Sams Teach Yourself Django in 24 Hours (Paperback)

by Brad Dayley (Author)
Key Phrases: configuring caching, largest blog, verifying authentication, Quiz Answers, Try It Yourself, Utilizing Generic Views (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

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

 

 

About the Author

Brad Dayley is a senior software engineer in Novell’s Product Development Group. He has 16 years of experience in designing, developing, and implementing software from the kernel level through web development. He is the author of several books on server and network management as well as programming languages. When he is not developing software or writing books, he can be found biking, hiking, and/or Jeeping somewhere in the remote regions of the western United States with his wife, DaNae, and four sons.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Sams; 1 edition (March 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067232959X
• ISBN-13: 978-0672329593
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #521,043 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This item is part of The Sams Teach Yourself Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Other reviews are too critical, April 22, 2008

By	C. Young "C. Young" (West Jordan, UT United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have this book and have read most of it, and I think the 1 star reviews here are overly critical and not really deserved.

Yes, the book has some mistakes in it, but most computer books do. I think this book gives you enough instruction that if a code snippet does have an error in it, you can easily identify what it is and fix it yourself. Also, most code snippets are listed more than once, and if I remember correctly, errors present in one code snippet were not present in the others.

I originally learned Django from the Django project's website, but it lacks in a lot of areas. Some features of the framework are covered really well, and others aren't.

When The Django Book came out, I bought it, read it, and gave it a really good review, but the truth is that is suffers from the same lack of consistent focus that the Django website does; some things are covered well and others are lightly touched upon.

I think that is where this book comes in. For me anyway, it filled in some of the missing pieces and clarified some aspects of Django that had been a bit hazy for me before.

None of the other documentation or currently published books provide you with a complete view of Django, and neither does this one. It does, however, provide pieces to the puzzle that the other documentation doesn't. Therefore, I would not write it off as some reviewers have. It does provide value.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good if you can handle the sample code errors, June 7, 2008

By	Michael McKee "mystic cowboy" (Port Townsend, WA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

First off, there are a number of code errors in this book. Look at some other reviews of Sam's 24 Hours or 24 Days books and you will find that this is common. Apparently one of the reasons that these books are so inexpensive is that the publisher doesn't spend money on technical reviews. I knew that when I got this book so was not disappointed. I have just enough coding experience that I am able to catch obvious mistakes and not get bogged down by the sample code. I can see why someone who is less experienced might find the book unacceptable. To be fair, the book description does mention that it is for people with some Python background, who should be able to spot mistakes in the text.

On the plus side this book actually does a good job of offering Django basics in a logical and straightforward manner. It is a well thought out and paced tutorial and currently the only one available.

I find the Definitive Guide to be more of a reference book than a training one. If you are already an experienced programmer then skip the Sam's volume. If, like me, you have some background but need a step-by-step primer then this book is pretty good. The not yet released Django Projects book might be better but this is what's here now and it has given me enough of a background that I can understand the more advanced material of the Definitive Guide to Django.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worthy of the title, April 17, 2008

By	Teo Choong Ping - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is indeed a good beginner Django book and no doubt will teach your Django in the short 24 hours. However note that you will not be an expert in Django but more than enough to get started and get things going. The real stuff in the online reference anyway. :-)

I did find the chapter on Model lacking and seems incomplete -- this is the reason for the 4 stars. But this could be because Django API is still growing and as reflected by the online API.

In short this book deliver its promise of learning Django in short 24 hours.