Sams Teach Yourself Django in 24 Hours

Book excerpt: 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 to... 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 Django’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 Appendix A: Django Resources 477 Appendix B: Django Form Field Objects 481 Appendix C: Formatting Dates and Times 491 Index 493