Django 1 is coming, so get ready

You can consider Django for inclusion in the category of things that make your life easier instead of more difficult if you find yourself needing/wanting to do web development for some specific purpose, but you find web development with Java based frameworks tedious, and consider PHP hokey (or, if, like me you are a former Perl freak who is still pissed at PHP for stealing Perl's thunder).

For all its greatness, it's been avoided by many for reasons including:

• It's not Java based
• It's not ASP.NET
• It's not Ruby on Rails
• It's not PHP
• The version number < 1.0
  

The final item in the list can be scratched off soon as 1.0 is apparently out next week (the alphas and betas have been around for a while now). If you are in Mountain View, there's a release party.

Now that the magic 1 number has been reached those wishing to join in the fun can find out what it's about via this tutorial wherein SOFENG builds a blog. You will want to know Python, of course. The Django Book is nicely laid out and organized. It's worth purchasing, and is also freely available on-line.

It's 'the web framework for perfectionists with deadlines' (tm). From my own admittedly limited exposure to it so far, what this means is:

• It's pretty easy to learn
• It provides a really nice built-in admin framework saving you from having to write the same code you've written a hundred times before one more time
• You can get the basic outline of your app up and running quickly.
• It's got a nice template system
• It's got modules for doing things like adding RSS or Atom feeds for your site with such ease it oughta be against the law.
  

This blog post has been far too lopsidedly positive. I hate it when the Herald-Times Editor does that Orchids and Onions thing, but doesn't give out Onions. Onions to Comcast for our overpriced internet connection that keeps dropping out. Onions to humidity. Onions to people on the cell phone while driving. I feel better now.