Simplified quick intro for experienced users. By: Harry

Author: hjwp

content/django.txt

@@ -20,66 +20,110 @@ account. Go and sign up if you don't already have one then come back here.
 
 
 
-The really quick start guide
+The really quick start guide, for experienced Django users
 =================================================================================
 
-To start with, for those people who are already very confident with Django we will
-just start with a list of the steps and commands you need to run in order to get 
-a working Django app on PythonAnywhere. Don't worry if you don't understand these
-now. We will go through each one, step by step, further down. 
+The idea is that it should be just as easy to host your project on PythonAnywhere, as
+it is to host in on your own PC using the Django dev server.
 
-So, the really quick start guide:
+There's just a couple of subtleties:
 
-Create the project files
+    1. adding the right path to ``sys.path`` in ``wsgi.py``
+    2. setting up your database in ``settings.py`` - you'll need the full path for sqlite
+    3. using ``staticfiles_urlpatterns`` in ``urls.py`` to serve static media.
+
+If you're only just starting out with Django, you probably just want to skim through this
+stuff, don't worry if you don't understand it, and move onto the more detailed guide.
+All will become clear!
+
+
+Note down the path to your project's *parent* folder and the project name
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-Open a bash console on Python Anywhere and enter the following commands
+There are several ways you might have got a Django project into PythonAnywhere - 
+maybe you started one from scratch using ``django-admin.py startproject``.  Maybe
+you pulled it in from GitHub or another code sharing site using ``git`` or a similar
+VCS tool.  Maybe it's in your Dropbox!
 
-:: 
+Either way, the thing to do is make a note of the path to **parent folder of
+the project root**. The project root is the folder which contains ``settings.py``;
+for example, let's say it's ``/home/my_username/projects/my_project/``
 
- django-admin.py startproject <my project name>
- cd <my project name>
- python manage.py startapp <my app name>
+In this case, you want to make a note of the path to the project's parent folder
+
+    * ``/home/my_username/projects``
+
+You also need to make a note of the **name of the project root folder** in this case:
+
+    * ``my_project``
+
+Those two together should add up to the full path to the project root. Crystal-clear?
 
 
 Edit the wsgi file
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-Go back to your dashboard and click on the web tab, then click on the link to 
-edit your wsgi.py file. Delete the contents and copy the code below into it. 
-Changing "<my name>" to be your Python Anywhere username and <my project name> 
-so that it matches the value you entered above. 
+Go to your PythonAnywhere *Dashboard* and click on the *Web* tab, then click on
+the link to **edit your WSGI file**.
+
+Delete the contents and replace them with the below, replacing
+``/home/my_username/projects`` with the path to the parent folder of your project,
+which you noted down earlier, and ``my_project`` with your project name.
 
 .. sourcecode:: python
 
     # +++++++++++ DJANGO +++++++++++
     import os
     import sys
 
-    ## assuming your Django settings file is at '/home/<my name>/<my project name>/settings.py'
-    path = '/home/<my name>/'
+    ## assuming your Django settings file is at '/home/my_username/projects/my_project/settings.py'
+    path = '/home/my_username/projects'
     if path not in sys.path:
         sys.path.append(path)
 
-    os.environ['DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE'] = '<my project name>.settings'
+    os.environ['DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE'] = 'my_project.settings'
 
     import django.core.handlers.wsgi
     application = django.core.handlers.wsgi.WSGIHandler()
 
-You should now have a default Django app which you can visit at <my name>.pythonanywhere.com
+You should now have a default Django app which you can visit at
+http://my_username.pythonanywhere.com
+
+If you have any problems, it may be to do with the ``sys.path``, and how it 
+interacts with ``import`` statements. We've assumed that all your project
+imports look like:
+
+.. sourcecode:: python
+
+    from my_project.myapp.models import Kitchen, Sink
+
+If instead you've used:
+
+.. sourcecode:: python
+
+    from myapp.models import Kitchen, Sink
+
+You may need to fully specify the ``my_project.``
 
-Edit settings.py
+
+Setup the database in settings.py, and syncdb
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-Now you need to edit settings.py inside the project directory and change the 
-database and installed apps sections to match the code below.
+You need to make sure of three things:
+
+    * if using *sqlite*, you must have the full path to your database
+
+    * if using *MySql*, you'll need the database name, password, and host 
+      (``mysql.server`` if you're using our MySQL service)
+
+    * finally, make sure all your apps are in INSTALLED_APPS
 
 .. sourcecode:: python
 
     DATABASES = {
         'default': {
             'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.sqlite3',
-            'NAME': '/home/<my name>/my_test_project/db.sqlite', # absolute location is required
+            'NAME': '/home/my_username/my_test_project/db.sqlite', # absolute location is required
             'USER': '',
             'PASSWORD': '',
             'HOST': '',
@@ -94,99 +138,47 @@ database and installed apps sections to match the code below.
     )
 
 
-Create empty database and edit urls.py
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-Now it's back to your bash console to perform the initial database creation
+Now open up a **Bash console** to perform the initial database creation
 
 ::
 
     cd <your project name>
     ./manage.py syncdb
 
-This will ask you to create an admin user. Follow the prompts and you remember
-the password. You will need it to login to the admin interface. 
+Follow the usual prompts to create an admin user and password.
+
+
+Editing urls.py to serve static files
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Next you will need to edit the ``urls.py``.  Uncomment the admin lines if you need
+to, but most importantly *use* ``staticfiles_urlpatterns`` *to serve static pages*.
 
-Next you will need to edit the urls.py file which can be found inside your 
-project folder. Make it look like the one below but insure you substitute the 
-project and app names that you used previously. 
 
 .. sourcecode:: python
 
     from django.conf.urls.defaults import patterns, include, url
-    from django.contrib.staticfiles.urls import staticfiles_urlpatterns
-    
-    # Uncomment the next two lines to enable the admin:
+
     from django.contrib import admin
     admin.autodiscover()
 
     urlpatterns = patterns('',
-        # Examples:
-        url(r'^$', '<my project name>.<my app name>.views.home', name='home'),
-        # url(r'^<my project name>/', include('<my project name>.foo.urls')),
-    
-        # Uncomment the admin/doc line below to enable admin documentation:
-        # url(r'^admin/doc/', include('django.contrib.admindocs.urls')),
-    
-        # Uncomment the next line to enable the admin:
+        # [EG] url(r'^<my project name>/', include('<my project name>.foo.urls')),
         url(r'^admin/', include(admin.site.urls)),
     )
     # This is needed to serve static files like images and css
+    from django.contrib.staticfiles.urls import staticfiles_urlpatterns
     urlpatterns += staticfiles_urlpatterns()
 
-At this stage you have a working admin interface and can visit it at 
-<my name>.pythonanywhere.com/admin. We are almost finished. Next we will go back 
-to our bash console and create a templates folder and blank template.
-
-
-Create a root template  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-::
-
-    mkdir <my project name>/templates
-    touch <my project name>/templates/home.html
-
-Now we will edit the home.html template file so that it looks like this.
-
-.. sourcecode:: html+django
-
-    <html>
-    <head>
-        <title>My Python Anywhere hosted Django app</title>
-    </head>
-    <body>
-        <h1>My Python Anywhere hosted Django app</h1>
-        <p>Well, since it's already {{ right_now.minute }} past {{ right_now.hour }} UTC,
-        that is as far as we are going to take you in this tutorial.</p>
-        <p>What you do next is up to you...</p>
-    </body>
-    </html>
-
-
-Create your first view in views.py
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-The final piece of work we need to do is create a view inside the file found at
-<my project name>/<my app name>/views.py. Make it look like this.
-
-.. sourcecode:: python
-
-    from datetime import datetime
-    
-    from django.shortcuts import render
-    
-    def home(request):
-        return render(request, 'home.html', {'right_now':datetime.utcnow()})
-
 
 Reload the web server and enjoy!
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 Now you just need to reload the web server so that it notices the changes you 
 have made. Visit the Web tab on the Python Anywhere dashboard and click the 
-"Reload web app" button. That's it. You can now see your newly created web app
-serving a page that tells you the time. 
+"Reload web app" button. That's it. At this stage you have a working admin
+interface and can visit it at 
+http://my_username.pythonanywhere.com/admin. 
 
 
 
@@ -258,7 +250,7 @@ Your next step is to edit the wsgi.py file which is located at /var/www/wsgi.py.
 Editing your wsgi.py file
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-The wsgi.py file is a Python Anywhere specific python script and cannot be moved
+The wsgi.py file is a Python Anywhere specific Python script and cannot be moved
 or renamed. You can find a direct link to it on the Web tab of the dashboard. 
 Go there now and edit the file so that it matches the one below. Making sure to 
 replace the <my name> amd <my project name> with the your username and the