Django for Beginners, 5th Edition: Build Modern Web Applications with Python

I’ve just finished this book and actually thought it was great! Definitely learned a lot from it and even had an email response from the author.Only slight downside on my part was the timing, I brought this book and only a few weeks later an updated version for Django 5 came out, so I brought that too. But I decided that I’d work through both to try to get a better understanding and I’m glad I did. I’m about halfway through the Django 5 book and it very interesting to see the differences, not only in software but also in writing style as the author has tweaked it slightly and I would say from a personal perspective that it is better in terms of seeing things from a different angle.Will most likely buy the Django for professionals next, though I may wait to see if an updated version of that one comes out soon.

This is an excellent up-to-date tutorial for Django 2.0 and Python 3.7, written by an expert for beginners or those just a little more advanced. The book (also an eBook) starts with several projects from a simple setup to a modest blog. This much is also available online. The rest of the book continues to add functionality and finishes with 'newspaper-type' blogsite. Will takes us through all of the important aspects of Django, including class-based views which are much easier to understand than function-based views. Added at an early stage are the expected GIT and Bitbucket versioning tools (Like Will, I prefer Bitbucket to Github) and deploying via Heroku. Something that never seems to appear in other tutorials is a method of sending an email after a password reset request. Will recommends SendGrid. Here the book is a little out of date, but his eBook has been amended to cover the latest SendGrid methodology. Here's a tip: don't use the same email as the email you used to sign up to SendGrid when requesting a password reset on your site. I also liked the sections on Permissions and authorisations. Overall, there is a wealth of information in this book and IMHO it is the best Django tutorial available at the moment (I don't discount 'djangogirls' but that used function-based views). At the end (of course it never ends!), I felt confident that I knew enough about Django to delve further into the documentation without getting lost (well, almost). I highly recommend this book.

Like the title says this book is for beginners to django. It gives several projects to work through and builds on each project introducing new features and strategys. What I also like about this book is it introduces how to version control (GIT) your software and how to deploy it online(Heroku). Overall this book was a great introduction for me however i did feel there were a few areas which told you the how but not the why. This made understanding or developing new projects a little bit harder without understanding why certain things were done.

The best thing about this book is that it encourages, and enables you, to think deeper than the tutorials you're working on.For example, Will lays out how to create basic custom user models - the code that allows you to add login functionality - really clearly. Within an hour of working on that chapter, you'll understand the fundamental ins and outs of writing code that allows people to log in and out of a basic website - and implement it on the projects the book leads you through.But Will encourages you to think further down the line, so that while you're working on basic apps, you will understand how the principles apply to more complex apps later on. Following the book chapter by chapter gave me confidence, because I saw quick results (as you would hope from Django) and built apps that mirror real-world websites and functionality, but also had an idea of how what I was learning applies to larger and more complex apps later on.It's also a super readable book; it reads the furthest thing from a textbook, but I can see myself going back to it as if it was.I'll be purchasing Django for Professionals right after completing this review.

Great book to learn the fundamentals of Django.I would like to see an optional chapter/section regarding deploying to other platforms such as the one I'm using similar to GoDaddy domains and cPanel, giving a broader alternative to Heroku

I have been learning Python and Django on and off for about 6 months now. I was frustrated having to piece together tutorials to try and complete a whole project end to end. Django for beginners has completely transformed my experience, taking me from frustrated and demotivated to capable and loving programming. The book takes you from starting a project right through to deployment on Heroku. EVERYTHING works which is a rarity in any programming tutorial. Everything is so clearly explained and well thought out. I cannot recommend it enough. You should also get authors API book as that has taken me from a previously muddy idea of what APIs are and why they are useful to a complete understanding and given me the ability to build my own. Both highly recommended - you will not regret it.

I am starting development of a web application in django, I already knew something of creating a django project, but this book really helped my understanding of how and why things are done.I typed every piece of code (there are 5 projects, increasing in functionality as you progress), every section taught me many new things.I found it so easy to follow. I bought the kindle version and had the reader open on my PC screen beside my editor.The kindle version is full of links to useful resources and helpful websites.I will be moving on to the Authors Professional book now.Thanks for the education Mr. Vincent.