Django REST Framework (DRF) Learning Plan

Overview

This is a 10-day structured plan to learn Django REST Framework (DRF) by following the official documentation. The goal is to learn DRF concepts and build APIs effectively.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

• Good knowledge of Python & Django
• Django installed (pip install django)
• DRF installed (pip install djangorestframework)
• Postman or an API testing tool

Learning Schedule

Day 1: Introduction & Setup

• Read: Overview & Installation
• Install DRF and set up a Django project
• Learn about the request/response cycle

Practice:

• ✅ Create a Django project
• ✅ Add DRF to INSTALLED_APPS and configure settings

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Day 2: Serializers

• Read: Serializers
• Understand ModelSerializer vs Serializer

Practice:

• ✅ Create a Serializer for a model
• ✅ Convert Python objects to JSON and vice versa

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Day 3: Requests, Responses & API Views

• Read: Requests & Responses
• Learn about APIView, Request, and Response

Practice:

• ✅ Create a simple API view
• ✅ Use different HTTP methods (GET, POST)

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Day 4: Class-Based Views & Mixins

• Read: Class-Based Views
• Learn about mixins like ListModelMixin, CreateModelMixin

Practice:

• ✅ Refactor API views using generic views
• ✅ Create an API using ListCreateAPIView & RetrieveUpdateDestroyAPIView

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Day 5: ViewSets & Routers

• Read: ViewSets & Routers
• Learn about ModelViewSet and SimpleRouter

Practice:

• ✅ Create a ModelViewSet for a model
• ✅ Register it with DefaultRouter

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Day 6: Authentication (JWT & Token-based)

• Read: Authentication
• Learn TokenAuthentication and JWT (using djangorestframework-simplejwt)

Practice:

• ✅ Implement JWT authentication
• ✅ Test authentication with Postman

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Day 7: Permissions & Throttling

• Read: Permissions
• Learn about IsAuthenticated, IsAdminUser, Custom Permissions

Practice:

• ✅ Restrict API access based on user roles
• ✅ Implement custom permissions

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Day 8: Pagination, Filtering & Searching

• Read: Pagination
• Read: Filtering

Practice:

• ✅ Add pagination to API results
• ✅ Implement filtering using Django filters

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Day 9: API Testing & Documentation

• Read: Testing
• Learn about Swagger & DRF’s built-in API docs

Practice:

• ✅ Write unit tests for APIs using Django’s test framework
• ✅ Set up Swagger for API documentation

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Day 10: Deployment & Best Practices

• Read: Deployment
• Learn about caching, security, and performance

Practice:

• ✅ Deploy a DRF project on Render/Heroku
• ✅ Optimize API performance

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Additional Tips

• Use Postman to test APIs
• Take Notes while reading the documentation
• Practice Daily to reinforce concepts

Next Steps

• Explore Async Django
• Learn Django Channels for WebSockets
• Contribute to open-source DRF projects

Happy Learning! 🚀