What is Django?

Simply put, Django is a high-level open-source web programming framework written in the Python programming language. Django is a framework that helps you build web applications faster and better compared to frameworks like Flask, and it is also much easier to use. Web programming involves integrating many components, such as handling user authentication, login, registration, and file uploads.

These are common tasks that would take a lot of time to implement from scratch.

Instead, by using the Django Framework, you already have a set of components ready to perform these common tasks.

It saves you time and effort.

Why should you use the Django Framework?

Django is fast and simple, allowing you to develop web applications quickly.

Furthermore, Django has excellent documentation and follows the DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) principle, which other frameworks may not emphasize as much. Django also supports ORM (Object-Relational Mapping).

A database can be updated via the command line using the following command:

`python manage.py migrate`

And migrations can be created using:

`python manage.py makemigrations`

Learn about the MVT Pattern of Django

Django utilizes the MVT (Model-View-Template) pattern instead of the MVC (Model-View-Controller) pattern.

The MVT pattern is used when creating a user-interaction application.

This pattern involves HTML code with the Django Template Language (DTL).

The Controller is the code written to control the interaction between the Model and View, and Django takes care of it easily.

Whenever a user makes a request, it processes that user's request using the Model, View, and Template.

It functions as a Controller to check its availability by mapping the URL, and if the URL is successfully mapped, the View will start interacting with the Model and send the Template back to the user as a response.

Guide to Installing Django

Installing Django is straightforward compared to other frameworks, but it differs across different operating systems.

You can download the latest version from their official website here: https://www.djangoproject.com/download/

It can be installed on Linux or Mac OS using a package manager or the pip installer.

For Windows, if Python is already installed on your computer, it will be checked if the Python Path is set as a system variable. You just need to extract and run the installer.

Django also supports various database types and can be configured as per requirements. It also integrates a lightweight server for development and testing applications.

How does Django make web programming easier?

Python follows a principle of "Simplicity is better than complexity."

Important Python packages such as Numpy, Scipy, Pillow, etc. are pre-installed with Python installation.

Here's a simple way to verify if Django is installed and ready to be imported into your project:

>>> import django
>>> print(django.get_version())

It provides everything you need to develop a complete application. It includes integrated templates using HTML, URL routing, ORM (Object-Relational Mapping), session management, and more.

Django also provides some tools for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). By using SEO frameworks, programmers can reduce page loading time through template caching and CSS/JavaScript compression.

Additionally, Django has a tool called robot.txt. Django even surpasses the expectations of SEO experts.

Top companies using the Django Framework

1. Instagram

Instagram is a social media platform for sharing photos and videos built with Python. Every second, Instagram processes a massive amount of data and handles a significant number of interactions among numerous users.

Django has helped Instagram handle all these tasks by keeping it simple, true to the spirit of Python.

2. Spotify

Spotify has taken the music industry to new heights by revolutionizing how people listen to music and making it accessible on any device.

Spotify uses Python for both the back-end service and machine learning with the Django Framework.

3. YouTube

YouTube is one of the most popular video-sharing platforms. Initially, it was a PHP-based project. However, to improve performance, YouTube migrated to Django.

4. Dropbox

Dropbox is one of the well-known cloud storage services for documents, videos, and images.

It is built using Python for both the Desktop software and Client Server. Dropbox utilizes the Django Framework to enable storage, synchronization, and provide options for sharing various file types.

5. Mozilla Browser

Surely there is no need to introduce the Mozilla Firefox browser, right?

Although the old components of Mozilla were not written in Python, the new components are implemented using Django.

For example, support websites and add-ons are built using Django. They have transitioned from PHP (CakePHP) to Python (Django Framework), enabling them to handle tens, hundreds, and millions of users every month, as well as a significant amount of API traffic daily.

6. Disqus

Disqus is the largest project implemented with Django. The Disqus developers have built the application from scratch using Django to scale and handle millions of users every day.

They have also used Django in one of their projects called Sentry, which is a widely known bug reporting tool among programmers today.

What can we do with the Django Framework?

You can create websites using the Django Framework.

Essentially, website functionalities such as connecting to databases, CRUD operations (create, read, update, and delete), security, user management, and creating RestAPIs are all supported by Django.

Django is not PHP.

It uses the Python programming language because it makes everything easier for you.

Because Python is simple, its documentation is also very straightforward and easy to understand. In summary, it is beneficial for all programmers.

It has over 3,000 available packages for users, and it is one of the first frameworks to promptly fix new security vulnerabilities.

 

Why should we use Django?

Django is built to facilitate rapid development with clean and pragmatic design.

Python's readability, simplicity, and comprehensiveness combined with Django's ease of use allow you to focus on complex issues and business logic rather than spending a lot of time on problems that others have already solved.

The perspective is "Don't reinvent the wheel."

Moreover, Django has a very good user authentication model with user configurability. This has made it a top choice when security is a priority for websites and applications.

It utilizes a range of Python components that are independent entities and not interdependent.

 

So, are there any cases when Django should not be used?

Yes, Django is not the best framework for every situation.

While it provides a solid foundation for large projects, it is often overkill for small projects.

Django should not be used to build small websites. This is where Flask Framework comes in (which is another Python web framework).

Advantages of the Django Framework:
1. It is a Python language

As mentioned, Django is written in Python, and it inherits all the qualities of Python.

It is simple, easy to learn and implement, has shorter code, and a larger library.

2. Best solution for the financial sector

Django and Python are the core solutions for Fintech companies in Silicon Valley, IT giants, Blue chip, and the Internet of Things.

3. Simple administration interface

The administration interface provided by Django can be easily created and is one of the main advantages of using the framework.

4. Comprehensive library support

Django provides libraries that include string operations, web services, operating system interfaces, and standard protocols.

5. Scalability

Django is used to handle large and massive traffic demands (YouTube, Instagram being examples).

It allows you to perform various actions for project scalability, such as running separate servers for databases and even using clustering or load balancing to distribute the application across multiple servers.

Limitations of Django:

Defining URLs with regular expressions is not an easy task for beginners learning Python. Hidden template errors can waste a lot of time.

Django gives a monolithic feel because it is a powerful framework.

It lacks the ability to handle different requests simultaneously as it does not empower individual procedures to handle multiple requests at the same time. Developers often have to consider using different methods to execute a workflow for handling multiple requests simultaneously.

The Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) system allows developers to work on different databases simultaneously, but it lacks some key features provided by other ORM systems. It is designed in a way that does not allow developers to fully use SQLAlchemy.

Conclusion:

Django allows you to quickly and easily solve a large number of tasks. It makes software development with Python affordable and straightforward.

The ORM has its drawbacks, but the Django REST Framework turns its weaknesses into advantages because the interface provided by Django ORM is the best for REST.

A significant advantage of the Django REST Framework is that it has perfect interactivity models, but it can also work with implementing Data Mapper Patterns.

Using Django also heavily depends on your team and the goals you set with the help of Django.

And the short development time is something Django can assist with. This is particularly important if you are outsourcing software development, where your average project duration will not exceed a year, the project budget is low, and the deadline is tight.

It also facilitates easy serialization of data and distribution in XML or JSON format. This is useful when creating web services or a data-driven website used by other websites or applications.