Django is insanely popular and widely used. It’s the blueprint for a full website. The creators of Django say that it’s a “complete web framework – batteries included.” This framework has made using Python for web development easier than ever before.
This application of Python was revolutionary for the already versatile programming language. It has set the stage for Python to creep into the number slot on the list of most popular programming languages in the world.
Have you been wondering if you should learn Django? You definitely should, but let’s take a look at what Django is and how it became so popular!
What is Django?
Django is a Python framework for web development that was first released in 2005. It is the most popular Python framework in the world and has an active and supportive community. Django is an all-in-one Python web application framework.
A framework is made up of chunks of reusable code that are standard and secure. Frameworks are often compared to blueprints. They provide a set of tools and functionalities that solve many of the common problems associated with the frameworks’ specialization.
This is a web framework, so it provides tools for web development such as security features, database accessibility, sessions, template processing, URL routing, internalization, localization, and more.
Django was designed to take care of most of the hassle of web development. It’s one of the most complete Python web frameworks. It encourages rapid development and is easily scalable. Django says it’s “the web framework for perfectionists with deadlines.
How Does Django Work?
Django uses the Model View Template (MVT) pattern, which is similar to the Model View Controller (MVC). The MVT is a design pattern made up of three components: model, view, and template.
The model handles the database and data access layer. The template is the presentation layer which handles the user interface (UI). The view executes business logic and interacts with a model to carry data.
Django is developed one component at a time utilizing independent architecture. That way, if a component needs to be replaced or changed it can be executed swiftly. Plus, it’s easier to debug than interdependent code.
What is Django used for?
Django is a framework for web development. It is quite versatile and can handle complex web applications like social media platforms or news sites, audio or video streaming platforms, and more.
Django offers everything a developer needs to create a web application in Python including:
- A standalone web server for development and testing
- Caching
- Middleware system
- Object-relational mapping
- A template engine
- Form processing
- Unit testing tools
- An authentication system
- An administrative interface
- Auto-generated pages for CRUD operations
- Syndication feed generation (RSS/Atom)
- Sitemaps
- Geographic information system (GIS)
On top of all that Django has to offer within its own package, it’s also compatible with any client-side framework and can deliver content in almost any format.
Who uses Django?
Learn how each company uses Django:
Why use Django?
Django is a “batteries included” framework which simply means that it provides almost everything a developer could need “out of the box.” Since every component is accounted for within the package and it follows consistent design principles, it ensures a complete application.
Django is open-source and has a huge, supportive community. A massive community means that Django is constantly being worked on, updated, made more secure, and help is easy to find. Django is perfect for most CRUD web applications but it can also be used to create more complex applications.
Django helps developers write versatile, secure, scalable, maintainable, and portable web applications. All of these components are beneficial for any web developer, but let’s take a closer look.
Django can be combined with other Python libraries to create a more complete and complex application. There are over open-source 100,000 Python packages, which includes libraries and frameworks, which gives developers the opportunity to create nearly anything with Python.
By providing a framework that has already been engineered properly and completely, Django enables developers to write more secure websites and manage user accounts and passwords. Without having to write the entire application from scratch, developers won’t make common mistakes that put a site’s security at risk.
By default, Django protects against various common vulnerabilities including SQL injection, cross-site scripting, cross-site request forgetting, and clickjacking. It allows developers to leave the complex cybersecurity to the professionals and focus on creating their platform.
Since Django is component-based and its architecture is inherently independent, it’s the perfect framework for an application that will need to scale up for more traffic. Each component that needs to be updated can be altered individually which allows for maximum scaling efficiency and reliably results in fewer bugs.
Python in general, but especially when using the Django framework, is written using design principles that encourage the development of maintainable and reusable code. This practice reduces the size of the codebase and makes it easier to collaborate with other developers.
Lastly, Python is one of the most versatile coding languages and when it’s combined with Django it makes for one of the most portable web applications. Using Django frees developers from any ties to a particular server platform.
What you need to know before learning Django
If you want to learn Django you should have basic Python knowledge and a high-level understanding of object-oriented programming, server-side web programming, and frameworks. Django is a framework, not its own language, so you’ll need to understand the language that it’s written in.
The basic Python skills you should master before diving into Python include understanding the syntax of Python, Python function, importing external modules, Python Path concepts, conditional operators and loops, string manipulation operations, regular expression, tuple, list, set, and dictionary.
