What is Django?
Django is an open source web application framework based on Python. A web application framework is a series of programs that help people write web services. A web service is a stand alone website that has an idea of who the user is. What is the difference between that and a website that I make through the CUNY Academic Commons or a CBOX installation like the CUNY Futures Initiative. Well, the Academic Commons is WordPress installation. You are restricted to WordPress plugins and themes. Everything is stored in their database. Now it is a lot easier and quicker to build a website on the commons than in Python.
Django is a lower level experience. With that, you trade a certain amount of ease for the ability to deploy where you like and endlessly customize it to your needs. If you need a class website that can handle uploading big pdf’s, no problem!
What is special about the Python community?
The Python community is the most welcoming and diverse of all the open source communities (see this article). It is no secret that the free and open source worlds have lagged in terms of diversity. To quote one statistic amongst many: “25 percent of proprietary programmers identify as women, in free software that number is less than 3%.” (Taken from women in free software.) Python to its credit has made diversity a priority. It offers scholarships both to Pycon and Scientific Python for under-represented groups and women. (See conference assisstance)
Where to learn?
Here is a link to some free tutorials on Django. You can start one of these and show up any week at the Python Weekly Hackers Hours and get one-on-one help for free. This is also a great place to go for a Python job when you’re read. Here is a picture from last week at Bourbon Coffee. You can see we are growing out of the place. (http://www.meetup.com/django-nyc/events/203930772/)
What if I am completely new?
In the tradition of Python outreach, Django-Girls is hosting an introductory event March 28th. Djang Girls is non-profit organization dedicated to helping people learn the Django framework. It was founded by two Polish women who now sit on the board of the Django Foundation. Their is an application process which started today. The event is sponsored by StackExchange, Github and the Django Foundation . There will probably be way more applicants than spots. I am coaching so, if you put in application and you really want to go, contact me. They are doing this to encourage even more sponsorship down the line. They are also afraid that more than 50 people would dilute the experience.
What if I’m a dude?
No worries, mate. It’s all good. You can still go through the Django Girls tutorial. If you have problems, leave them in the comments box.
Happy coding!
Tags: Django, Free Software, Python
