tmtowtdi / django

Playing with django

Tutorial

https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.7/intro/tutorial01/

Left off at

https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.7/intro/tutorial03/

Install

• $ pip install django==1.7.4
  • or whatever the latest version is; see https://www.djangoproject.com/download/
• $ pip install pytz
  • Python timezone module
  • Django doesn't technically require this, because Django likes the "we can run with no prerequisites" thing. But having this installed appears to be A Good Thing.

Scripts

Admin script

• django-admin.py
  • django-admin.py startproject mysite
    • Project names cannot conflict with Python builtins or Django components. So no "python" or "test" etc for project names.
  • Django has both apps and projects. The distinction is that an app is meant to do one thing (a poll, an admin section, a blog, whatever). A Project can include multiple apps.
  • django-admin.py creates projects. The manage.py inside one of those projects creates apps.

Project scripts

The following paths assume you used 'mysite' as the site name.

• mysite/mysite/settings.py
  • Edit this. No part of the tut has mentioned running it; I assume it just gets pulled in when the app runs.
  • Timezone, database setup, etc.
    • Yes, mysite/mysite/.
  • Contains a list of other Django applications that will be included in this one (INSTALLED_APPS). To initialize those apps, you'll need to use manage.py
• mysite/manage.py
  • Gets created automatically when you use django-admin.py to create a new project.
  • $ python manage.py migrate
    • Initializes the apps listed in settings.py, so you may want to edit that first before running this.
    • Only runs migrations that haven't been run yet.
  • $ python manage.py runserver
    • start the development server
    • Defaults to port 8000. If you want, change with $ python manage.py runserver 8080 (or whatever)
    • Autodetects and reloads itself on changes in existing files.
      • Does not detect new files; for that you need to do a manual restart.
      • If you save a syntax error while this auto-reloading is running, it'll explode.
        Just fix your error and restart it.
    • http://localhost:8000/
    • http://localhost:8000/admin
      • provided you left the admin contribution in INSTALLED_APPS in settings.py
      • This is pretty seksi. Overall it's doing basic stuff, but it's doing it well and thoroughly.
  • $ python manage.py startapp <APPNAME>
    • Creates an app under your project
    • After your app has been set up, add its name to your site's settings.py under INSTALLED_APPS.
  • $ python manage.py makemigrations <APPNAME>
    • Uses 's models to generate migration scripts
  • $ python manage.py sqlmigrate <APPNAME> <MIGRATION_NUMBER>
    • Displays the SQL for a given app's given migration.
  • $ python manage.py check
    • Checks for problems in your project without making any changes.
  • $ python manage.py shell
    • Starts a python shell, much like simply running $ python would do. But doing it via manage.py sets some paths so the shell knows how to find your app components.
    • https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.7/intro/tutorial01/
      • Search for "Once you’re in the shell, explore the" for examples of how to browse models using the shell.
  • $ python manage.py createsuperuser
    • Starts an interactive session in which you enter login creds for your superuser, who will be able to access the admin site.

App scripts

• <APPNAME>/models.py
  • See the Models section for details.
• <APPNAME>/admin.py
  • Edit this to tell the admin section app that this app should have an admin interface.
  • See polls/admin.py for eg

Models

After creating an app, you'll have /models.py. Add models to this as classes.
See polls/models.py as eg.

After setting up your model, remember to run "manage.py makemigrations ." To see the SQL in any of the individual migrations: $ python manage.py sqlmigrate polls 0001

When you're happy with that, go ahead and run your new models' migrations: $ python manage.py migrate

Any time you need to make changes to your models, re-run manage.py with first makemigrations, and then migrate.

Templates

• No templates directory gets created as part of the initial setup. If you want custom templates, create a directory under your project directory) and add its name to mysite/settings.py. I'll assume you're naming your directory "templates".

  • TEMPLATE_DIRS = [ os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'templates')]

• To modify the look of the admin section:

  • Create templates/admin/
  • Copy the default template from the contributed admin app into your new admin/ directory.
    • I found the admin app's templates here: ~/work/python/virtualenvs/Django/lib/python3.4/site-packages/django/contrib/admin/templates/admin/