Django Reference

Installation

• Download
• cmd> setup.py install

Verify Installation

• python> import django

New Project

• cmd> django-admin.py startproject projectname

Run Project

• cmd> cd projectname
• cmd> python manage.py runserver
• cmd> python manage.py runserver port - for a different port
• Browse to http://localhost:8000/

Database

Configure

• edit settings.py
• mysql> create database dbname
• mysql> create user 'username' identified by 'password'
• mysql> grant all on dbname.* to 'username'

Synchronize

• cmd> python manage.py syncdb

New Application

• cmd> python manage.py startapp appname

Enabling Admin

• edit settings.py, add django.contrib.admin to INSTALLED_APPS
• edit urls.py, uncomment (r'^admin/', include('django.contrib.admin.urls')),
• cmd> python manage.py syncdb
• browse to http://localhost:port/admin/

Controller

• edit settings.py, ensure ROOT_URLCONF = 'urls'
• edit urls.py, add to urlpatterns

(r'^appname/', include('appname.urls')),

• add appname/urls.py and edit to map URL regexps to view names:

from django.conf.urls.defaults import *

urlpatterns = patterns('projectname.appname.views',
   (r'^$', 'index'), #default view
   (r'^viewname$', 'viewname'),
)

View

• edit appname/views.py to add any views defined in the controller
• a viewname is a method defined in views.py

Templates

• edit settings.py and add a absolute directory to contain templates
• add template files to templatedir/appname
• access from your view:

from django.shortcuts import render_to_response

def index(request):
   return render_to_response('appname/index.html', {'key': value})

Special pages

• create a 404.html and 500.html file in templates_root to ensure errors are handled properly when not in debug mode

Deploying

• In settings.py, set DEBUG to False

Apache

• Install mod_python
• Edit httpd.conf, add the lines

LoadModule python_module modules/mod_python.so

<Location "/">
   SetHandler python-program
   PythonHandler django.core.handlers.modpython
   SetEnv DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE projectname.settings
   PythonPath "['your src path'] + sys.path"
   PythonDebug On
</Location>

<Location "/media/">
   SetHandler None
</Location>

With "your src path" and "projectname" set appropriately. The media directory is for files to serve directory, i.e. css, image files.

Upgrading

• cmd> svn checkout http://code.djangoproject.com/svn/django/trunk/django/

Webfaction

• The above command should be executed in ~/webapps/django/lib/python2.5