Sams Teach Yourself Django in 24 Hours

by Dayley, Brad

• ISBN13: 9780672329593
• ISBN10: 067232959X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-02-22
• Publisher: Sams Publishing

Summary

In just 24 lessons of one hour or less, you will be able to build full-featured production websites using Django, the powerful web development framework based on Python. Designed for experienced website developers who have at least some familiarity with the Python programming language, this book uses a straightforward, step-by-step approach. Each lesson builds on the previous ones, enabling you to learn the essentials of implementing the Django framework on a website from the ground up. Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common Django tasks. Q&As, quizzes, and exercises at the end of each lesson help you test your knowledge. Notes and tips point out shortcuts and solutions. Learn how tohellip; Install and configure the Django web development framework Cleanly separate data, logic, and view layers Implement site interfaces with build templates and views Utilize templates and views to store, access, and retrieve data Use the Django forms library Define custom tags and filters to minimize coding Secure sites with registration, authorization, logins, and permissions Manage sessions and cookies Implement middleware for request and response handling Create sitemaps to inform search engines of your content Internationalize your site Optimize performance with caching Deploy Django in multiple configurations Maintain sites with Djangors"s administrator interface Introduction 1 Part I: Creating the Website Framework Hour 1: Understanding Django 7 Hour 2: Creating Your First Website 19 Hour 3: Adding Models and Objects to Your Website 37 Hour 4: Creating the Initial Views 63 Part II: Implementing the Website Interface Hour 5: Using Data from the Database in Views 81 Hour 6: Configuring Web Page Views 103 Hour 7: Implementing Django Templates to Create Custom Views 117 Hour 8: Using Built-in Template Tags to Enhance Views 139 Hour 9: Using Built-in Template Filters to Enhance Views 155 Hour 10: Adding Forms to Views 185 Hour 11: Using Views to Add and Update Data in the Database 209 Hour 12: Utilizing Generic Views 231 Hour 13: Advanced View Configurations 269 Part III: Implementing a Full-Featured Website Hour 14: Managing Site Users 295 Hour 15: Adding Website Security 313 Hour 16: Managing Sessions and Cookies 333 Hour 17: Customizing Models in the Admin Interface 347 Hour 18: Customizing the Admin Interface 365 Part IV: Implementing Advanced Website Components Hour 19: Implementing Middleware 383 Hour 20: Internationalization and Localization 407 Hour 21: Creating Sitemaps 423 Hour 22: Implementing Multiple Websites 437 Hour 23: Configuring Caching 451 Hour 24: Deploying Django 465 Appendixes<

Author Biography

Brad Dayley is a senior software engineer in Novell’s Product Development Group. He has 16 years of experience in designing, developing, and implementing software from the kernel level through web development. He is the author of several books on server and network management as well as programming languages. When he is not developing software or writing books, he can be found biking, hiking, and/or Jeeping somewhere in the remote regions of the western United States with his wife, DaNae, and four sons.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
Creating the Website Framework
Understanding Django	p. 7
Creating Your First Website	p. 19
Adding Models and Objects to Your Website	p. 37
Creating the Initial Views	p. 63
Implementing the Website Interface
Using Data from the Database in Views	p. 81
Configuring Web Page Views	p. 103
Implementing Django Templates to Create Custom Views	p. 117
Using Built-in Template Tags to Enhance Views	p. 139
Using Built-in Template Filters to Enhance Views	p. 155
Adding Forms to Views	p. 185
Using Views to Add and Update Data in the Database	p. 209
Utilizing Generic Views	p. 231
Advanced View Configurations	p. 269
Implementing a Full-Featured Website
Managing Site Users	p. 295
Adding Website Security	p. 313
Managing Sessions and Cookies	p. 333
Customizing Models in the Admin Interface	p. 347
Customizing the Admin Interface	p. 365
Implementing Advanced Website Components
Implementing Middleware	p. 383
Internationalization and Localization	p. 407
Creating Sitemaps	p. 423
Implementing Multiple Websites	p. 437
Configuring Caching	p. 451
Deploying Django	p. 465
Appendixes
Django Resources	p. 477
Django Form Field Objects	p. 481
Formatting Dates and Times	p. 491
Index	p. 493
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Introduction IntroductionI have been working with the Django framework for about a year and a half, and I love it. Every so often you run into ideas that make absolute, complete sense, and Django is one of those. The folks at Django seem to be bent on making it the most elegant web framework available, and so far they are doing a great job.This was a tough book to write. The Django framework is simple to implement, but you can accomplish so much with it. The format of this book is Teach Yourself in 24 Hours. The idea is that after spending 24 hours with this book and a Django installation, you should have a pretty good idea of how to use Django to build a full-featured production website.Throughout this book, I use a fictitious website project called iFriends to illustrate the building blocks of a Django-powered website. The book has several "Try It Yourself" sections that take you through specific tasks of building the iFriends website. Actuallydothe "Try It Yourself" sections. They will help everything else make a lot more sense. They build on each other, so if you skip one, future "Try It Yourself" sections may not work properly.When you have finished the "Try It Yourself" sections, you will have a mostly functional website. You should easily have enough skills by then that you could tweak and finish the website on your own in only a few hours if you wanted to. There just wasn't enough room in the book to finish every component. I felt it was much more important to cover the topics that I did.I do have one disclaimer: There is absolutely no CSS code in my HTML template examples. I would much rather have used CSS code to format my HTML templates than the classic HTML tags (some of them deprecated) that I used. I chose not to include CSS for two important reasons. The first reason is room. Adding CSS files to all the examples would have taken quite a bit more room, which I didn't have. The second reason is that this book is designed for Python programmers as well as HTML programmers. Using CSS for someone who is not as familiar with it could provide a distraction. This book is about learning to implement the Django framework. CSS programming techniques belong in a different book.When designing the content for this book, I tried to come up with the most relevant way to present the Django framework that will actually help programmers develop websites that are pertinent to real-world needs. I know that a few components and concepts have been left out. I welcome your comments and any suggestions on things that you feel need to be added to this book. If I get a chance, I will try to incorporate them into future revisions of the book. You can email any queries or suggestions to [e-mail] .I hope you enjoy the Django framework as much as I have and that the concepts in this book prove useful to you. Who Should Read This BookThis book should be read by anyone who is developing or even considering developing websites. The Django framework saves web developers a lot of time and headaches. This book is designed for website developers who have at least some familiarity with the Python programming language. Don't worry if you are not very familiar with Python. You should be able to pick up on what is going on with a few visits to http://www.python.org . How This Book Is OrganizedThis book is organized into four parts that help you quickly navigate the Django framework so that you will have the knowledge necessary to leverage the framework to build production websites. I tried to design the book to start slowly so that you will be able to build a good foundation for the Django framework. Then, as the hours (chapters) progress, the book delves de