of
strings or digits in a URL and transmit them as data to a view function.

View:

A view is an HTTP request handler function that receives and responds to HTTP requests. Django Models
provide views with the data they need to fulfil requests, while templates handle the return formatting.

Models:

Models are Python objects that specify the structure of an application’s data and provide techniques for
managing (adding, modifying, and deleting) and querying database entries.

Templates:

Templates are text files that define the structure or layout of a file (such as an HTML page), with
placeholders for actual content. A view can use an HTML template to dynamically construct an HTML page
and populate it with data from a model. You can use a template to define the structure of any sort of file;
it doesn’t have to be HTML!

Sending a request to the appropriate view (urls.py).

A URL mapper is usually saved in the urls.py file. The mapper (urlpatterns) in the example below defines a
set of mappings between routes (particular URL patterns) and view functions. The accompanying view
function will be invoked and passed the request if an HTTP Request is received with a URL matching a
specified pattern.

Let’s study these concepts with the help of the following codes.

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from django.contrib import admin

from django.urls import path

from Employee import views

urlpatterns = [

path('admin/', admin.site.urls),

path('TechVidvan/', views.Employee_Details),

Urls.py file

Views.py (handling the request):

Views are the heart of the web application, receiving and responding to HTTP requests from online clients.
They use the framework’s other resources in the meanwhile to access databases, render templates, and
so forth.

The example below demonstrates a simple view function index(), which might have been called by our
URL mapper from earlier. It takes an HttpRequest object as a parameter (request) and returns a
HttpResponse object, much like all view functions. We don’t do anything with the request in this scenario,
and our answer is a hard-coded string.

from django.shortcuts import render, redirect

from django.http import HttpResponse

# Create your views here.

def Employee_Details(request):

return render (request,'Employee_details.html')

Data model definition (models.py):

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Models are Python objects that Django web applications use to manage and query data. Models determine
the structure of stored data, including field types and optionally their maximum size, default values,
selection list options, documentation help text, form label text, and so on.

from django.db import models

# Create your models here.

class Employee(models.Model):

Empid= models.IntegerField()

name= models.CharField(max_length=25)

address= models.CharField(max_length=100)

salary= models.IntegerField()

Department= models.CharField(max_length=25)

Data rendering (HTML templates):

By providing placeholders for data that will be filled in when the page is generated, template systems allow
you to establish the structure of an output document. Templates are commonly used to construct HTML,
but they can also be used to build other documents. Django comes with support for both its templating
system and Jinja2, a popular Python package (it can also be made to support other systems if needed).

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html>

<head>

<style>

body{

background-color:burlywood;

</style>

<title>Employee_details</title>

</head>

<body>

<h1>The Employees Here at TechVidvan</h1>

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 Employee name: {{ first_name }}

</body>

</html>

Companies that use Django include

Django is widely used by many large names, and you should be utilising it as well. They alter the framework
a lot and use it according to their needs, but it’s still Django at its heart.

We have the following websites that use Django:

1. Instagram

Instagram is a very popular social media app. It is one of the most widely used social media apps. Instagram
is built on Django, and they’ve recently joined the Django Software Foundation as a gold sponsor (DSF).

Django works well with other technologies, such as iOS and Android apps. As a result, Instagram can launch
rapidly while simultaneously managing millions of active users.

2. Disqus

The Disqus software was built from the ground up using Python and Django, making it one of the largest
Django projects out there. They needed their websites to be able to manage a large number of concurrent
users

They also created sentry, a state-of-the-art tool that checks for mistakes and is also built on Django.

3. Spotify

Spotify has revolutionised the way we listen to music, and it accomplishes it by implementing machine
learning in Python. Python-based AI is used to manage the large song libraries and training.

It uses Django for its web applications to combine things, giving you a full Python experience on Spotify.

4. YouTube

YouTube is the world’s largest video hosting platform, including everything you can think of. It’s a terrific
place to watch videos for pleasure, learning, and other purposes. They were previously utilising PHP, but
are currently switching to Django.

The rationale for this is that it allows for faster development and can handle a large number of active users.
Maintaining the website’s security and speed at the same time.

Visit the Django Sites database for more examples; they have a list of over 5000 Django-powered websites.

There are many more such applications that include django as their web framework. We will discuss the
list of all these famous websites in our upcoming article.

Advantages of Django

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The Django project is responsible for putting the design concepts into action. These are some of the key
features that distinguish Django from other frameworks.

1. Loosely Coupled

The Django framework is loosely connected but firmly bonded, thus different levels of the framework do
not need to “know” about one another until it is required. Django has a security advantage over other
frameworks because of it.

2. Lesser Code

Django takes full advantage of pre-written apps, requiring you to write far less code.
Django is also created from the ground up in Python, without the use of any libraries, even though it has
several common functions. Django’s code is highly optimised for online usage, making it significantly more
efficient.

3. DIR (Don’t Repeat Yourself)

Multiple copies of something take up more space and provide less functionality, and the bulkier the code
is on the web, the more bandwidth it consumes from the end-user.

This is a typical coding strategy, but Django takes it a step further. It also provides applications for all of the
things you may ever require. As a result, you don’t have to write anything that has already been written
on other websites; instead, concentrate on your own.

4. Consistency

The basic function of web applications is to act as intermediaries between various technologies.
Furthermore, the framework is consistent at all levels and performs consistently. Even if the model is too
large or the project is modest, this can happen.

5. Versatile

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Django is capable of handling a wide range of tasks, including content management, scientific computing
platforms, and even large companies.

6. Rapid Development

Django’s philosophy is to do everything it can to make development as quickly as possible.

7. Clean Design

Django maintains a clean design across its own code, making it simple to follow.

8. Object-Relational Mapping (ORM)

Django acts as a link between the data model and the database engine, and it supports a wide range of
databases such as MySQL, Oracle, and Postgres. Django’s Django-nonrel branch also supports NoSQL
databases. MongoDB and Google App Engine are the two NoSQL databases that are currently supported.

9. Multilingual Support

Django’s built-in internationalisation framework makes it possible to create multilingual websites. As a

10. Framework Support

Django comes with built-in support for Ajax, RSS, Caching, and a variety of other frameworks.

11. Administration GUI:

Django offers a wonderful ready-to-use user interface for administration tasks.

12. Development Environment

Django includes a lightweight web server for end-to-end application development and testing.

Is there anything else you can do?

URL mapping, views, models, and templates are the major aspects that you’ll utilise in practically every
online application, as seen in the prior sections. Django also provides several other features, such as:

Forms

HTML Forms are used to collect data from users for server processing. Django makes creating, validating,
and processing forms easier.

User authentication and permissions

Django has a secure user authentication and permission system.

Caching

Creating dynamic material takes a lot more computing power (and time) than delivering static content.
Django has configurable caching, allowing you to save all or part of a rendered page so that it is only re-
rendered when necessary.

Administration Site

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When you use the basic skeleton to build an app, the Django administration site is automatically added.
It’s a cinch to provide site administrators access to an admin page where they can create, change, and
examine any data models on your site.

Data serialisation

Django makes it simple to serialise and serve your data in XML or JSON format. This is beneficial when
building a web service (a website that only feeds data to other applications or sites and does not display
anything), or when building a website where the client-side JavaScript handles all data presentation.

Disadvantages of Django Framework

• It is unable to handle numerous queries at once.

• It has an impact on the performance of small web apps.

• To work with Django, you must be familiar with the complete system.

• Regex isn’t easy to use for URL specification.

Summary

Congratulations on taking the first step on your Django adventure! You should now have a basic
understanding of Django’s primary advantages, a brief history of the language, and an approximate idea
of what each of the main components of a Django programme might look like. You should have a basic
understanding of the Python programming language, including list, function, and class syntax.

You’ve already seen some real Django code, but you’ll need to build up a development environment to
run it, unlike client-side code. That is the next stage for us.

Do you have any questions or comments about the Django tutorial? Please provide your opinions in the
comments section.

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