Django Framework Fundamentals

What is Django?

• A free and open-source web framework written in Python
• Enables rapid development of secure, maintainable, and scalable websites
• Provides an architecture, templates, and APIs to build web applications quickly

Key Features of Django

• Modular design: Breaks down a project into smaller, reusable components (apps)
• ORM (Object-Relational Mapping): Abstracts database interactions, supports multiple databases
• ** Templating engine**: Provides a syntax for separating presentation logic from application logic
• Authentication and Authorization: Built-in system for user authentication and permission management
• Admin interface: Automatically generates a web-based interface for models

Django Project Structure

• Project directory: Top-level directory containing the project's configuration
• Apps: Reusable components that contain models, views, templates, and URLs
• settings.py: Configuration file for the project
• urls.py: Maps URLs to views
• wsgi.py: Entry point for the application

Django Request-Response Cycle

1. Client request: Client sends a request to the Django server
2. URL dispatcher: Maps the request URL to a view function
3. View function: Processes the request, interacts with models and templates
4. Model: Interacts with the database, retrieves or updates data
5. Template engine: Renders a template with data from the view
6. Response: Returns the rendered HTML response to the client

Django Models

• Database tables: Represented as Python classes, define the structure of the database
• Fields: Define the columns of the database table
• Meta options: Provide additional metadata for the model
• Methods: Define custom functionality for the model

Django Views

• Functions: Handle HTTP requests, interact with models and templates
• Class-based views: Organize views into reusable classes
• Generic views: Provide common functionality for CRUD operations