To maintain the inconvenience in web development, experienced developers build Django-based app in Python. With the help of Django, one can focus on writing an app without any delay. DSF (Django Software Foundation) is an independent organization that maintains Django. It is an MVC framework. We will learn about Django in detail. Also, we will see how to use it, the benefits of using it, and the disadvantages of using it.
What is Django?
It is a high-level web framework that helps secure and maintains websites by following the model–template–views architectural pattern. It is acceptable for both the backend and frontend. We can use it for pragmatic and clean design. We do not need to know much about HTML and CSS for learning Django. But sometimes, it depends on the development team we are working around.
If we want a frontend, we need to grasp the HTML along with CSS and JavaScript in combination for developing Django. It helps in startups and large companies. NASA, Quora, Reddit, Prezi, The onion, and many others are there that leverages Django for creating their application. Django help to web applications handle HTTP with protocols. For example: chat bots, Web-Sockets, MQTT, etc.
What are the prerequisites for learning Django?
- We should know the basic Python syntax.
- We should know the functions of Python.
- We should know how to import external modules.
- We need to have a thorough understanding of loops and operators.
- We should know about Regular Expression.
- We should understand 'path' concepts.
- We should know about object-oriented concepts
How to Install Django?
- To install Django, we need to use PIP.
- Now we need to execute the command: pip install Django.
- It will help in installing and downloading Django.
- For verifying the installation, we will execute the command
django-admin --version.
Connecting SQL to Django
- Open python installer.
- Download python3.
- Go to the Python download site.
- Verify and install python.
- Open the 'installer' and follow the steps from the screen.
- After installing, run py-V.
We should use the Gunicorn server with Django. It is known as a pure-python server. With a single dyno, it can run many python processes.
Disadvantages of using Django
There are some disadvantages of using Django mentioned below.
- Due to the deficiency of conventions, many programmers don't like Django.
- It will not be efficient to use it for smaller projects.
- It has a monolithic framework.
- It also has many request issues.
- It has an abrupt learning curve.
MVT (Model-View-Template) architecture is a software design on which Django works.
Advantages of Using Django
- We use it for rapid development.
- It has high security.
- It is also time-tested.
- It is scalable.
- We can also use Django offline.
- It offers dynamic HTML pages.
By using 'Django REST', we can develop an app for Android. Due to the high-speed growth of the audience and new features, YouTube had to join the Django community. We can also use Django in Machine Learning.
There is a file in Django known as the 'WSGI' file. We can use it to direct the WSGI-compliant server. For changing Django output or input, we can use 'Middleware'. If we want to retrieve data or store it on a pre-site-visitor basis, we can use Session.
For caching the output for specific views, we can use cache. We can also use the 'signal dispatcher' if the action occurs somewhere else in the framework.
Conclusion
In this chapter, we learned what Django is and how to use Django. We also saw the benefits of using Django in the industry. It has many advantages and disadvantages as well. Even though it has high security and is scalable, we cannot use it for smaller projects. For large projects Django becomes efficient and effective as it eats up less development time.
But for developing apps in Django, proper knowledge of Python is essential. Download Django fron their official site: https://www.djangoproject.com/download/.