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102 lines
4.7 KiB
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102 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
=====================================
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Writing your first Django app, part 8
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=====================================
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This tutorial begins where :doc:`Tutorial 7 </intro/tutorial07>` left off. We've
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built our web-poll application and will now look at third-party packages. One of
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Django's strengths is the rich ecosystem of third-party packages. They're
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community developed packages that can be used to quickly improve the feature set
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of an application.
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This tutorial will show how to add `Django Debug Toolbar
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<https://django-debug-toolbar.readthedocs.io>`_, a commonly used third-party
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package. The Django Debug Toolbar has ranked in the top three most used
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third-party packages in the Django Developers Survey in recent years.
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.. admonition:: Where to get help:
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If you're having trouble going through this tutorial, please head over to
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the :doc:`Getting Help</faq/help>` section of the FAQ.
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Installing Django Debug Toolbar
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===============================
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Django Debug Toolbar is a useful tool for debugging Django web applications.
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It's a third-party package maintained by the `Jazzband
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<https://jazzband.co>`_ organization. The toolbar helps you understand how your
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application functions and to identify problems. It does so by providing panels
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that provide debug information about the current request and response.
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To install a third-party application like the toolbar, you need to install
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the package by running the below command within an activated virtual
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environment. This is similar to our earlier step to :ref:`install Django
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<installing-official-release>`.
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.. console::
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$ python -m pip install django-debug-toolbar
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Third-party packages that integrate with Django need some post-installation
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setup to integrate them with your project. Often you will need to add the
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package's Django app to your :setting:`INSTALLED_APPS` setting. Some packages
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need other changes, like additions to your URLconf (``urls.py``).
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Django Debug Toolbar requires several setup steps. Follow them in `its
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installation guide
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<https://django-debug-toolbar.readthedocs.io/en/latest/installation.html>`_.
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The steps are not duplicated in this tutorial, because as a third-party
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package, it may change separately to Django's schedule.
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Once installed, you should be able to see the DjDT "handle" on the right side
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of the browser window when you refresh the polls application. Click it to open
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the debug toolbar and use the tools in each panel. See the `panels
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documentation page
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<https://django-debug-toolbar.readthedocs.io/en/latest/panels.html>`__ for more
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information on what the panels show.
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Getting help from others
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========================
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At some point you will run into a problem, for example the
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toolbar may not render. When this happens and you're unable to
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resolve the issue yourself, there are options available to you.
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#. If the problem is with a specific package, check if there's a
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troubleshooting of FAQ in the package's documentation. For example the
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Django Debug Toolbar has a `Tips section
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<https://django-debug-toolbar.readthedocs.io/en/latest/tips.html>`_ that
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outlines troubleshooting options.
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#. Search for similar issues on the package's issue tracker. Django Debug
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Toolbar’s is `on GitHub <https://github.com/jazzband/django-debug-toolbar/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+sort%3Aupdated-desc>`_.
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#. Consult the `Django Forum <https://forum.djangoproject.com/>`_.
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#. Join the `Django Discord server <https://discord.gg/xcRH6mN4fa>`_.
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#. Join the #Django IRC channel on `Libera.chat <https://libera.chat/>`_.
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Installing other third-party packages
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=====================================
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There are many more third-party packages, which you can find using the
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fantastic Django resource, `Django Packages <https://djangopackages.org/>`_.
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It can be difficult to know what third-party packages you should use. This
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depends on your needs and goals. Sometimes it's fine to use a package that's
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in its alpha state. Other times, you need to know it's production ready.
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`Adam Johnson has a blog post
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<https://adamj.eu/tech/2021/11/04/the-well-maintained-test/>`_ that outlines
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a set of characteristics that qualifies a package as "well maintained".
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Django Packages shows data for some of these characteristics, such as when the
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package was last updated.
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As Adam points out in his post, when the answer to one of the questions is
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"no", that's an opportunity to contribute.
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What's next?
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============
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The beginner tutorial ends here. In the meantime, you might want to check out
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some pointers on :doc:`where to go from here </intro/whatsnext>`.
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If you are familiar with Python packaging and interested in learning how to
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turn polls into a "reusable app", check out :doc:`Advanced tutorial: How to
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write reusable apps</intro/reusable-apps>`.
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