Using Django with React involves integrating a frontend technology (React JS) with a backend technology (Django). Django is a high-level Python web framework, and ReactJS is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces. To utilize both technologies, we need to build a Restful API in Django which can be connected with the frontend ReactJS.
Let’s outline a step-by-step guide on how to use Django with React.
Step 1: Set up Django: You need to have Python installed on your computer. Django can be installed with the pip command, “pip install Django”.
Step 2: Create a Django project: You can start a new project using the command, “django-admin startproject project-name”.
Step 3: Set up Django Rest Framework: Install Django Rest Framework using the “pip install djangorestframework” command. It will allow us to build a Restful API.
Step 4: Django Models: Setup a new application using “python manage.py startapp app-name”. In your app, you create models which Django uses to create a database schema.
Step 5: Django Serializers: Serializers provide a way to convert complex data types, such as Django models, into Python data types. These can then be rendered into JSON or XML formats.
Step 6: Django Views: Views are the handlers that respond to requests from web browsers or client applications. We create views in Django to handle the request-response cycle.
Step 7: Django URL Routing: In Django, we use URLconf which is a URL configuration module where we map urls with the corresponding views.
The steps above are about creating a back end with Django and Django Rest Framework. Once you’ve set up the backend, you can move to the frontend.
Step 8: Set up React: Install NodeJS and npm (Node Package Manager). Then, create a new React app using “npx create-react-app app-name”.
Step 9: Install Axios package via npm. Axios is a promisified HTTP client that works in the browser and Node.js environment. It makes HTTP requests from Node.js and is very useful in this particular case for dealing with HTTP/HTTPS requests.
Step 10: React Components: In React App, create a component which can make calls to the API we created and fetch data.
In conclusion, while Django and ReactJS are both powerful tools on their own, when combined they create a highly efficient web development process. Django and Django Rest Framework equip you with a high-speed system for handling backend requests, while ReactJS allows those requests to be handled flexibly and rapidly in the front end.
Sources Used:
1. Django Documentation: https://docs.djangoproject.com/
2. React Documentation: https://reactjs.org/tutorial/tutorial.html
3. Django Rest Framework: https://www.django-rest-framework.org/tutorial/1-serialization/
4. Axios: https://www.npmjs.com/package/axios
5. Node.js Documentation: https://nodejs.org/en/docs/guides/
