What this book covers
Chapter 1, Getting Started with Django 2.1, illustrates the fundamental setup and configuration steps necessary for any Django project. We cover virtual environments and Docker, project settings across environments, and multiple version control systems.
Chapter 2, Database Structure and Modeling, explains how you can write reusable code for use in construction of your models. The first thing to define with new apps are the data models, which form the backbone of any project. Also, you will learn how to manage database schema changes and data manipulations using Django migrations.
Chapter 3, Forms and Views, looks first at common forms and ways to construct their markup effectively, and then the views to present dynamic forms, lists, and details of your data to users.
Chapter 4, Templates and JavaScript, covers practical examples of using templates and JavaScript together. We combine these facets, rendered templates present information to the user, and JavaScript provides crucial enhancements in modern websites for a rich user experience.
Chapter 5, Customizing Template Filters and Tags, reviews how to create and use your own template filters and tags. As you will see, the default Django template system can be extended to meet template developers' needs.
Chapter 6, Model Administration, explores the default Django administration interface, and guides you through extending it with your own functionality.
Chapter 7, Security and Performance, delves into several ways, both inherent to and external from Django, to secure and optimize your projects.
Chapter 8, Django CMS, deals with the best practices of using Django CMS, the most popular open source content management system made with and for Django, and then adapting it to your project's specific requirements.
Chapter 9, Hierarchical Structures, examines tree-like structure creation and manipulation in Django, and the benefits of incorporating the django-mptt or treebeard libraries into such workflows. This chapter shows you how to use both for the display and administration of hierarchies.
Chapter 10, Importing and Exporting Data, demonstrates the transfer of data from and to different formats, as well as its provision between various sources. Within this chapter, custom management commands are used for data import, and we utilize REST APIs for data export.
Chapter 11, Bells and Whistles, shows some additional snippets and tricks that are useful in everyday web development and debugging.
Chapter 12, Testing and Deployment, provides a few examples of how to test your project code, and gives options for automating repetitive tasks and deployment on a remote server.