django/docs/faq.txt

==========
Django FAQ
==========

General questions
=================

Why does this project exist?
----------------------------

Django grew from a very practical need: in our fast-paced newsroom, we often
have only a matter of hours to take a complicated Web application from
concept to public launch.  Django was designed to not only allow us to
build Web applications quickly, but to allow us to build them right.

Django would not be possible without a whole host of open-source projects --
`Apache`_, `Python`_, and `PostgreSQL`_ to name a few -- and we're thrilled to be
able to give something back to the open-source community.

.. _Apache: http://httpd.apache.org/
.. _Python: http://www.python.org/
.. _PostgreSQL: http://www.postgresql.org/


What does "Django" mean, and how do you pronounce it?
-----------------------------------------------------

Django is named after `Django Reinhardt`_, a gypsy jazz guitarist from the 1930s
to early 1950s. To this day, he's considered one of the best guitarists of all time.

Listen to his music. You'll like it.

According to Wikipedia_, "Django is pronounced **zhane**-go (with a long 'a')."

.. _Django Reinhardt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Django_Reinhardt
.. _Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Django_Reinhardt

Is Django stable?
-----------------

We've been using Django for almost two years. Sites built on Django have
weathered traffic spikes of over one million hits an hour, and at least
one Slashdotting. Yes, it's quite stable.

Does Django scale?
------------------

Yes. Compared to development time, hardware is cheap, and so Django is
designed to take advantage of as much hardware as you can throw at it.
Django ships with clean separation of the database layer from the
application layer and a simple-yet-powerful `cache framework`_.

.. _`cache framework`: http://www.djangoproject.com/documentation/cache/

Who's behind this?
------------------

Django was developed at `World Online`_, the Web department of a newspaper in
Lawrence, Kansas, USA.

`Adrian Holovaty`_
    Adrian is a gypsy-jazz virtuoso, an amateur Beatles historian and a proud
    Chicagoan. He's also a pretty decent programmer, with a knack for whipping
    data into shape and putting it to work for the good of his fellow man.
    Adrian is the lead developer at World Online and the man behind the code at
    `chicagocrime.org`_.

`Simon Willison`_
    Simon is a well-respected Web developer from England. He had a one-year
    stint at World Online, during which time he and Adrian developed Django from
    scratch. He's enthusiastic, he's passionate about best practices in Web
    development, and he really likes squirrels. Probably to a fault. He went
    back to England to finish his degree and is poised to continue doing big,
    exciting things on the Web. Read his weblog at `simon.incutio.com`_.

`Jacob Kaplan-Moss`_
    Jacob is a whipper-snapper from California who spends equal time coding and
    cooking. He does Web development for World Online and actively hacks on
    various cool side projects. He's contributed to the Python-ObjC bindings and
    was the first guy to figure out how to write Tivo apps in Python. Lately
    he's been messing with Python on the PSP.

`Wilson Miner`_
    Wilson's design-fu makes us all look like rock stars. When not sneaking
    into apartment complex swimming pools  he is the Commercial Development
    Director for World Online, which means he makes the money that pays all our
    paychecks.

.. _`World Online`: http://code.djangoproject.com/wiki/WorldOnline
.. _`Adrian Holovaty`: http://www.holovaty.com/
.. _`chicagocrime.org`: http://www.chicagocrime.org/
.. _`Simon Willison`: http://simon.incutio.com/
.. _`simon.incutio.com`: http://simon.incutio.com/
.. _`Jacob Kaplan-Moss`: http://www.jacobian.org/
.. _`Wilson Miner`: http://www.wilsonminer.com/live/

Using Django
============

How do I get started?
---------------------

We're working on this documentation as you read this.

What are Django's prerequisites?
--------------------------------

Django requires Python_ 2.3 or later, Apache2_, and mod_python_.  You'll
also need a database engine; PostgreSQL_ is recommended, and MySQL_ is
supported.

We're currently working on expanding those options: WSGI_ support is in the
works (which will allow Django to run under CGI, FCGI, etc.), as is support for
a number of other database backends.

.. _Python: http://www.python.org/
.. _Apache2: http://httpd.apache.org/
.. _mod_python: http://www.modpython.org/
.. _PostgreSQL: http://www.postgresql.org/
.. _MySQL: http://www.mysql.com/
.. _WSGI: http://www.python.org/peps/pep-0333.html

The admin interface
===================

The dynamically-generated admin site is ugly! How can I change it?
------------------------------------------------------------------

We think it's very purty, but if you don't agree, you can modify the admin
site's presentation by editing the CSS stylesheet and/or associated image files.
The site is built using semantic HTML, so any changes you'd like to make should
be possible by editing the CSS stylesheet. We've got a `guide to the CSS used in
the admin`_ to get you started.

.. _`guide to the CSS used in the admin`: http://www.djangoproject.com/documentation/admin_css/