diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'parts/django/docs/faq/general.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | parts/django/docs/faq/general.txt | 192 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 192 deletions
diff --git a/parts/django/docs/faq/general.txt b/parts/django/docs/faq/general.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 96abad2..0000000 --- a/parts/django/docs/faq/general.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,192 +0,0 @@ -FAQ: General -============ - -Why does this project exist? ----------------------------- - -Django grew from a very practical need: World Online, a newspaper Web -operation, is responsible for building intensive Web applications on journalism -deadlines. In the fast-paced newsroom, World Online often has only a matter of -hours to take a complicated Web application from concept to public launch. - -At the same time, the World Online Web developers have consistently been -perfectionists when it comes to following best practices of Web development. - -In fall 2003, the World Online developers (Adrian Holovaty and Simon Willison) -ditched PHP and began using Python to develop its Web sites. As they built -intensive, richly interactive sites such as Lawrence.com, they began to extract -a generic Web development framework that let them build Web applications more -and more quickly. They tweaked this framework constantly, adding improvements -over two years. - -In summer 2005, World Online decided to open-source the resulting software, -Django. Django would not be possible without a whole host of open-source -projects -- `Apache`_, `Python`_, and `PostgreSQL`_ to name a few -- and we're -thrilled to be able to give something back to the open-source community. - -.. _Apache: http://httpd.apache.org/ -.. _Python: http://www.python.org/ -.. _PostgreSQL: http://www.postgresql.org/ - -What does "Django" mean, and how do you pronounce it? ------------------------------------------------------ - -Django is named after `Django Reinhardt`_, a gypsy jazz guitarist from the 1930s -to early 1950s. To this day, he's considered one of the best guitarists of all time. - -Listen to his music. You'll like it. - -Django is pronounced **JANG**-oh. Rhymes with FANG-oh. The "D" is silent. - -We've also recorded an `audio clip of the pronunciation`_. - -.. _Django Reinhardt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Django_Reinhardt -.. _audio clip of the pronunciation: http://red-bean.com/~adrian/django_pronunciation.mp3 - -Is Django stable? ------------------ - -Yes. World Online has been using Django for more than three years. Sites built -on Django have weathered traffic spikes of over one million hits an hour and a -number of Slashdottings. Yes, it's quite stable. - -Does Django scale? ------------------- - -Yes. Compared to development time, hardware is cheap, and so Django is -designed to take advantage of as much hardware as you can throw at it. - -Django uses a "shared-nothing" architecture, which means you can add hardware -at any level -- database servers, caching servers or Web/application servers. - -The framework cleanly separates components such as its database layer and -application layer. And it ships with a simple-yet-powerful -:doc:`cache framework </topics/cache>`. - -Who's behind this? ------------------- - -Django was originally developed at World Online, the Web department of a -newspaper in Lawrence, Kansas, USA. Django's now run by an international team of -volunteers; you can read all about them over at the :doc:`list of committers -</internals/committers>` - -Which sites use Django? ------------------------ - -The Django wiki features a consistently growing `list of Django-powered sites`_. -Feel free to add your Django-powered site to the list. - -.. _list of Django-powered sites: http://code.djangoproject.com/wiki/DjangoPoweredSites - -.. _mtv: - -Django appears to be a MVC framework, but you call the Controller the "view", and the View the "template". How come you don't use the standard names? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - -Well, the standard names are debatable. - -In our interpretation of MVC, the "view" describes the data that gets presented -to the user. It's not necessarily *how* the data *looks*, but *which* data is -presented. The view describes *which data you see*, not *how you see it.* It's -a subtle distinction. - -So, in our case, a "view" is the Python callback function for a particular URL, -because that callback function describes which data is presented. - -Furthermore, it's sensible to separate content from presentation -- which is -where templates come in. In Django, a "view" describes which data is presented, -but a view normally delegates to a template, which describes *how* the data is -presented. - -Where does the "controller" fit in, then? In Django's case, it's probably the -framework itself: the machinery that sends a request to the appropriate view, -according to the Django URL configuration. - -If you're hungry for acronyms, you might say that Django is a "MTV" framework --- that is, "model", "template", and "view." That breakdown makes much more -sense. - -At the end of the day, of course, it comes down to getting stuff done. And, -regardless of how things are named, Django gets stuff done in a way that's most -logical to us. - -<Framework X> does <feature Y> -- why doesn't Django? ------------------------------------------------------ - -We're well aware that there are other awesome Web frameworks out there, and -we're not averse to borrowing ideas where appropriate. However, Django was -developed precisely because we were unhappy with the status quo, so please be -aware that "because <Framework X> does it" is not going to be sufficient reason -to add a given feature to Django. - -Why did you write all of Django from scratch, instead of using other Python libraries? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -When Django was originally written a couple of years ago, Adrian and Simon -spent quite a bit of time exploring the various Python Web frameworks -available. - -In our opinion, none of them were completely up to snuff. - -We're picky. You might even call us perfectionists. (With deadlines.) - -Over time, we stumbled across open-source libraries that did things we'd -already implemented. It was reassuring to see other people solving similar -problems in similar ways, but it was too late to integrate outside code: We'd -already written, tested and implemented our own framework bits in several -production settings -- and our own code met our needs delightfully. - -In most cases, however, we found that existing frameworks/tools inevitably had -some sort of fundamental, fatal flaw that made us squeamish. No tool fit our -philosophies 100%. - -Like we said: We're picky. - -We've documented our philosophies on the -:doc:`design philosophies page </misc/design-philosophies>`. - -Is Django a content-management-system (CMS)? --------------------------------------------- - -No, Django is not a CMS, or any sort of "turnkey product" in and of itself. -It's a Web framework; it's a programming tool that lets you build Web sites. - -For example, it doesn't make much sense to compare Django to something like -Drupal_, because Django is something you use to *create* things like Drupal. - -Of course, Django's automatic admin site is fantastic and timesaving -- but -the admin site is one module of Django the framework. Furthermore, although -Django has special conveniences for building "CMS-y" apps, that doesn't mean -it's not just as appropriate for building "non-CMS-y" apps (whatever that -means!). - -.. _Drupal: http://drupal.org/ - -How can I download the Django documentation to read it offline? ---------------------------------------------------------------- - -The Django docs are available in the ``docs`` directory of each Django tarball -release. These docs are in reST (reStructuredText) format, and each text file -corresponds to a Web page on the official Django site. - -Because the documentation is `stored in revision control`_, you can browse -documentation changes just like you can browse code changes. - -Technically, the docs on Django's site are generated from the latest development -versions of those reST documents, so the docs on the Django site may offer more -information than the docs that come with the latest Django release. - -.. _stored in revision control: http://code.djangoproject.com/browser/django/trunk/docs - -Where can I find Django developers for hire? --------------------------------------------- - -Consult our `developers for hire page`_ for a list of Django developers who -would be happy to help you. - -You might also be interested in posting a job to http://djangogigs.com/ . -If you want to find Django-capable people in your local area, try -http://djangopeople.net/ . - -.. _developers for hire page: http://code.djangoproject.com/wiki/DevelopersForHire |