Overview
The Introduction to Python and Django course starts by teaching students the basics of Python, then moves on to teach students how to develop Web applications using the Django framework. This class covers the basics of creating basic applications using the MVC (model-view-controller) design pattern, as well as more advanced topics such as administration, session management, authentication, and automated testing.
Prerequisites
Students should already be comfortable using the operating system (Linux, Unix, Windows, Solaris, Mac OS X, etc.) on which they will be running Python. While not mandatory, basic skills with at least one other programming language are desirable. All students should have a working knowledge of HTML5 and CSS.
Objectives
- Develop full-stack web sites based on content stored in an RDMS
- Use python data types appropriately
- Define data models
- Understand the architecture of a Django-based web site
- Create Django templates for easy-to-modify views
- Map views to URLs
- Take advantage of the built-in Admin interface
- Provide HTML form processing
Introduction
The Python Environment
- Starting Python
- Using the interpreter
- Running a Python script
- Python scripts on Unix/Windows
- Editors and IDEs
Getting Started
- Using variables
- Built in functions
- Strings
- Numbers
- Converting among types
- Writing to the screen
- Command line parameters
Flow Control
- About flow control
- White space
- Conditional expressions
- Relational and Boolean operators
- While loops
- Alternate loop exits
Lists and Tuples
- About sequences
- Lists and list methods
- Tuples
- Indexing and slicing
- Iterating through a sequence
- Sequence functions, keywords, and operators
- List comprehensions
- Nested sequences
Working with Files
- File overview
- The with statement
- Opening a text file
- Reading a text file
- Writing to a text file
- Raw (binary) data
Dictionaries and Sets
- About dictionaries
- Creating dictionaries
- Iterating through a dictionary
- About sets
- Creating sets
- Working with sets
Functions
- About sequences
- Function parameters
- Global variables
- Global scope
- Returning values
- Sorting data
Errors and Exception Handling
- Syntax errors
- Exceptions
- Using try/catch/else/finally
- Handling multiple exceptions
- Ignoring exceptions
Using Modules
- The import statement
- Module search path
- Zipped libraries
- Creating Modules
- Function and Module aliases
Classes
- About o-o programming
- Defining classes
- Constructors
- Instance methods and data
- Class/static methods and data
- Inheritance
Django Architecture
- Sites and apps
- Shared configuration
- Minimal Django layout
- Builtin flexibility
Configuring a Project
- Executing manage.py
- Starting the project
- Database setup
- The development server
Adding an Application
- Generate the application files
- Defining models
- Related objects
- SQL Migration
- App configuration
- Accessing models
Login for Nothing and Admin for free<
- Setting up the admin user
- Running the admin site
- Tweaking the admin interface
- Changing the admin index page
Views
- What is a view
- HttpResponse
- URL route configuration
- Shortcut: get_object_or_404()
Basic Templates
- About templates
- Django template syntax
- Static files
- Loading templates
- The url tag
- Shortcut: template.render()
Querying Models
- QuerySets
- Field lookups
- Chaining filters
- Slicing QuerySets
- Related fields
- Q objects
Advanced Templates
- Variable lookups
- Comments
- Inheritance
- Filters
- Escaping HTML
- Custom filters
Forms
- Forms overview
- GET and POST
- The Form class
- Processing the form
- Widgets
- Validation
- Forms in templates
- Beyond the basics
Automated Testing
- Why create tests?
- When to create tests
- Using Django’s test framework
- Using the test client
- Running tests
- Checking code coverage
Conclusion
