🏠 Django Home / Introduction / Get Started
🧲 Introduction – What is Django?
Django is a high-level Python web framework designed to promote rapid development and clean, pragmatic design. It takes care of much of the hassle in web development, allowing developers to focus on writing their apps instead of reinventing the wheel.
🎯 Django offers:
- A powerful ORM for database interaction
- A robust templating engine
- URL routing
- Integrated admin interface
- Built-in security features
Examples of major Django users include Instagram, Pinterest, Disqus, and The Washington Post.
🛠️ Why Use Django?
🔹 Batteries-Included: Everything from user authentication to RSS feeds is included.
🔹 Scalable: Used by high-traffic sites like Instagram.
🔹 Secure: Helps developers avoid common security mistakes.
🔹 Flexible & Maintainable: Encourages best practices and clean separation of concerns (MVT).
🧰 Setting Up Django
📌 1. Install Python
Ensure Python 3 is installed. Verify with:
$ python --version
If not installed, download it from python.org.
📌 2. Install pip (Python Package Installer)
Check with:
$ pip --version
🧪 Create a Virtual Environment
Use venv to isolate dependencies:
$ python -m venv env_orders
Activate it:
# Windows
$ env_orders\Scripts\activate
# macOS/Linux
$ source env_orders/bin/activate
⚙️ Install Django
Inside the virtual environment:
(env_orders) $ pip install django
Verify:
(env_orders) $ django-admin --version
🚀 Create a Django Project
Use the django-admin tool:
(env_orders) $ django-admin startproject pr_orders
Start the development server:
(env_orders) $ cd pr_orders
(env_orders) $ python manage.py runserver
Visit http://localhost:8000 to see the Django welcome page.
🧱 Create Your First Django App
Navigate to your project folder and run:
(env_orders) $ python manage.py startapp app_orders
🧩 Basic Folder Structure
env_orders/
│
├── pr_orders/ # Django project root
│ ├── settings.py # Configuration
│ ├── urls.py # Project-level URLs
│ └── ...
│
└── app_orders/ # Your Django app
├── models.py # Data models
├── views.py # Business logic
├── templates/ # HTML templates
├── urls.py # App-level URLs
└── ...
🌐 Add a Homepage (View + URL + Template)
views.py
from django.http import HttpResponse
def index(request):
return HttpResponse("Hello, world. Welcome to Django!")
urls.py (app_orders/urls.py)
from django.urls import path
from . import views
urlpatterns = [
path('', views.index, name='index'),
]
urls.py (project/pr_orders/urls.py)
from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import include, path
urlpatterns = [
path('', include('app_orders.urls')),
path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
]
Visit: http://localhost:8000 ➝ Displays: “Hello, world. Welcome to Django!”
📌 Summary – Recap & Next Steps
🔍 Key Takeaways:
- Django simplifies web development with a clean MVT architecture.
- Virtual environments isolate dependencies per project.
- The Django admin and development server are ready out-of-the-box.
⚙️ Real-World Relevance:
Mastering these fundamentals prepares you to build scalable, secure web apps quickly using Django.
