Django follows a Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern, but in Django terminology, it’s often referred to as Model-View-Template (MVT). Here’s an overview of the typical structure of a Django project:
- Project:
- A Django project is a collection of settings and configurations for a specific web application. It can contain one or more Django apps.
- Common project-level files and directories:
manage.py
: A command-line utility for interacting with the project.settings.py
: Configuration settings for the project.urls.py
: URL patterns for the entire project.
- Apps:
- A Django app is a modular component that encapsulates a specific functionality of the project. Projects are often composed of multiple apps.
- Common app-level files and directories:
models.py
: Defines the data models for the app.views.py
: Contains the logic for processing HTTP requests and returning responses.urls.py
: Defines URL patterns specific to the app.templates/
: Directory for storing HTML templates.static/
: Directory for storing static files (CSS, JavaScript, images).
- Database Models:
- The
models.py
file within each app defines the database models using Django’s Object-Relational Mapping (ORM). Models describe the structure of the database tables and relationships.
- The
- Views:
- The
views.py
file within each app contains functions or classes that handle HTTP requests, process data, and return HTTP responses. Views interact with models to fetch or update data.
- The
- Templates:
- The
templates/
directory within each app stores HTML templates. Templates are used to generate dynamic HTML content that is sent to the client.
- The
- Static Files:
- The
static/
directory within each app is used for storing static files such as CSS, JavaScript, and images. These files are served directly by the web server.
- The
- URL Configuration:
- The
urls.py
files in both the project and app define URL patterns. The project’surls.py
typically includes the URL patterns of various apps.
- The
- Settings:
- The
settings.py
file in the project contains configuration settings for the entire project, such as database configuration, timezone settings, middleware, and more.
- The
- Middleware:
- Middleware components in Django are used to process requests and responses globally before they reach the views or after they leave the views.
- Admin Interface:
- Django provides a built-in admin interface that can be customized to manage data models through a web-based interface. Admin functionality is defined in the
admin.py
files within each app.
- Django provides a built-in admin interface that can be customized to manage data models through a web-based interface. Admin functionality is defined in the
project_name/
|-- manage.py
|-- project_name/
| |-- __init__.py
| |-- settings.py
| |-- urls.py
| |-- asgi.py
| `-- wsgi.py
|-- app1/
| |-- __init__.py
| |-- admin.py
| |-- apps.py
| |-- migrations/
| |-- models.py
| |-- tests.py
| |-- views.py
| `-- templates/
|-- app2/
| |-- ...
|-- static/
|-- templates/
|-- venv/ (virtual environment)
This is a basic overview, and the structure can vary based on project requirements and personal preferences. Django’s convention over configuration approach provides a default structure, but it allows for flexibility and customization.