How Django Works
Django, the program that we are learning is to create a server. A program that creates a web server and provides a framework and makes it easier to implement the server with it is called a web framework. It is all about receiving a request from the client and reponding to the client.
The following description is to explain the flow of Django. Please refer to the image for your better understanding.
1. User Request
The flow begins when a user makes a request to the Django web application. This request can be a simple HTTP request like accessing a web page or submitting a form. The request contains information such as the URL, method (GET or POST), and any data submitted with the request.
2. URL Dispatching
Upon receiving the user request, Django's first task is URL dispatching. In Django, the URL dispatcher maps the requested URL to the appropriate view function. The URL patterns are defined in the project's `urls.py` file. The dispatcher checks each URL pattern in the order they are defined and finds the matching one based on regular expressions or simple string comparisons.
3. View Function
Once the URL dispatcher finds the matching URL pattern, it calls the associated view function. The view function is responsible for processing the request, performing any necessary actions, and returning an HTTP response. The view function can perform various tasks like fetching data from the database, processing forms, and rendering templates.
4. Model Interaction
In Django, models represent the data structure of the application and the interaction with the database. When the view function needs to access or manipulate data from the database, it communicates with the relevant model. The model provides an abstraction layer for working with the database, making it easier to handle data without writing raw SQL queries.
5. Template Rendering
After the view function has processed the data, it usually renders a template to generate the final HTML content. A template is an HTML file with placeholders and template tags that allow dynamic content rendering. Django's template engine replaces these placeholders with the actual data, producing the final HTML that will be sent back as the HTTP response.
6. Context Data
During template rendering, the view function passes a context dictionary containing the data to be rendered to the template. This context data can include variables, lists, or any other information required to display the page content dynamically. The template engine uses this data to populate the placeholders and execute template tags.
7. HTTP Response
Once the template has been rendered with the context data, Django generates an HTTP response containing the final HTML. This response includes the appropriate status code, headers, and the content to be displayed in the user's browser. The response is then sent back to the user as the result of their initial request.
8. User Interaction
The user's browser receives the HTTP response from Django and renders the web page accordingly. If the page contains forms or other interactive elements, the user can interact with them and trigger new requests to the Django server, initiating the flow again for the new request.