This is the Safari online edition of the printed book.

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

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 9 Ratings

Good if you can handle the sample code errors - 2008-06-07
Reviewer Rating:
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.

Great book-good instruction - 2008-05-02
Reviewer Rating:
Sams Teach Yourself Django in 24 Hours (Sams Teach Yourself)

This book helped me to get into the world of back end web development. I have played with html for years, but not done much more than that. With the 24 1-hour lessons in this book, I was able to put together an example server and learn the basic concepts taught. In short, I liked it, and it was a good experience for me.

Some of the other reviews are harsh on some problems in some of the examples. I found one or two, but also found that if I had problems, it was my fault--missing a comma or a semicolon.

The book helped me to understand how Django works, and give me a frameowork from which to build. I am excited to write my own websites using the concepts well taught in this book.

Skip it - 2009-05-31
Reviewer Rating:
For a "how to" book this title is filled with errors. Examples are incorrect, parameters are misspelled and the instructions are not correct for the current stable release of Django (1.0.3).

Complete waste of money. Perhaps back in 2008 when it was written it was better, but still there were errors that can't be explained by the version alone.

Skip this one.

Too many errors - 2008-10-10
Reviewer Rating:
I would have given this book 4 stars if there had only been one or two errors. However, there are so many errors that it breaks your concentration on learning the Django framework. There are so many errors that I had to dock it 2 stars!

If you don't mind the examples being broken in just about every chapter, this book is worth reading.

TY Django, petty good - 2008-06-30
Reviewer Rating:
I give this book a 3. I think the way it is presented and the pace is good. However I think a lot of the errors go beyond just minor typos and cause much confusion and waste of time. On the bright side, figuring out why the code doesn't work and finding the errors in the book was also very instructive and showed to me that Djangos error system is very good.

I would like to find a book that would let you display images in a Django app with the development server, out of the box. Does anyone know how to do it?

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