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Updates to chapters 1 & 2 - mostly factual, a little style
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jacobian committed Oct 26, 2012
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17 changes: 5 additions & 12 deletions chapter01.rst
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Expand Up @@ -335,20 +335,13 @@ print by Apress.
Required Django Version
-----------------------

This book covers Django 1.1.
This book covers Django 1.4.

Django's developers maintain backwards compatibility within "major version"
numbers. This commitment means that, if you write an application for Django
1.1, it will still work for 1.2, 1.3, 1.9 and any other version number that
starts with "1."
Django's developers maintain backwards compatibility as much as possible, but
occasionally introduce some backwards incompatible changes. The changes in each
release are always covered in the release notes, which you can find here:
https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/releases/1.X

Once Django hits 2.0, though, your applications might need to be rewritten --
but version 2.0 is a long way away. As a point of reference, it took more than
three years to release version 1.0. (This is very similar to the compatibility
policy taken by the Python language itself: code that was written for Python
2.0 works on Python 2.6, but not necessarily with Python 3.0.)

Given that this book covers 1.1, it should serve you well for some time.

Getting Help
------------
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137 changes: 60 additions & 77 deletions chapter02.rst
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Expand Up @@ -22,9 +22,9 @@ framework is to make sure you have Python installed.
Python Versions
---------------

The core Django framework (version 1.4+) works with any Python version from 2.5 to 2.7,
inclusive. Django's optional GIS (Geographic Information Systems) support
requires Python 2.5 to 2.7.
The core Django framework (version 1.4+) works with any Python version from 2.5
to 2.7, inclusive. Django's optional GIS (Geographic Information Systems)
support requires Python 2.5 to 2.7.

If you're not sure which version of Python to install and you have complete
freedom over the decision, pick the latest one in the 2.x series: version 2.7.
Expand All @@ -36,26 +36,23 @@ Python 2.5, so using a later version of Python keeps your options open.

.. admonition:: Django and Python 3.0

At the time of writing, Python 3.0 had been released, but Django didn't
yet support it. Python 3.0 introduced a substantial number of
At the time of writing, Python 3.0 had been released, but Django only
supported it experimentally. Python 3.0 introduced a substantial number of
backwards-incompatible changes to the language itself, and, as a result,
we expect most major Python libraries and frameworks, including Django,
will take a few years to catch up.

If you're new to Python and are wondering whether to learn Python 2.x or
Python 3.x, our advice is to stick with Python 2.x.
many major Python libraries and frameworks, including Django, had not yet
caught up. Python 2.6-3.2 will be supported by Django 1.5.

Installation
------------

If you're on Linux or Mac OS X, you probably have Python already installed.
Type ``python`` at a command prompt (or in Applications/Utilities/Terminal, in
OS X). If you see something like this, then Python is installed::
Python 2.7.3rc2 (default, Apr 22 2012, 22:30:17)

Python 2.7.3rc2 (default, Apr 22 2012, 22:30:17)
[GCC 4.6.3] on linux2
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>>
>>>

Otherwise, you'll need to download and install Python. It's fast and easy, and
detailed instructions are available at http://www.python.org/download/
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -111,23 +108,24 @@ for third-party libraries. Usually it's in a place like
Installing the "Development" Version
------------------------------

Django uses Git (http://git-scm.com) for its source control. The latest and greatest
Django development version available from Django's official Git repository
(https://github.com/django/django). You should consider installing this version
if you want to work on the bleeding edge, or if you want to contribute code
to Django itself.

Git is a free, open source distributed revision-control system, and the Django team
uses it to manage changes to the Django codebase. You can download and install Git from
http://git-scm.com/download but it is easier to install with your operating system's
package manager. You can use Git to grab the very latest Django source code
and, at any given time, you can update your local version of the Django code
to get the latest changes and improvements made by Django developers.

When using the development version, keep in mind there's no guarantee
things won't be broken at any given moment. With that said, though,
some members of the Django team run production sites on development version,
so they have an incentive to keep it stable.
Django uses Git (http://git-scm.com) for its source control. The latest and
greatest Django development version available from Django's official Git
repository (https://github.com/django/django). You should consider installing
this version if you want to work on the bleeding edge, or if you want to
contribute code to Django itself.

Git is a free, open source distributed revision-control system, and the Django
team uses it to manage changes to the Django codebase. You can download and
install Git from http://git-scm.com/download but it is easier to install with
your operating system's package manager. You can use Git to grab the very latest
Django source code and, at any given time, you can update your local version of
the Django code to get the latest changes and improvements made by Django
developers.

When using the development version, keep in mind there's no guarantee things
won't be broken at any given moment. With that said, though, some members of the
Django team run production sites on the development version, so they have an
incentive to keep it stable.

To grab the latest Django, follow these steps:

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -164,23 +162,21 @@ need to run ``python setup.py install``-- you've just done the work by hand!

Because the Django code changes often with bug fixes and feature additions,
you'll probably want to update it every once in a while. To update the code,
just run the command ``git pull origin master`` from within the ``djmaster`` directory. When
you run that command, Git will contact https://github.com/django/django,
determine whether any of Django's code has changed, and update your local
version of the code with any changes that have been made since you last
updated. It's quite slick.

Finally, if you use Django development version, you should know how to figure out
which version of Django you're running. Knowing your version number is important
if you ever need to reach out to the community for help, or if you submit improvements to the
framework. In these cases, you should tell people the revision, also known
as a "changeset," that you're using. To find out your current changeset,
type "git log -1" from within the ``django`` directory, and
look for the identifier after "commit". This number changes each time
Django is changed, whether through a bug fix, feature addition, documentation
improvement or anything else. Among some members of the Django community, it's
a badge of honor to be able to say, "I've been using Django since [insert very
low revision number here]."
just run the command ``git pull origin master`` from within the ``djmaster``
directory. When you run that command, Git will contact
https://github.com/django/django, determine whether any of Django's code has
changed, and update your local version of the code with any changes that have
been made since you last updated. It's quite slick.

Finally, if you use Django development version, you should know how to figure
out which version of Django you're running. Knowing your version number is
important if you ever need to reach out to the community for help, or if you
submit improvements to the framework. In these cases, you should tell people the
revision, also known as a "commit," that you're using. To find out your current
commit, type "git log -1" from within the ``django`` directory, and look for the
identifier after "commit". This number changes each time Django is changed,
whether through a bug fix, feature addition, documentation improvement or
anything else.

Testing the Django installation
===============================
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -266,13 +262,12 @@ Setting up the database is a two-step process:

If you're just playing around with Django and don't want to install a database
server, consider using SQLite. SQLite is unique in the list of supported
databases in that it doesn't require either of the above steps, if you're using
Python 2.5 or higher. It merely reads and writes its data to a single file on
your filesystem, and Python versions 2.5 and higher include built-in support
for it.
databases in that it doesn't require either of the above steps. It merely reads
and writes its data to a single file on your filesystem, and Python versions 2.5
and higher include built-in support for it.

On Windows, obtaining database driver binaries can be frustrating. If you're
eager to jump in, we recommend using Python 2.5 and its built-in support for
eager to jump in, we recommend using Python 2.7 and its built-in support for
SQLite.

Using Django with PostgreSQL
Expand All @@ -294,21 +289,8 @@ system offers a package called "python-psycopg2", "psycopg2-python",
Using Django with SQLite 3
--------------------------

If you're using Python version 2.5 or higher, you're in luck: no
database-specific installation is required, because Python ships with SQLite
support. Skip ahead to the next section.

If you're working with Python 2.4 or older, you'll need SQLite 3 -- *not*
version 2 -- from http://www.djangoproject.com/r/sqlite/ and the ``pysqlite``
package from http://www.djangoproject.com/r/python-sqlite/. Make sure you have
``pysqlite`` version 2.0.3 or higher.

On Windows, you can skip installing the former (the separate SQLite binaries),
because they're statically linked into the ``pysqlite`` binaries.

If you're on Linux, check whether your distribution's package-management system
offers a package called "python-sqlite3", "sqlite-python", "pysqlite" or
something similar.
You're in luck: no database-specific installation is required, because Python
ships with SQLite support. Skip ahead to the next section.

Using Django with MySQL
-----------------------
Expand All @@ -329,8 +311,9 @@ Using Django with Oracle
Django works with Oracle Database Server versions 9i and higher.

If you're using Oracle, you'll need to install the ``cx_Oracle`` library,
available at http://cx-oracle.sourceforge.net/. Use version 4.3.1 or higher,
but avoid version 5.0 due to a bug in that version of the driver.
available at http://cx-oracle.sourceforge.net/. Use version 4.3.1 or higher, but
avoid version 5.0 due to a bug in that version of the driver. Version 5.0.1
resolved the bug, however, so you can choose a higher version as well.

Using Django Without a Database
-------------------------------
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -393,7 +376,7 @@ If you see a "permission denied" message when running
To do this, navigate to the directory where ``django-admin.py`` is installed
(e.g., ``cd /usr/local/bin``) and run the command ``chmod +x django-admin.py``.

The ``startproject`` command creates a directory containing four files::
The ``startproject`` command creates a directory containing five files::

mysite/
manage.py
Expand All @@ -405,14 +388,14 @@ The ``startproject`` command creates a directory containing four files::

.. note:: Doesn't match what you see?

The default project layout recently changed. If you're seeing a
The default project layout recently changed. If you're seeing a
"flat" layout (with no inner ``mysite/`` directory), you're probably using
a version of Django that doesn't match this tutorial version. This book covers
Django 1.4 and above, so if you're using an older version you probably want to
Django 1.4 and above, so if you're using an older version you probably want to
consult Django's official documentation.

The documentation for Django 1.X version is available at https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.X/.

These files are as follows:

* ``mysite/``: The outer ``mysite/`` directory is just a container for your project.
Expand All @@ -438,7 +421,7 @@ These files are as follows:
* ``urls.py``: The URLs for this Django project. Think of this as the
"table of contents" of your Django-powered site.

* ``wsgi.py``: An entry-point for WSGI-compatible webservers to serve your project.
* ``wsgi.py``: An entry-point for WSGI-compatible webservers to serve your project.
See How to deploy with WSGI (https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.4/howto/deployment/wsgi/) for more details.

Despite their small size, these files already constitute a working Django
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -468,13 +451,13 @@ You'll see something like this::
Validating models...
0 errors found.

Django version 1.4.1, using settings 'mysite.settings'
Django version 1.4.2, using settings 'mysite.settings'
Development server is running at http://127.0.0.1:8000/
Quit the server with CONTROL-C.

This launches the server locally, on port 8000, accessible only to connections
from your own computer. Now that it's running, visit http://127.0.0.1:8000/
with your Web browser. You might see a different Django version depending on
with your Web browser. You might see a different Django version depending on
which version of Django you have installed. You'll see a "Welcome to Django" page shaded in a
pleasant pastel blue. It worked!

Expand Down

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