Fixed #16671 - Added a tutorial on reuseable apps
Thank-you Katie Miller and Ben Sturmfels for the initial draft, as well as Russ and Carl for the reviews.
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Tim Graham
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AUTHORS
2
AUTHORS
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@ -380,6 +380,7 @@ answer newbie questions, and generally made Django that much better:
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Christian Metts
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michal@plovarna.cz
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Slawek Mikula <slawek dot mikula at gmail dot com>
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Katie Miller <katie@sub50.com>
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Shawn Milochik <shawn@milochik.com>
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mitakummaa@gmail.com
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Taylor Mitchell <taylor.mitchell@gmail.com>
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@ -510,6 +511,7 @@ answer newbie questions, and generally made Django that much better:
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Johan C. Stöver <johan@nilling.nl>
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Nowell Strite <http://nowell.strite.org/>
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Thomas Stromberg <tstromberg@google.com>
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Ben Sturmfels <ben@sturm.com.au>
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Travis Swicegood <travis@domain51.com>
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Pascal Varet
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SuperJared
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@ -46,6 +46,9 @@ Are you new to Django or to programming? This is the place to start!
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:doc:`Part 3 <intro/tutorial03>` |
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:doc:`Part 4 <intro/tutorial04>`
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* **Advanced Tutorials:**
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:doc:`How to write reusable apps <intro/reusable-apps>`
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The model layer
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===============
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@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ place: read this material to quickly get up and running.
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tutorial02
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tutorial03
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tutorial04
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reusable-apps
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whatsnext
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.. seealso::
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@ -0,0 +1,363 @@
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=============================================
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Advanced tutorial: How to write reusable apps
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=============================================
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This advanced tutorial begins where :doc:`Tutorial 4 </intro/tutorial04>` left
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off. We'll be turning our Web-poll into a standalone Python package you can
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reuse in new projects and share with other people.
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If you haven't recently completed Tutorials 1–4, we encourage you to review
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these so that your example project matches the one described below.
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Reusability matters
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===================
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It's a lot of work to design, build, test and maintain a web application. Many
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Python and Django projects share common problems. Wouldn't it be great if we
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could save some of this repeated work?
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Reusability is the way of life in Python. `The Python Package Index (PyPI)
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<http://guide.python-distribute.org/contributing.html#pypi-info>`_ has a vast
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range of packages you can use in your own Python programs. Check out `Django
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Packages <http://www.djangopackages.com>`_ for existing reusable apps you could
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incorporate in your project. Django itself is also just a Python package. This
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means that you can take existing Python packages or Django apps and compose
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them into your own web project. You only need to write the parts that make
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your project unique.
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Let's say you were starting a new project that needed a polls app like the one
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we've been working on. How do you make this app reusable? Luckily, you're well
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on the way already. In :doc:`Tutorial 3 </intro/tutorial03>`, we saw how we
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could decouple polls from the project-level URLconf using an ``include``.
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In this tutorial, we'll take further steps to make the app easy to use in new
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projects and ready to publish for others to install and use.
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.. admonition:: Package? App?
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A Python `package <http://docs.python.org/tutorial/modules.html#packages>`_
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provides a way of grouping related Python code for easy reuse. A package
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contains one or more files of Python code (also known as "modules").
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A package can be imported with ``import foo.bar`` or ``from foo import
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bar``. For a directory (like ``polls``) to form a package, it must contain
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a special file ``__init__.py``, even if this file is empty.
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A Django *app* is just a Python package that is specifically intended for
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use in a Django project. An app may also use common Django conventions,
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such as having a ``models.py`` file.
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Later on we use the term *packaging* to describe the process of making a
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Python package easy for others to install. It can be a little confusing, we
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know.
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Completing your reusable app
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============================
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After the previous tutorials, our project should look like this::
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mysite/
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manage.py
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mysite/
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__init__.py
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settings.py
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urls.py
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wsgi.py
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polls/
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admin.py
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__init__.py
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models.py
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tests.py
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urls.py
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views.py
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You also have a directory somewhere called ``mytemplates`` which you created in
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:doc:`Tutorial 2 </intro/tutorial02>`. You specified its location in the
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TEMPLATE_DIRS setting. This directory should look like this::
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mytemplates/
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admin/
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base_site.html
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polls/
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detail.html
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index.html
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results.html
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The polls app is already a Python package, thanks to the ``polls/__init__.py``
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file. That's a great start, but we can't just pick up this package and drop it
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into a new project. The polls templates are currently stored in the
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project-wide ``mytemplates`` directory. To make the app self-contained, it
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should also contain the necessary templates.
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Inside the ``polls`` app, create a new ``templates`` directory. Now move the
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``polls`` template directory from ``mytemplates`` into the new
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``templates``. Your project should now look like this::
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mysite/
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manage.py
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mysite/
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__init__.py
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settings.py
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urls.py
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wsgi.py
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polls/
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admin.py
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__init__.py
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models.py
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templates/
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polls/
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detail.html
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index.html
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results.html
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tests.py
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urls.py
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views.py
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Your project-wide templates directory should now look like this::
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mytemplates/
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admin/
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base_site.html
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Looking good! Now would be a good time to confirm that your polls application
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still works correctly. How does Django know how to find the new location of
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the polls templates even though we didn't modify :setting:`TEMPLATE_DIRS`?
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Django has a :setting:`TEMPLATE_LOADERS` setting which contains a list
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of callables that know how to import templates from various sources. One of
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the defaults is :class:`django.template.loaders.app_directories.Loader` which
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looks for a "templates" subdirectory in each of the :setting:`INSTALLED_APPS`.
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The ``polls`` directory could now be copied into a new Django project and
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immediately reused. It's not quite ready to be published though. For that, we
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need to package the app to make it easy for others to install.
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.. admonition:: Why nested?
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Why create a ``polls`` directory under ``templates`` when we're
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already inside the polls app? This directory is needed to avoid conflicts in
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Django's ``app_directories`` template loader. For example, if two
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apps had a template called ``base.html``, without the extra directory it
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wouldn't be possible to distinguish between the two. It's a good convention
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to use the name of your app for this directory.
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.. _installing-reusable-apps-prerequisites:
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Installing some prerequisites
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=============================
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The current state of Python packaging is a bit muddled with various tools. For
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this tutorial, we're going to use distribute_ to build our package. It's a
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community-maintained fork of the older ``setuptools`` project. We'll also be
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using `pip`_ to uninstall it after we're finished. You should install these
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two packages now. If you need help, you can refer to :ref:`how to install
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Django with pip<installing-official-release>`. You can install ``distribute``
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the same way.
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.. _distribute: http://pypi.python.org/pypi/distribute
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.. _pip: http://pypi.python.org/pypi/pip
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Packaging your app
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==================
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Python *packaging* refers to preparing your app in a specific format that can
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be easily installed and used. Django itself is packaged very much like
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this. For a small app like polls, this process isn't too difficult.
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1. First, create a parent directory for ``polls``, outside of your Django
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project. Call this directory ``django-polls``.
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.. admonition:: Choosing a name for your app
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When choosing a name for your package, check resources like PyPI to avoid
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naming conflicts with existing packages. It's often useful to prepend
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``django-`` to your module name when creating a package to distribute.
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This helps others looking for Django apps identify your app as Django
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specific.
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2. Move the ``polls`` directory into the ``django-polls`` directory.
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3. Create a file ``django-polls/README.txt`` with the following contents::
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=====
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Polls
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=====
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Polls is a simple Django app to conduct Web-based polls. For each
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question, visitors can choose between a fixed number of answers.
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Detailed documentation is in the "docs" directory.
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Quick start
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-----------
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1. Add "polls" to your INSTALLED_APPS setting like this::
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INSTALLED_APPS = (
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...
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'polls',
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)
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2. Include the polls URLconf in your project urls.py like this::
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url(r'^polls/', include('polls.urls')),
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3. Run `python manage.py syncdb` to create the polls models.
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4. Start the development server and visit http://127.0.0.1:8000/admin/
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to create a poll (you'll need the Admin app enabled).
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5. Visit http://127.0.0.1:8000/polls/ to participate in the poll.
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4. Create a ``django-polls/LICENSE`` file. Choosing a license is beyond the
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scope of this tutorial, but suffice it to say that code released publicly
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without a license is *useless*. Django and many Django-compatible apps are
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distributed under the BSD license; however, you're free to pick your own
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license. Just be aware that your licensing choice will affect who is able
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to use your code.
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5. Next we'll create a ``setup.py`` file which provides details about how to
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build and install the app. A full explanation of this file is beyond the
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scope of this tutorial, but the `distribute docs
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<http://packages.python.org/distribute/setuptools.html>`_ have a good explanation.
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Create a file ``django-polls/setup.py`` with the following contents::
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import os
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from setuptools import setup
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README = open(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'README.txt')).read()
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# allow setup.py to be run from any path
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os.chdir(os.path.normpath(os.path.join(os.path.abspath(__file__), os.pardir)))
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setup(
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name = 'django-polls',
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version = '0.1',
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packages = ['polls'],
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include_package_data = True,
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license = 'BSD License', # example license
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description = 'A simple Django app to conduct Web-based polls.',
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long_description = README,
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url = 'http://www.example.com/',
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author = 'Your Name',
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author_email = 'yourname@example.com',
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classifiers = [
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'Environment :: Web Environment',
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'Framework :: Django',
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'Intended Audience :: Developers',
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'License :: OSI Approved :: BSD License', # example license
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'Operating System :: OS Independent',
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'Programming Language :: Python',
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'Programming Language :: Python :: 2.6',
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'Programming Language :: Python :: 2.7',
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'Topic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP',
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'Topic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP :: Dynamic Content',
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],
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)
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.. admonition:: I thought you said we were going to use ``distribute``?
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Distribute is a drop-in replacement for ``setuptools``. Even though we
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appear to import from ``setuptools``, since we have ``distribute``
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installed, it will override the import.
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6. Only Python modules and packages are included in the package by default. To
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include additional files, we'll need to create a ``MANIFEST.in`` file. The
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distribute docs referred to in the previous step discuss this file in more
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details. To include the templates and our LICENSE file, create a file
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``django-polls/MANIFEST.in`` with the following contents::
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include LICENSE
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recursive-include polls/templates *
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7. It's optional, but recommended, to include detailed documentation with your
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app. Create an empty directory ``django-polls/docs`` for future
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documentation. Add an additional line to ``django-polls/MANIFEST.in``::
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recursive-include docs *
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Note that the ``docs`` directory won't be included in your package unless
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you add some files to it. Many Django apps also provide their documentation
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online through sites like `readthedocs.org <http://readthedocs.org>`_.
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8. Try building your package with ``python setup.py sdist`` (run from inside
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``django-polls``). This creates a directory called ``dist`` and builds your
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new package, ``django-polls-0.1.tar.gz``.
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For more information on packaging, see `The Hitchhiker's Guide to Packaging
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<http://guide.python-distribute.org/quickstart.html>`_.
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Using your own package
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======================
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Since we moved the ``polls`` directory out of the project, it's no longer
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working. We'll now fix this by installing our new ``django-polls`` package.
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.. admonition:: Installing as a system library
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The following steps install ``django-polls`` as a system library. In
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general, it's best to avoid messing with your system libraries to avoid
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breaking things. For this simple example though, the risk is low and it will
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help with understanding packaging. We'll explain how to uninstall in
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step 4.
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For experienced users, a neater way to manage your packages is to use
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"virtualenv" (see below).
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1. Inside ``django-polls/dist``, untar the new package
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``django-polls-0.1.tar.gz`` (e.g. ``tar xzvf django-polls-0.1.tar.gz``). If
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you're using Windows, you can download the command-line tool bsdtar_ to do
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this, or you can use a GUI-based tool such as 7-zip_.
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2. Change into the directory created in step 1 (e.g. ``cd django-polls-0.1``).
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3. If you're using GNU/Linux, Mac OS X or some other flavor of Unix, enter the
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command ``sudo python setup.py install`` at the shell prompt. If you're
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using Windows, start up a command shell with administrator privileges and
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run the command ``setup.py install``.
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With luck, your Django project should now work correctly again. Run the
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server again to confirm this.
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4. To uninstall the package, use pip (you already :ref:`installed it
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<installing-reusable-apps-prerequisites>`, right?)::
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sudo pip uninstall django-polls
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.. _bsdtar: http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/bsdtar.htm
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.. _7-zip: http://www.7-zip.org/
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.. _pip: http://pypi.python.org/pypi/pip
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Publishing your app
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===================
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Now that we've packaged and tested ``django-polls``, it's ready to share with
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the world! If this wasn't just an example, you could now:
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* Email the package to a friend.
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* Upload the package on your Web site.
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* Post the package on a public repository, such as `The Python Package Index
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(PyPI) <http://guide.python-distribute.org/contributing.html#pypi-info>`_.
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For more information on PyPI, see the `Quickstart
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<http://guide.python-distribute.org/quickstart.html#register-your-package-with-the-python-package-index-pypi>`_
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section of The Hitchhiker's Guide to Packaging. One detail this guide mentions
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is choosing the license under which your code is distributed.
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Installing Python packages with virtualenv
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==========================================
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Earlier, we installed the polls app as a system library. This has some
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disadvantages:
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* Modifying the system libraries can affect other Python software on your
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system.
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* You won't be able to run multiple versions of this package (or others with
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the same name).
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Typically, these situations only arise once you're maintaining several Django
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projects. When they do, the best solution is to use `virtualenv
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<http://www.virtualenv.org/>`_. This tool allows you to maintain multiple
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isolated Python environments, each with its own copy of the libraries and
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package namespace.
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@ -315,6 +315,12 @@ Load the page in your Web browser, and you should see a bulleted-list
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containing the "What's up" poll from Tutorial 1. The link points to the poll's
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detail page.
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.. admonition:: Organizing Templates
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Rather than one big templates directory, you can also store templates
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within each app. We'll discuss this in more detail in the :doc:`reusable
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apps tutorial</intro/reusable-apps>`.
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A shortcut: :func:`~django.shortcuts.render`
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--------------------------------------------
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@ -278,5 +278,10 @@ For full details on generic views, see the :doc:`generic views documentation
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What's next?
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============
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The tutorial ends here for the time being. In the meantime, you might want to
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check out some pointers on :doc:`where to go from here </intro/whatsnext>`.
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The beginner tutorial ends here for the time being. In the meantime, you might
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want to check out some pointers on :doc:`where to go from here
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</intro/whatsnext>`.
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If you are familiar with Python packaging and interested in learning how to
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turn polls into a "reusable app", check out :doc:`Advanced tutorial: How to
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write reusable apps</intro/reusable-apps>`.
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