Introduction and Installation of Django

Hello everyone, In this article we are going to study everything you need to know about Django and its installation using python. We will clearly explain the installation of Django using the pip (package Installer for python).

Introduction

Django is a very popular open-source python based web framework for building web apps and APIs with python, invented in 2003 by Lawrence Journal-World. It helps in building websites in less time with few lines of code. The installation of Django is can be easily done via pip packages.

What is Django

Django is an open-source web framework written in Python. It is designed to help developers create powerful and dynamic websites and applications quickly and easily. Django is built on the Model-View-Template (MVT) architecture and follows the Don’t Repeat Yourself (DRY) principle.

It is a powerful tool for building web applications and comes with a range of built-in features, including an object-relational mapper (ORM) and an authentication system. There is also a large community of developers who can help you with any problems you encounter.

Why do we use Django?

A robust and flexible MVC (Model-View-Template) architecture that follows the principle of “Don’t Repeat Yourself” (DRY).
A powerful ORM (Object-Relational Mapper) that allows you to interact with your database in a Pythonic way, without the need to write raw SQL queries.
A built-in authentication system that handles user accounts, permissions, and groups.
A template engine that allows you to define the structure of your HTML templates and dynamically insert data into them.
A form system that makes it easy to validate and process user input.
Tools for caching, internationalization, and localization.
A built-in testing framework that makes it easy to write and run unit tests.

Overall, Django is a popular choice for web development because it provides a fast and efficient way to build and deploy web applications. It’s also well-suited for projects that require a lot of custom functionality, as it provides a wide range of built-in features and a flexible, extensible architecture.

Popularity of Django

Django is a popular and widely-used web framework for Python. It is known for its simplicity, flexibility, and scalability, and has been used to build a wide range of applications, from small websites to large, complex web applications.

According to the latest survey conducted by the Python Software Foundation, Django is the second most popular web framework for Python, with a 29% market share. It is used by a large number of companies and organizations, including Instagram, The Washington Post, and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

In addition to its popularity as a web framework, Django has a large and active community of developers who contribute to the project and provide support to users. There are also many resources available for learning Django, including online tutorials, books, and conferences. All of these factors contribute to Django’s popularity and make it an attractive choice for web development with Python.

Features of Django

Rapid development

Django is designed to help developers take applications from concept to completion as quickly as possible. It includes many features out-of-the-box, such as an object-relational mapper (ORM), a template engine, and a built-in

Secure

Django takes security seriously and includes a number of security features to protect against common web vulnerabilities, such as cross-site scripting (XSS) and SQL injection attacks.

Scalability

Django is built to scale. It uses a component-based architecture that allows developers to reuse components across different projects, which can save time and improve maintainability.

Fully Loaded Versatility of Django

Django is a highly versatile web framework that can be used to build a wide range of applications. Some examples of the types of applications that can be built using Django include:

Websites: Django can be used to build all types of websites, including brochure-style sites, news sites, blogs, and more.
Social media platforms: Django can be used to build social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, which require the ability to handle large amounts of user-generated content.
E-commerce platforms: Django can be used to build e-commerce platforms, such as online stores, that allow users to browse and purchase products.
Content management systems (CMS): Django can be used to build CMSs, which are used to manage and publish digital content, such as text, images, and videos.
Data-driven applications: Django can be used to build data-driven applications, such as dashboards and data analysis tools, that allow users to visualize and interact with large datasets.

Overall, Django is a powerful and flexible framework that can be used to build a wide range of applications.

Open Source

Django is a free and open-source web framework written in Python that is designed to help developers take applications from concept to completion as quickly as possible. You can check out the Django GitHub profile.

Vast and Supported Community

Django has a large and active community of developers and users who contribute to the framework and create reusable components that can be easily integrated into projects. This community helps to ensure that Django is well-supported and constantly improving.

Installation of Django

Installing Python, pip

Let’s move into the python environment setup for windows, mac, or Linux. Download the python latest version from here.

Check the version of python using the following command

$  python –-version
Code language: Bash (bash)

If you are a mac user, then follow the:

$ python3 –-version
Code language: Bash (bash)

Now let’s install the pip. For Windows users open the command prompt and enter the following command

python -m pip install -U pip
Code language: Bash (bash)

For mac users copy and paste the following command into the terminal

curl https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py -o get-pip.py
Code language: Bash (bash)

Now one last step. Enter this command. This is going to install the pip.

python3 get-pip.py
Code language: Bash (bash)

For Linux users

sudo apt install python3-pip
Code language: Bash (bash)

Installing & Setting virtual environment

So we need to create a virtual environment before getting started. You need to learn how it works, let’s move forward. So virtual environment acts as a lens on how to look at a project and what packages have we installed, so if we have two different python websites with two different versions of python, packages then it takes to control that which should be used for which application otherwise one version is used for all applications. Takes control so that our application dependencies will not clash with other application dependencies.

To create a virtual environment enter the following commands.

pip install virtualenv
Code language: Bash (bash)

To activate the virtual environment

virtualenv env_site
Code language: Bash (bash)

Change the directory to env_site by this command-

cd env_site
Code language: Bash (bash)

One final step go to the Scripts directory inside env_site and activate the virtual environment-

$ cd Scripts
$ activate

Install Django

Now there is one last step in the installation of Django. Enter the following command in the terminal

pip install django

Now create a directory. Navigate to that directory in the terminal using the Unix commands. If you are not familiar with these commands you learn more about them here. Once you have the path in your terminal enter the following command

django-admin startproject <projectname>
Code language: Bash (bash)

This command will create a directory with the project name you have mentioned above.

Start Server

Now change to that directory there you can find the manage.py file. We need to run that file to run that enter the following command

python manage.py runserver
Code language: CSS (css)

It starts the Development server at this address so copy and paste it into the browser. We can also quit the server using (ctrl+C).

Django Architecture Benefits

Django is a free and open-source web framework written in Python that follows the model-template-view (MTV) architectural pattern. Some benefits of using the Django architecture include Rapid development, Secure, Scalable, Fully loaded Versatile, Open Source, Vast, and Supported Community. We have discussed them in detail in the features section.

Disadvantages of MVC Architecture

Complexity: MVC can add an additional level of complexity to a project, as it requires the developer to divide the application into three distinct parts. This can make it more difficult to understand and maintain the codebase.
Overhead: MVC can require more overhead than some other architectures, as it involves maintaining multiple components and the relationships between them. This can make it more difficult to scale the application as it grows.
Tight coupling: The MVC architecture can lead to tight coupling between the model and the view, as changes to the model may require corresponding changes to the view. This can make it more difficult to make changes to the application without affecting other parts of the codebase.
Lack of flexibility: MVC can be inflexible in some cases, as it requires a strict separation of concerns between the model, view, and controller. This can make it difficult to modify the architecture to fit the specific needs of a project.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Django is a Python programming language-based web framework. And follows an MVC architecture, which separates the different aspects of an application into distinct layers. Installation of Django is important process make sure you have a stable internet connection before downloading the stuff.

Some of the main features of Django include a robust ORM, a built-in authentication system, a template engine, a form system, tools for caching, internationalization, and localization, and a built-in testing framework. Django is used by many large companies and is well-suited for projects that require a lot of custom functionality. It is easy to install and get started with, making it a popular choice for web development projects. You can read more about Django here.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to install Django step by step?

Here are the steps to install Django:

Install Python
Install pip
Setup virtual environment
Setup virtual environment
Install Django

What is Django’s introduction?

It was invented in 2003 by Lawrence Journal-World and has since become one of the most popular web frameworks for Python. It is a backend python framework

What are the features of Django?

Some benefits of using Django include Rapid development, Secure, Scalable, Fully loaded Versatile, Open Source, Vast, and Supported Community. Django has excellent documentation, which makes it easier for developers to learn and use the framework. It includes a comprehensive tutorial, a user guide, and reference documentation for all of the components in the framework.

What is Django’s role?

Its main role is to provide a set of tools and features that make it easier to build and maintain web applications. Django is a backend python web framework. So it has a lot of applications in the backend.

Is it a back end or a front end?

Django is a back-end web framework. It is written in Python and is used to build the backend of web applications. The backend is the part of the application that runs on a server and is responsible for storing and managing data, processing requests from the front end, and providing an API for the front end to interact with.

In general, Django is used to build the back-end of web applications, while front-end technologies are used to build the user interface. However, it is possible to use Django to build the front end as well, using its template engine and other tools.

What are the steps to install Django?

First, install the latest version of python from the python official website
Then you need to install the pip
Get your database running.
Install the Django code
Installing an official release with pip
Installing a distribution-specific package
Installing the development version