Overview of Django

Django is a high-level web framework for building web applications using the Python programming language. It is designed to enable developers to create powerful, secure, and easily managed websites quickly and effectively. It comes with a wide range of built-in features and tools, allowing developers to build complete applications without needing many third-party libraries. Thus, Django is a full-stack comprehensive Python framework. This documentation is built to be beginner-friendly and to support project-based development using Django.

Key Features of Django

Among the variations of Python frameworks, you might be wondering why to choose Django. Here are the key features that you might be interested in:

  • ORM (Object-Relational-Mapping): Django includes an ORM that allows developers to interact with their database using Python code instead of writing SQL queries.

  • Admin Interface: Django comes with a built-in, customizable admin interface that lets you manage your application’s data through a user-friendly web interface.

  • MTV Architecture: Django follows the Model-Template-View (MTV) architecture, which separates data (Model), user interface (Template), and application logic (View).

  • URL Routing: Django’s URL dispatcher allows you to design clean and readable URLs for your application, making navigation efficient.

  • Handling Forms: Django provides tools for handling forms, including validation and processing, which simplifies the process of collecting and handling user input.

  • Security Features: Django has built-in protection against common security threats like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and cross-site request forgery (CSRF).

  • Scalable and Extensible: Django is designed to handle high traffic and large-scale applications. With a large number of third-party packages available, Django can be extended to add more features and functionalities to your application.

Philosophy

The Django philosophy is grounded in principles that promote efficient, maintainable, and practical web development. It emphasizes rapid development, allowing developers to build and deploy applications quickly without compromising quality. The 'Don't Repeat Yourself' (DRY) principle focuses on reusability and minimizing redundancy in code, ensuring cleaner and more efficient development processes. Django values explicitness, favoring clear and straightforward code over hidden behaviors, which makes the code easier to understand and maintain. It also embraces loose coupling, ensuring that components are independent and interchangeable, providing flexibility to modify or replace parts of the application without affecting the whole system. Finally, Django's pragmatic design addresses real-world needs, equipping developers with robust tools to solve practical problems effectively. These guiding principles foster good software design and a maintainable codebase.