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Django is a powerful, high-level web framework for the Python programming language. It encourages rapid development and clean, pragmatic design. If you’re interested in learning how to build web applications using Django, this guide will help you create a simple web app from scratch. By the end of this article, you’ll have a basic understanding of how Django works and the knowledge to build more complex applications.<\/p>\n
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Before diving into Django, make sure you have a basic understanding of Python. Additionally, you’ll need to have Python installed on your machine. You can download Python from the official Python website if it’s not already installed.<\/p>\n
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To get started with Django, you’ll need to set up your development environment. This involves installing Django and creating a virtual environment.<\/p>\n
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pip install django<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/p>\n
After installing Django, confirm the installation by typing the following command:<\/p>\n
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django-admin --version<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/p>\n
Creating a Virtual Environment<\/h3>\n
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A virtual environment is a self-contained directory that contains a Python installation for a particular version of Python, plus a number of additional packages that you can install. Creating a virtual environment is considered best practice as it keeps dependencies required by different projects in separate places.<\/p>\n
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\n python -m venv myenv
\n source myenv\/bin\/activate # On Unix\/Mac
\n myenv\\Scripts\\activate # On Windows
\n <\/code><\/pre>\n<\/p>\n
Starting a New Django Project<\/h2>\n
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With Django installed and your virtual environment activated, you can start a new project. In Django, a project is a collection of configuration and apps for a particular website. Let’s create a new project called “myfirstproject”.<\/p>\n
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django-admin startproject myfirstproject<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/p>\n
This command creates a “myfirstproject” directory with the following structure:<\/p>\n
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\n myfirstproject\/
\n manage.py
\n myfirstproject\/
\n __init__.py
\n settings.py
\n urls.py
\n asgi.py
\n wsgi.py
\n <\/code><\/pre>\n<\/p>\n
The manage.py file is a command-line utility that lets you interact with your project. The second “myfirstproject” directory is the actual Python package for your project. It’s where settings, URLs, and WSGI configurations are stored.<\/p>\n
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Running the Development Server<\/h2>\n
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Django comes with a lightweight web server for development and testing purposes. To start it, navigate to the “myfirstproject” directory containing the manage.py file and run:<\/p>\n
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python manage.py runserver<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/p>\n