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