We will install django on home ~ dir.

mkdir ~/src
cd ~/src
wget http://www.djangoproject.com/download/1.3.1/tarball/ -O django.tar
tar xvf django.tar
cd Django-1.3.1

Install python and django in a specific directory. This will create bin & lib containing python&django in specified directory.

python setup.py install --home=~/devfs/opt/

Or install django on system's python directory (preferred):

sudo python setup.py install

This will install django to

[td@td-fed tutorial]$ ls /usr/lib/python2.7/site-packages/django/

set the PYTHONPATH env variable:

export PYTHONPATH=$HOME/lib/python
export PATH=$HOME/bin:$PATH

Now verify that Django is installed and the right version is in your path:

python
>>> import django
>>> print django.get_version()
1.3.1

Virtualenv/Sandbox for python env to provide consistent project settings.

  yum install python-pip.noarch
  yum install python-virtualenv.noarch

  $ virtualenv mysite-env
  $ source mysite-env/bin/activate
  (mysite-env)$
  

  (mysite-env)$ pip install Pinax

source: django tutorials.

Start Project:

  $django-admin.py startproject mysite    
  

Run webserver:

$python manage.py runserver

Configure Database:

  $vim mysite/settings.py
  ... edit DATABASE section...

Create tables:

  $python manage.py syncdb
  

Create Model:

  python manage.py startapp polls
  ...edit polls/model.py...
  

class Poll(models.Model):
    question = models.CharField(max_length=200)
    pub_date = models.DateTimeField('date published')

class Choice(models.Model):
    poll = models.ForeignKey(Poll)
    choice = models.CharField(max_length=200)
    votes = models.IntegerField()

Activate model:

Edit settings.py, add 'polls'.

INSTALLED_APPS = (
    'django.contrib.auth',
    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
    'django.contrib.sessions',
    'django.contrib.sites',
    'django.contrib.messages',
    'django.contrib.staticfiles',
    # Uncomment the next line to enable the admin:
    # 'django.contrib.admin',
    # Uncomment the next line to enable admin documentation:
    # 'django.contrib.admindocs',
    'polls',
)

See SQL code for 'polls':

python manage.py sql polls

Play around

• python manage.py validate – Checks for any errors in the construction of your models.
• python manage.py sqlcustom polls – Outputs any custom SQL statements (such as table modifications or constraints) that are defined for the application.
• python manage.py sqlclear polls – Outputs the necessary DROP TABLE statements for this app, according to which tables already exist in your database (if any).
• python manage.py sqlindexes polls – Outputs the CREATE INDEX statements for this app.
• python manage.py sqlall polls – A combination of all the SQL from the sql, sqlcustom, and sqlindexes commands.

Update DB:

  python manage.py syncdb
  

Python API:

  python manage.py shell
  
  >>> from polls.models import Poll, Choice
  ...see django cheatsheet for DB built-in functions...
  ...type Poll + <tab> to see how you can start... cool!!

• function unicode()

It's important to add unicode() methods to your models, not only for your own sanity when dealing with the interactive prompt, but also because objects' representations are used throughout Django's automatically-generated admin.

• str()?

class Poll(models.Model):
    *** use <spaces> not <tabs> or python will throws unexpected indentation.
    *** vim's :retab is useful for this.
    # ...
    def __unicode__(self):
        return self.question

class Choice(models.Model):
    # ...
    def __unicode__(self):
        return self.choice

• mycustomfunction()

import datetime
from django.utils import timezone
# ...
class Poll(models.Model):
    # ...
    def was_published_recently(self):
        return self.pub_date >= timezone.now() - datetime.timedelta(days=1)