{"id":2411,"date":"2026-10-08T11:42:39","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T11:42:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entri.app\/explore\/?post_type=curriculum&p=2411"},"modified":"2026-10-08T12:50:42","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T12:50:42","slug":"introduction-to-python-django","status":"publish","type":"curriculum","link":"https:\/\/entri.app\/explore\/python-programming\/introduction-to-python-django\/","title":{"rendered":"Introduction to Python Django"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Is Django? The Python Web Framework Explained<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Django is a free, open-source, high-level web framework written in Python that helps developers build secure, database-driven websites and web applications quickly. It follows the Model-View-Template (MVT) pattern and ships “batteries included”: an ORM, an admin panel, authentication, forms and security protections come built in, so you write far less boilerplate code.<\/p>\n

Python programming with Django is a top choice for developers aiming to build scalable, secure and high-performance web applications. Developers favour Django for its simplicity, versatility and robust framework powered by Python, which enables rapid development and clean design.<\/p>\n

Django was created in 2003\u20132005 by web developers at the Lawrence Journal-World newspaper, released as open source in 2005, and is now maintained by the non-profit Django Software Foundation (DSF)<\/b><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

What Is Django Used For?<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Django is used to build the server side (backend)<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0of web applications: the part that stores data, applies business rules, checks who is logged in, and sends HTML pages or JSON to a browser or mobile app. Typical uses include:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • <\/b>Content-heavy websites and CMSs<\/b><\/strong>: news sites, blogs and documentation portals (Django began at a newspaper).<\/li>\n
  • <\/b>E-commerce stores<\/b><\/strong>: catalogues, carts and orders, often with frameworks such as Django Oscar.<\/li>\n
  • <\/b>SaaS products, dashboards and internal tools<\/b><\/strong>: the built-in admin gives non-developers a data-entry interface on day one.<\/li>\n
  • <\/b>REST APIs<\/b><\/strong>for React, Flutter or Android\/iOS apps, built with Django REST Framework (DRF).<\/li>\n
  • <\/b>AI-powered web apps<\/b><\/strong>: wrapping a machine-learning model or an LLM API call behind a Django view so users can access it through a web page.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Well-known sites built with Django include Instagram<\/b><\/strong>, Disqus<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0and Mozilla’s add-ons site.<\/p>\n

    How Does Django Work? The MVT Architecture<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Django’s architecture is MVT (Model-View-Template)<\/b><\/strong>. The Model\u00a0defines your data, the View\u00a0holds the logic for a request, and the Template\u00a0produces the HTML. A URL dispatcher connects incoming URLs to views. Here is what happens when someone opens a page on a Django site:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. The browser sends an HTTP request. A WSGI or ASGI server (for example Gunicorn or Uvicorn) hands it to Django.<\/li>\n
    2. The request passes through each middleware in the MIDDLEWARE\u00a0setting (security, sessions, CSRF, authentication).<\/li>\n
    3. The URL dispatchercompares the path against urlpatterns\u00a0in py\u00a0and picks the matching view.<\/li>\n
    4. The view It typically reads or writes data through models using the ORM.<\/li>\n
    5. The view renders a template with a context dictionary, or returns JSON, a redirect or an error.<\/li>\n
    6. The HttpResponse travels back through middleware to the browser.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      MVT part<\/b><\/strong><\/td>\nLives in<\/b><\/strong><\/td>\nWhat it does<\/b><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Model<\/td>\nmodels.py<\/td>\nPython classes that map to database tables (fields, relationships, rules).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      View<\/td>\nviews.py<\/td>\nFunction or class that receives a request and returns a response.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Template<\/td>\ntemplates\/*.html<\/td>\nHTML with Django Template Language tags that displays data.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      URL dispatcher<\/td>\nurls.py<\/td>\nMaps URL patterns to views (Django’s “controller” role).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Django Project vs Django App: What Is the Difference?<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n

      A Django project<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0is the whole website: one settings file, one root URL configuration and one database configuration, created with django-admin startproject. A Django app<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0is a self-contained feature inside it, such as blog, accounts\u00a0or payments, created with python manage.py startapp. One project usually contains several apps, and a well-built app can be reused in other projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      <\/td>\nDjango project<\/b><\/strong><\/td>\nDjango app<\/b><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Created with<\/td>\ndjango-admin startproject mysite<\/td>\npython manage.py startapp blog<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Scope<\/td>\nThe entire site and its configuration<\/td>\nOne feature or domain area<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Key files<\/td>\nsettings.py, urls.py, wsgi.py, asgi.py, manage.py<\/td>\nmodels.py, views.py, admin.py, apps.py, migrations\/<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      How many<\/td>\nOne per website<\/td>\nMany per project, registered in INSTALLED_APPS<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Django vs Flask vs Django REST Framework at a Glance<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n

      Learners often meet these three names together. Flask is a separate, minimal framework; DRF is an add-on that sits on top of Django.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      <\/td>\nDjango<\/b><\/strong><\/td>\nFlask<\/b><\/strong><\/td>\nDjango REST Framework<\/b><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      What it is<\/td>\nFull-stack Python web framework<\/td>\nLightweight Python micro-framework<\/td>\nToolkit added to a Django project<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Built-in ORM<\/td>\nYes (Django ORM)<\/td>\nNo (usually add SQLAlchemy)<\/td>\nUses the Django ORM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Admin panel<\/td>\nYes, auto-generated<\/td>\nNo (add Flask-Admin)<\/td>\nUses the Django admin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Authentication<\/td>\nBuilt in<\/td>\nAdd extensions (e.g. Flask-Login)<\/td>\nAdds token, session and permission classes for APIs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Typical output<\/td>\nHTML pages (and JSON)<\/td>\nAnything you code<\/td>\nJSON APIs with a browsable web view<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Best for<\/td>\nDatabase-driven sites that need structure and security out of the box<\/td>\nSmall services, prototypes, full control over components<\/td>\nBackends for mobile apps and JavaScript front-ends<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Learning curve<\/td>\nModerate: more concepts, strong conventions<\/td>\nGentle start, more decisions later<\/td>\nModerate: needs Django first<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

       <\/p>\n

      What Should You Learn Before Django?<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n

      Django is normally learned after core Python: you should be comfortable with functions, classes, dictionaries and modules first, because every Django model, view and form is plain Python.<\/p>\n

      How to Install Django and Create Your First Django Project<\/b><\/strong><\/h1>\n

      In this tutorial you will set up a virtual environment, install Django, create a project and an app, show your first page in the browser and log in to the Django admin. It takes 9 steps and about 20\u201330 minutes on Windows, macOS or Linux.<\/p>\n

      Prerequisites<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n
        \n
      • Python 3.12 or newer installed (check with python –version). Django 6.x needs 3.12+.<\/li>\n
      • A code editor such as VS Code, and a terminal or Command Prompt.<\/li>\n
      • Basic Python: functions, imports and running a .py file.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Steps<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n

        Step 1: Create a project folder and a virtual environment<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n

        Keep every Django project in its own isolated environment.<\/p>\n

        mkdir django_starter<\/p>\n

        cd django_starter<\/p>\n

        python -m venv venv<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Step 2: Activate the virtual environment<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n

        Your prompt will show (venv)\u00a0once it is active.<\/p>\n

        # Windows<\/p>\n

        venv\\Scripts\\activate<\/p>\n

        # macOS \/ Linux<\/p>\n

        source venv\/bin\/activate<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Step 3: Install Django<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n

        Install Django with pip, then confirm the installed version.<\/p>\n

        pip install django<\/p>\n

        python -m django –version<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Step 4: Create the project<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n

        The trailing dot creates the project in the current folder instead of an extra nested folder.<\/p>\n

        django-admin startproject mysite .<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Step 5: Run the development server<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n

        Open http:\/\/127.0.0.1:8000\/ in your browser. You should see Django’s welcome page with a rocket.<\/p>\n

        python manage.py runserver<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        \"\"<\/p>\n

        Step 6: Create an app and register it<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n

        Stop the server with Ctrl+C, create an app, then add “blog”\u00a0to the INSTALLED_APPS\u00a0list in mysite\/settings.py.<\/p>\n

        python manage.py startapp blog<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Step 7: Write your first view<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n

        Open blog\/views.py\u00a0and add a function that returns a response.<\/p>\n

        from django.http import HttpResponse<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        def home(request):<\/p>\n

        return HttpResponse(“Hello, Django!”)<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Step 8: Map a URL to the view<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n

        Edit mysite\/urls.py\u00a0so the site’s home page calls your view. Run the server again and reload the page to see “Hello, Django!”.<\/p>\n

        from django.contrib import admin<\/p>\n

        from django.urls import path<\/p>\n

        from blog import views<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        urlpatterns = [<\/p>\n

        path(“admin\/”, admin.site.urls),<\/p>\n

        path(“”, views.home, name=”home”),<\/p>\n

        ]<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Step 9: Set up the database and admin login<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n

        Create Django’s built-in tables, then create an admin user and log in at http:\/\/127.0.0.1:8000\/admin\/.<\/p>\n

        python manage.py migrate<\/p>\n

        python manage.py createsuperuser<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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