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Getting Started with Django

Django is a high-level Python web framework that enables rapid development of secure and maintainable websites.

Installation​

Prerequisites​

  • Python 3.8 or higher
  • pip package manager
  • Virtual environment (recommended)

Setting up Django​

  1. Create a virtual environment:
python -m venv django_env
source django_env/bin/activate  # On Windows: django_env\Scripts\activate
  1. Install Django:
pip install django
  1. Verify installation:
python -m django --version

Creating Your First Project​

Start a new project:​

django-admin startproject mysite
cd mysite

Project structure:​

mysite/
    manage.py
    mysite/
        __init__.py
        settings.py
        urls.py
        wsgi.py

Run the development server:​

python manage.py runserver

Visit http://127.0.0.1:8000/ to see the Django welcome page.

Creating an Application​

Django projects contain multiple applications:

python manage.py startapp polls

This creates:

polls/
    __init__.py
    admin.py
    apps.py
    migrations/
        __init__.py
    models.py
    tests.py
    views.py

Basic Configuration​

Add your app to INSTALLED_APPS in settings.py:​

INSTALLED_APPS = [
    'django.contrib.admin',
    'django.contrib.auth',
    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
    'django.contrib.sessions',
    'django.contrib.messages',
    'django.contrib.staticfiles',
    'polls',  # Add your app here
]

Create your first view in polls/views.py:​

from django.http import HttpResponse

def index(request):
    return HttpResponse("Hello, world. You're at the polls index.")

Configure URLs in polls/urls.py:​

from django.urls import path
from . import views

urlpatterns = [
    path('', views.index, name='index'),
]

Include app URLs in main urls.py:​

from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import include, path

urlpatterns = [
    path('polls/', include('polls.urls')),
    path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
]

Database Setup​

Apply initial migrations:​

python manage.py migrate

Create a superuser:​

python manage.py createsuperuser