Lesson 1: Introducing Django - The Web Framework for Perfectionists

Django: From Basics to Advanced

Part 1: Django Fundamentals

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1. What is Django?

Django is a Python web framework "batteries included" — providing an ORM, admin panel, authentication, form processing, template engine and many other modules right from the start.

Features	Django	FastAPI	Flask	Laravel
Language	Python	Python	Python	PHP
Type	Full-stack	API-only	Microphone	Full-stack
ORM	Built-in	SQLAlchemy	SQLAlchemy	Eloquent
Admin	Built-in	No	No	Third party
Async	Django 5.x	Native	Limited	No
Use cases	Full-stack, CMS	APIs, microservices	Simple apps	Full-stack

2. MVT Architecture

Request → URL Router → View → Template → Response
                         ↕
                       Model ↔ Database

Component	Role
Model	Data layer — ORM, database schema
View	Business logic — process requests, return responses
Template	Presentation — HTML rendering

3. Install & Create Project

# Python virtual environment
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate

# Cài Django
pip install django djangorestframework

# Tạo project
django-admin startproject config .

# Tạo app
python manage.py startapp users
python manage.py startapp products

4. Project structure

myproject/
├── config/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── settings.py      # Configuration
│   ├── urls.py           # Root URL routing
│   ├── wsgi.py           # WSGI entry
│   └── asgi.py           # ASGI entry (async)
├── users/
│   ├── models.py         # Data models
│   ├── views.py          # View logic
│   ├── urls.py           # App URL routing
│   ├── serializers.py    # DRF serializers
│   ├── admin.py          # Admin config
│   └── tests.py          # Tests
├── manage.py
└── requirements.txt

5. Basic settings

# config/settings.py
INSTALLED_APPS = [
    'django.contrib.admin',
    'django.contrib.auth',
    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
    'django.contrib.sessions',
    'rest_framework',
    # Custom apps
    'users',
    'products',
]

DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql',
        'NAME': 'mydb',
        'USER': 'postgres',
        'PASSWORD': 'secret',
        'HOST': 'localhost',
        'PORT': '5432',
    }
}

# Chạy migrations & server
python manage.py migrate
python manage.py createsuperuser
python manage.py runserver

Next article: Models & Django ORM — fields, relationships, managers.