Django is a high-level, open-source web framework written in Python that encourages rapid development and clean, pragmatic design. It simplifies the process of building complex, database-driven websites by providing built-in features and tools.

Key features include:

• Rapid Development: Built-in components allow for quick application development.
• Security: Helps developers avoid common security pitfalls.
• Scalability: Can handle high traffic and large volumes of data.
• Reusability: Promotes the DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) principle, allowing code reuse.
• Built-in Admin Interface: Automatically generated admin interface for managing application data.

Django follows the Model-View-Template (MVT) architectural pattern, which separates the application into three interconnected components:

• Model: Defines the data structure and business logic.
• View: Handles user requests and returns responses.
• Template: Manages the presentation layer, rendering HTML.

You can install Django using pip, Python’s package manager. Run the command:

pip install django

You can create a new project by running:

django-admin startproject projectname

You can run the development server using:

manage.py is a command-line utility that helps manage your Django project. It provides commands for running the server, creating database migrations, and more.

Models are defined as Python classes in models.py. For example:

from django.db import models class Book(models.Model): title = models.CharField(max_length=100) author = models.CharField(max_length=100)

Django’s Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) allows developers to interact with databases using Python objects instead of SQL queries, simplifying database operations.

A view is defined as a function or class that takes a web request and returns a web response. For example:

from django.http import HttpResponse def home(request): return HttpResponse(“Hello, World!”)

URL mapping is done in the urls.py file using path or re_path functions:

Templates are HTML files with embedded Django template language (DTL) syntax to dynamically display data:

<h1>{{ title }}</h1> <p>{{ content }}</p>

Django provides form handling capabilities through forms.py. You can create forms using classes that define fields and validation rules.

The admin interface is an automatically generated web interface for managing your application’s data models, accessible at /admin.

Django includes built-in protection against common security threats such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), cross-site request forgery (CSRF), and clickjacking.

Django provides a testing framework that allows you to write tests for your application using Python’s unittest module:

from django.test import TestCase class SimpleTest(TestCase): def test_homepage(self): response = self.client.get(‘/’) self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 200)

Django applications can be deployed on web servers like Apache or Nginx using WSGI or ASGI protocols. You may also use platforms like Heroku or DigitalOcean.

Performance can be optimized by:

• Using caching mechanisms (e.g., Redis or Memcached).
• Minimizing database queries with proper indexing.
• Utilizing asynchronous processing for long-running tasks.

Yes! You can create RESTful APIs using Django REST Framework (DRF), which provides tools for building Web APIs easily.

Yes! The Django community is active and supportive, with numerous forums, mailing lists, and resources available for developers.

Resources include:

• Official documentation at djangoproject.com
• Online courses on platforms like Uptaught, Udemy and Coursera
• Tutorials on and MDN Web Docs

Common issues include understanding the MVT architecture, managing database migrations, configuring settings properly, and debugging errors.

Yes! You can use third-party packages from the Python Package Index (PyPI) to extend your application’s capabilities.

Middleware is a way to process requests globally before they reach views or after they leave views, allowing you to add functionality like authentication or logging.

Signals allow certain senders to notify a set of receivers when some action has taken place elsewhere in your application, enabling decoupled applications.