Viewing github.com/django/django-stable-4.1.x/docs/index.txt

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====================
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Django documentation
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====================
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.. rubric:: Everything you need to know about Django.

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.. _index-first-steps:
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First steps
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```
===========
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Are you new to Django or to programming? This is the place to start!

```
* **From scratch:**
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```
  :doc:`Overview <intro/overview>` |
```
```
  :doc:`Installation <intro/install>`
```
```
* **Tutorial:**
```

  :doc:`Part 1: Requests and responses <intro/tutorial01>` |

  :doc:`Part 2: Models and the admin site <intro/tutorial02>` |

  :doc:`Part 3: Views and templates <intro/tutorial03>` |

  :doc:`Part 4: Forms and generic views <intro/tutorial04>` |

  :doc:`Part 5: Testing <intro/tutorial05>` |

  :doc:`Part 6: Static files <intro/tutorial06>` |

  :doc:`Part 7: Customizing the admin site <intro/tutorial07>`

```
* **Advanced Tutorials:**
```

  :doc:`How to write reusable apps <intro/reusable-apps>` |

  :doc:`Writing your first patch for Django <intro/contributing>`

```
Getting help
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```
============
```
```
Having trouble? We'd like to help!
```

* Try the :doc:`FAQ <faq/index>` -- it's got answers to many common questions.

* Looking for specific information? Try the :ref:`genindex`, :ref:`modindex` or

  the :doc:`detailed table of contents <contents>`.

* Not found anything? See :doc:`faq/help` for information on getting support

  and asking questions to the community.

* Report bugs with Django in our `ticket tracker`_.

.. _ticket tracker: https://code.djangoproject.com/

```
How the documentation is organized
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```
==================================
```

Django has a lot of documentation. A high-level overview of how it's organized

will help you know where to look for certain things:

* :doc:`Tutorials </intro/index>` take you by the hand through a series of

  steps to create a web application. Start here if you're new to Django or web

  application development. Also look at the ":ref:`index-first-steps`".

* :doc:`Topic guides </topics/index>` discuss key topics and concepts at a

  fairly high level and provide useful background information and explanation.

* :doc:`Reference guides </ref/index>` contain technical reference for APIs and

  other aspects of Django's machinery. They describe how it works and how to

  use it but assume that you have a basic understanding of key concepts.

* :doc:`How-to guides </howto/index>` are recipes. They guide you through the

  steps involved in addressing key problems and use-cases. They are more

  advanced than tutorials and assume some knowledge of how Django works.

```
The model layer
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```
===============
```

Django provides an abstraction layer (the "models") for structuring and

manipulating the data of your web application. Learn more about it below:

```
* **Models:**
```

  :doc:`Introduction to models <topics/db/models>` |

  :doc:`Field types <ref/models/fields>` |

  :doc:`Indexes <ref/models/indexes>` |

  :doc:`Meta options <ref/models/options>` |

  :doc:`Model class <ref/models/class>`

```
* **QuerySets:**
```

  :doc:`Making queries <topics/db/queries>` |

  :doc:`QuerySet method reference <ref/models/querysets>` |

  :doc:`Lookup expressions <ref/models/lookups>`

```
* **Model instances:**
```

  :doc:`Instance methods <ref/models/instances>` |

  :doc:`Accessing related objects <ref/models/relations>`

```
* **Migrations:**
```

  :doc:`Introduction to Migrations<topics/migrations>` |

  :doc:`Operations reference <ref/migration-operations>` |

  :doc:`SchemaEditor <ref/schema-editor>` |

  :doc:`Writing migrations <howto/writing-migrations>`

```
* **Advanced:**
```

  :doc:`Managers <topics/db/managers>` |

```
  :doc:`Raw SQL <topics/db/sql>` |
```

  :doc:`Transactions <topics/db/transactions>` |

  :doc:`Aggregation <topics/db/aggregation>` |

```
  :doc:`Search <topics/db/search>` |
```

  :doc:`Custom fields <howto/custom-model-fields>` |

  :doc:`Multiple databases <topics/db/multi-db>` |

  :doc:`Custom lookups <howto/custom-lookups>` |

  :doc:`Query Expressions <ref/models/expressions>` |

  :doc:`Conditional Expressions <ref/models/conditional-expressions>` |

  :doc:`Database Functions <ref/models/database-functions>`

```
* **Other:**
```

  :doc:`Supported databases <ref/databases>` |

  :doc:`Legacy databases <howto/legacy-databases>` |

  :doc:`Providing initial data <howto/initial-data>` |

  :doc:`Optimize database access <topics/db/optimization>` |

  :doc:`PostgreSQL specific features <ref/contrib/postgres/index>`

```
The view layer
```
```
==============
```

Django has the concept of "views" to encapsulate the logic responsible for

processing a user's request and for returning the response. Find all you need

to know about views via the links below:

```
* **The basics:**
```
```
  :doc:`URLconfs <topics/http/urls>` |
```

  :doc:`View functions <topics/http/views>` |

  :doc:`Shortcuts <topics/http/shortcuts>` |

  :doc:`Decorators <topics/http/decorators>` |

  :doc:`Asynchronous Support <topics/async>`

```
* **Reference:**
```
```
  :doc:`Built-in Views <ref/views>` |
```

  :doc:`Request/response objects <ref/request-response>` |

  :doc:`TemplateResponse objects <ref/template-response>`

```
* **File uploads:**
```

  :doc:`Overview <topics/http/file-uploads>` |

  :doc:`File objects <ref/files/file>` |

  :doc:`Storage API <ref/files/storage>` |

  :doc:`Managing files <topics/files>` |

  :doc:`Custom storage <howto/custom-file-storage>`

```
* **Class-based views:**
```

  :doc:`Overview <topics/class-based-views/index>` |

  :doc:`Built-in display views <topics/class-based-views/generic-display>` |

  :doc:`Built-in editing views <topics/class-based-views/generic-editing>` |

  :doc:`Using mixins <topics/class-based-views/mixins>` |

  :doc:`API reference <ref/class-based-views/index>` |

  :doc:`Flattened index<ref/class-based-views/flattened-index>`

```
* **Advanced:**
```

  :doc:`Generating CSV <howto/outputting-csv>` |

  :doc:`Generating PDF <howto/outputting-pdf>`

```
* **Middleware:**
```

  :doc:`Overview <topics/http/middleware>` |

  :doc:`Built-in middleware classes <ref/middleware>`

```
The template layer
```
```
==================
```

The template layer provides a designer-friendly syntax for rendering the

information to be presented to the user. Learn how this syntax can be used by

designers and how it can be extended by programmers:

```
* **The basics:**
```
```
  :doc:`Overview <topics/templates>`
```
```
* **For designers:**
```

  :doc:`Language overview <ref/templates/language>` |

  :doc:`Built-in tags and filters <ref/templates/builtins>` |

  :doc:`Humanization <ref/contrib/humanize>`

```
* **For programmers:**
```

  :doc:`Template API <ref/templates/api>` |

  :doc:`Custom tags and filters <howto/custom-template-tags>` |

  :doc:`Custom template backend <howto/custom-template-backend>`

```
Forms
```
```
=====
```

Django provides a rich framework to facilitate the creation of forms and the

```
manipulation of form data.
```
```
* **The basics:**
```

  :doc:`Overview <topics/forms/index>` |

```
  :doc:`Form API <ref/forms/api>` |
```

  :doc:`Built-in fields <ref/forms/fields>` |

  :doc:`Built-in widgets <ref/forms/widgets>`

```
* **Advanced:**
```

  :doc:`Forms for models <topics/forms/modelforms>` |

  :doc:`Integrating media <topics/forms/media>` |

  :doc:`Formsets <topics/forms/formsets>` |

  :doc:`Customizing validation <ref/forms/validation>`

```
The development process
```
```
=======================
```

Learn about the various components and tools to help you in the development and

```
testing of Django applications:
```
```
* **Settings:**
```
```
  :doc:`Overview <topics/settings>` |
```

  :doc:`Full list of settings <ref/settings>`

```
* **Applications:**
```
```
  :doc:`Overview <ref/applications>`
```
```
* **Exceptions:**
```
```
  :doc:`Overview <ref/exceptions>`
```
```
* **django-admin and manage.py:**
```
```
  :doc:`Overview <ref/django-admin>` |
```

  :doc:`Adding custom commands <howto/custom-management-commands>`

```
* **Testing:**
```

  :doc:`Introduction <topics/testing/index>` |

  :doc:`Writing and running tests <topics/testing/overview>` |

  :doc:`Included testing tools <topics/testing/tools>` |

  :doc:`Advanced topics <topics/testing/advanced>`

```
* **Deployment:**
```

  :doc:`Overview <howto/deployment/index>` |

  :doc:`WSGI servers <howto/deployment/wsgi/index>` |

  :doc:`ASGI servers <howto/deployment/asgi/index>` |

  :doc:`Deploying static files <howto/static-files/deployment>` |

  :doc:`Tracking code errors by email <howto/error-reporting>` |

  :doc:`Deployment checklist <howto/deployment/checklist>`

```
The admin
```
```
=========
```

Find all you need to know about the automated admin interface, one of Django's

```
most popular features:
```

* :doc:`Admin site <ref/contrib/admin/index>`

* :doc:`Admin actions <ref/contrib/admin/actions>`

* :doc:`Admin documentation generator<ref/contrib/admin/admindocs>`

```
Security
```
```
========
```

Security is a topic of paramount importance in the development of web

applications and Django provides multiple protection tools and mechanisms:

* :doc:`Security overview <topics/security>`

* :doc:`Disclosed security issues in Django <releases/security>`

* :doc:`Clickjacking protection <ref/clickjacking>`

* :doc:`Cross Site Request Forgery protection <ref/csrf>`

* :doc:`Cryptographic signing <topics/signing>`

* :ref:`Security Middleware <security-middleware>`

```
Internationalization and localization
```
```
=====================================
```

Django offers a robust internationalization and localization framework to

assist you in the development of applications for multiple languages and world

```
regions:
```

* :doc:`Overview <topics/i18n/index>` |

  :doc:`Internationalization <topics/i18n/translation>` |

  :ref:`Localization <how-to-create-language-files>` |

  :doc:`Localized web UI formatting and form input <topics/i18n/formatting>`

* :doc:`Time zones </topics/i18n/timezones>`

```
Performance and optimization
```
```
============================
```

There are a variety of techniques and tools that can help get your code running

more efficiently - faster, and using fewer system resources.

* :doc:`Performance and optimization overview <topics/performance>`

```
Geographic framework
```
```
====================
```

:doc:`GeoDjango <ref/contrib/gis/index>` intends to be a world-class geographic

web framework. Its goal is to make it as easy as possible to build GIS web

applications and harness the power of spatially enabled data.

```
Common web application tools
```
```
============================
```

Django offers multiple tools commonly needed in the development of web

```
applications:
```
```
* **Authentication:**
```

  :doc:`Overview <topics/auth/index>` |

  :doc:`Using the authentication system <topics/auth/default>` |

  :doc:`Password management <topics/auth/passwords>` |

  :doc:`Customizing authentication <topics/auth/customizing>` |

  :doc:`API Reference <ref/contrib/auth>`

```
* :doc:`Caching <topics/cache>`
```
```
* :doc:`Logging <topics/logging>`
```
```
* :doc:`Sending emails <topics/email>`
```

* :doc:`Syndication feeds (RSS/Atom) <ref/contrib/syndication>`

* :doc:`Pagination <topics/pagination>`

* :doc:`Messages framework <ref/contrib/messages>`

* :doc:`Serialization <topics/serialization>`

* :doc:`Sessions <topics/http/sessions>`

* :doc:`Sitemaps <ref/contrib/sitemaps>`

* :doc:`Static files management <ref/contrib/staticfiles>`

* :doc:`Data validation <ref/validators>`

```
Other core functionalities
```
```
==========================
```

Learn about some other core functionalities of the Django framework:

* :doc:`Conditional content processing <topics/conditional-view-processing>`

* :doc:`Content types and generic relations <ref/contrib/contenttypes>`

* :doc:`Flatpages <ref/contrib/flatpages>`

* :doc:`Redirects <ref/contrib/redirects>`

```
* :doc:`Signals <topics/signals>`
```

* :doc:`System check framework <topics/checks>`

* :doc:`The sites framework <ref/contrib/sites>`

* :doc:`Unicode in Django <ref/unicode>`

```
The Django open-source project
```
```
==============================
```

Learn about the development process for the Django project itself and about how

```
you can contribute:
```
```
* **Community:**
```

  :doc:`How to get involved <internals/contributing/index>` |

  :doc:`The release process <internals/release-process>` |

  :doc:`Team organization <internals/organization>` |

  :doc:`The Django source code repository <internals/git>` |

  :doc:`Security policies <internals/security>` |

  :doc:`Mailing lists <internals/mailing-lists>`

```
* **Design philosophies:**
```

  :doc:`Overview <misc/design-philosophies>`

```
* **Documentation:**
```

  :doc:`About this documentation <internals/contributing/writing-documentation>`

```
* **Third-party distributions:**
```
```
  :doc:`Overview <misc/distributions>`
```
```
* **Django over time:**
```

  :doc:`API stability <misc/api-stability>` |

  :doc:`Release notes and upgrading instructions <releases/index>` |

  :doc:`Deprecation Timeline <internals/deprecation>`