Essentials for Django Beginners

Are you interested in web development and looking for a reliable and efficient way to create Web applications? Django, which is a Python framework is one of the top and most popular web development frameworks in the world, and it is known for its simple and yet powerful, flexible and robust design. As a backend Django developer, you have the ability to create complex web applications that are capable of handling large amount of data and deliver seamless user experiences. In this article, I'll give you an overview of Django's architecture, as well as the key components, how they interact to create scalable and highly maintainable web applications. This article is suited to give beginners as well as experienced Django developers as basic understanding of how powerful the framework is and also help you get started on your next Django project.

History of Django

Django was created in 2003 by Adrian Holovaty and Simon Willison, who were web developers that were interested in having a more user-friendly and structured way of building web applications. The popular framework was named after the jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, and it was released two years later as open-source software in 2005.

Over time, Django has developed into a widely used and appreciated framework, with its robust features and global community of developers contributing to its growth. Some of the framework's key milestones include the release of the version 1.0 in 2008, this introduced a note-worthy improvement to Django's stability and performance. The release of the version 2.0 in 2017, which added support for python 3 and greatly improved the framework's security and scalability.

Today, Django is a household name and is used by various organizations and companies. Small startups to large enterprises, to develop a wide range of web applications, from e-commerce sites, content management systems as well as social networks and data-driven dashboards. With the framework's emphasis on clean and reusable code, and also its focus on developer productivity, Django continues to be a popular choice for developers who are interested in building scalable applications efficiently.

How Does Django Work?

Django makes it easier to create websites as it takes care of the difficult tasks, so you can concentrate on building your website or web application. Django emphasizes on being able to reuse components, also referred to as the DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) method. The framework also comes with ready-to-use features like the login system, database connection and **CRUD **operations (Create Read Update Delete) and other key features.

Django follows the MVT(Model-View-Template) architectural/Design pattern. What is the Model-View-Template?

1. Model: In Django, a model is a way to represent and interact with data in a database. The most common way to get data from the database is through SQL (Structured Query Language). Now, the problem with SQL is that you need to have a good understanding of the database structure to be able to work with it. Django makes it easier to communicate with the databases without writing complex SQL statements, and this is possible using what we call ORM (Object Relational Mapping). ORM is a technique designed to make working with the database easier. The models are located in a file called models.py
2. View: A view is a function or method (Class) that takes Http requests as arguments, and send HTTP responses after it interacts with the models. After which it imports the relevant models and use templates to render HTML or other content to the user.
3. Template: The template is for rendering the HTML or other content that is sent to the browser. In Django, the templates are written in a markup language called Django Template Language(DTL), and this provides a set of tags and filters for rendering dynamic content and controlling the flow of logic in the template.

In the MVT pattern, the controller logic of the MVC pattern is split between the view and the template. The view handles the input and the output logic of the application, while the templates handles the presentation logic. The model remains responsible for data and business logic, as in the MVC pattern.

Overall, the MVT pattern in Django provides a clear separation of concerns between the model, view, and template components, which makes it easier to develop, test, and maintain web applications over time.

We will go further to discuss some very important components of Django:

URL Routing: URL routing in Django is simply a way to connect URLs(Uniform Resource Locators) to views in your web application. The Routing provides you with a very clean and well organized structure for handling requests coming from users. For a better understanding of URL routing, think of it as a way of telling your Django application what to do when a user visits a particular URL. In simpler terms, it is giving instructions or directions to someone, when you tell them to take a certain direction, you are routing them towards their destination. So in the same way, when a user types in a URL into a browser, Django URL routing system directs them towards the designated view or function that will handle or process their request and return the appropriate response.
URL routing is very important in Django, as it allows developers to create clean and organized URLs for their web applications, thus making navigation of the application and understanding of the structure much easier and straightforward. It also provides the avenue for developers to write reusable codes that can handle multiple URLs and views, which in turn reduces duplication and making it easier to maintain the codebase. It is essential to remember that writing of reusable codes is a key feature of Django, and URL routing makes this possible.
Middleware: The middleware in Django is simply a way to add extra functions to the request and response cycle of a web application. They are a series of Python Classes that sit between the web server and the view function that handles requests, and they can modify requests and responses as it passes through. Middlewares can also be described as filters that intercepts and modifies requests and responses before they get to their final destination. A good example of a middleware is the authentication of users. Asides authentication, there are other inbuilt middleware classes such as, caching middlewares, and session middlewares. Developers can also write their own middleware classes to add custom functions to their applications. Middlewares are a key concept in Django, as they encourage developers to reuse codes across different views and function, thus improving code organization and reducing duplication.

Form Handling: This is a very important and interesting part of the Django Framework, as it allows users to interact with your web application and submit data. Django’s form handling system is built of its Model-View-Template architecture. Just as we explained above, the Model defines the structure of the data, the View handles the processing of users input, while the Template handles and defines the presentation of the data.
Django’s Form Handling system provides a range of tools for customizing the behaviour of forms, for example, a developer can define custom validation rules, custom widgets, and even customize how errors should be shown to users. Overall, form handling is critical in building web applications, and Django’s inbuilt forms framework makes it easy to create and process forms in a flexible and customizable way. This is a very intriguing topic in Django, and I will try to explain and dissect it more in the future.

Authentication and Authorization: These are two key concepts in web application security. In Django, these key concepts are handled by the in-built authentication and authorization system. Firstly, we’ll talk about authentication:
Authentication: This is the process of verifying a user's identity. In Django, a user can be verified using a range of methods, and they include, usernames and passwords, email and passwords, or a third-party authentication service like OAuth. As soon as a user is authenticated, Django assigns a user ID that is stored either in a cookie or in a database, depending on the configuration. After this, the session ID is used to track and monitor the user’s activity on the application and to maintain their authenticated state.
Authorization: This is the process of determining if a user has the permission to access a particular resource or to perform an action.
In Django, the authorization is handled using the inbuilt permission system. When a user attempts to to access a resource or perform an action, Django checks the permission associated with the resource or action. If the user has the required permission, the request can then be processed, if not, the user is denied access and redirected to an appropriate page. It is important to note that, like other key components of Django, the authentication and authorization system is highly configurable and developers can customize it to suit their application's specific security requirements. This system provides a solid foundation for building a secure and robust application.

Admin Site: Just like a number of other core components of Django, the Admin Site is an inbuilt feature that allows developers to create a web-based user interface for managing their content in their application. The admin site provides developers with an easy-to-use interface for managing users, models, groups, permission, and other specific site configurations.
The admin site is automatically generated based on the defined models in the application. By default, the admin site provides the developer with basic functions for adding, editing, and deleting objects from the database. Developers can also configure the admin site to meet their specific needs, and this can be done by modifying the admin.py file or simply by creating custom templates. Overall, the admin site in Django provides the developer with an efficient and flexible way of managing content in their application, thus making it easier for developers to focus on building the core functionality of their application.

Django is an incredibly powerful and versatile development framework for web applications, and it can help developers build complex web applications in no time and efficiently. With its robust features and scalability, it is no surprise that the Django framework has become one of the most popular web frameworks out there.
If you are interested in getting started with Django, there are a few things you should note. Firstly, familiarize yourself with the basics of python and web development. As soon as you feel comfortable with those, start exploring the Django documentation and tutorials to get a sense of how the framework works. Another important point is for you to join a vibrant Django community for support, resources and, inspiration.