Deploying Django project on Linux - python

Comming from PHP(without frameworks), I don't quite understand how deploying works in Python. I have completed my simple Django version: (1, 10, 1, 'final', 1) blog project and all I have to do is put it online. I am using linux openSUSE distro and virtualenv
I have access to a mysql database with phpmyadmin and I have some space, accessed with filezilla. hosting site: https://host.bg/
But then I started researching of how to deploy my project and I stumbled upon stuf like apache, Nginx, wsgi and other stuff I haven't used in the project and not quite familiar how they work.
So my question is: Can I make my project into a folder with some files in it, copy->paste them in filezilla and have a working site and if not, how does django deployment really work and what should I do from here ?!

I would recommend you to use Git instead of FTP protocol. As you are using Linux you can easily connect to your SO using ssh.
About the deployment, I would recommend you to use GUnicorn for a WSGI way.
It's not hard to deploy with, but if you get in trouble you can use the official Django documentation for deploying Django with WSGI:
Link
Ps.: As you are using Linux, I would recommend to you to use VirtualEnv to allow you server many Django sites in the same Linux instance with the isolated environments

Check what version of Python is installed on the server hosting your account and if there's option for ssh access.
Host.bg and Bulgarian hosting providers in general fail to keep up with most things other than php and mysql. With shared plans they avoid installing anything new too.
I'd say contact support and see if they would be able to assist you with Apache configurations and whatever else is needed for your project.

Related

Trying to use Django, do I need to install Apache manually if Wamp already did

To make my question clear:
I have had wamp installed, and it brought Apache. Will this Apache be used by others like Django?
If the wamp Apache is enough for others, its Apache is in wamp directory C:\wamp\bin\apache, not sth like C:\programs file...It is ok for django
If I have to install Apache manually for django, will the step be install Apache, install mod_wsgi?
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Strictly interpreted, Django doesn't "use" Apache. Apache is just one way to direct requests (via mod_wsgi, for example) to your django app and returns the result to the user.
The existing Apache install will be fine. It doesn't matter where it is as long as it's running and reachable.
You will need to install mod_wsgi and configure it so that it knows about your Django app.
You can find documentation for configuring Apache and mod_wsgi here:
https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.5/howto/deployment/wsgi/modwsgi/
You don't need Apache at all at this point. For development, things work much better if you use the built in development server, as described in the tutorial.

python django project and folder structure (differing from WAMP)

I have my development environment setup on Win 7 like this:
Django development structure
Apache -server- C:\Program Files (x86)\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.4
PostgreSQL -database- C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\9.2
Django -framework- C:\Python27\Lib\site-packages\django
Python -code- C:\Python27
Project -root- C:\mysite
|----------apps
|----------HTML
|----------CSS
|----------JavaScript
|----------assets
I am attempting to keep this extremely simple to start out. There are 5 main directories each with a distinct purpose. All the code resides in the project folder.
compared to WAMP structure:
C:\WAMP
|----------C:\Apache
|----------C:\MySQL
|----------C:\PHP
|----------C:\www
I like how Apache, MySQL, and PHP all reside in a neat directory. I know to keep the root project OUTSIDE in another directory in Django for security reasons.
Is it fine that Apache, PostgreSQL, and Python are installed all over the place in the Django environment?
Did I miss a core Django component and/or directory?
Will deploying and scaling be a problem?
I want this to be a guideline for beginning Django web programmers.
I can answer the question one by one:
Is if fine that Apache, PostgreSQL, and Python are installed all over the place in the Django environment?
All over the place sounds weird but yes it is totally fine.
Did I miss a core Django component and/or directory?
No you don't miss anything, Django core is in site-packages folder already and your site code is mysite, which can be located anywhere you want.
Will deploying and scaling be a problem?
No it won't be a problem with current structure. You will deploy your mysite only, the other will be installed separately.
Something you should get familiar with when starting with Django development:
Most likely when you deploy your project, it will be on a Linux server, so install and learn Linux maybe?
virtualenv: Soon you will have to install Django, then a bunch of external packages to support your project. virtualenv helps you isolate your working environment. Well it's "unofficial" a must when you start with python development.
virtualenvwrapper to make your life easier when working with virtualenv
git and github or bitbucket: if you don't know git yet, you should now.
Apache is just web server, it is used to serve files, but to make a website you do not necessary need it. Django comes with its own development server. See :
python manage.py runserver
Apache is required when you are developing PHP websites because your computer do not know how to compile and interpret it. But for Django, you use the Python language, and you have already install it if you are using Django.
Read https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.5/intro/tutorial01/
And where it will be the time to set up your own server using Apache look at :
https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/howto/deployment/wsgi/modwsgi/.
Scaling will be a problem on windows. Python in Apache on windows gets 64 threads in one process. Couple this with the GIL and you will have scaling issues.
Python and Apache on Linux don't have this same problem. Under Linux wsgi can create multiple processes that have multiple threads each, minimizing GIL issues.
WSGI in Apache on windows is not a scalable solution in my opinion.
However you can develop there and move to linux for deployment, I do it all the time.
You will want to take advantage of the Apache Alias directive to serve all your static content like css, js, favicon.ico. This frees up python to only handle requests that require logic.

How to configure Django, PostgreSQL, Apache and Python?

I am of the PHP background and just have started to learn Django and Python (and loving it). I always used to install WAMP server for PHP development.
Now I dont know how do I configure Django to use PostgreSQL i.e how to make both communicate with each other. I have run some 'hello world' scripts with django. Curretly I have installed Python, django and PostgreSQL. here is the version information
Python : 2.7.2 & 3.2 (i have installed both)
Django : 1.3.1
PostgreSQL : 9.1.2
Apache : 2.2 (..this is from WAMP server)
Os : Ms Windows 7 32-bits (x86)
Since django has builtin development server is it at all necessary to have apache installed and use it instead of that one? If we use the built-in server how we are supposed to configure it for PostgreSQL?.
It is not necessary to have apache installed to develop on django. In fact it is often easier to use the development server because it is single threaded, lightweight, and extremely easy to use. python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8080 to run on localhost port 8080, and your code is easily debuggable.
In django you dont configure your server for a database. You configure your project for a database. All database configurations are kept in the settings.py file located in your main project. Page one of the tutorial explains how to set up a database for your django prject. YOu have to specify, database name, host, port, user and password in your settings.py file.
https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/intro/tutorial01/#database-setup
I would suggest walking through the django tutorial as it addresses most of the issues in setting up development on a new django project.
https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/intro/tutorial01/
I recently deployed a Django based project and found this tutorial to be very helpful and concise.
Django virtualenv Apache2 mod_wsgi
And if you have CentOS, then you can install mod_wsgi as mentioned here:
Django Deployment - Setup mod_wsgi on CentOS
Getting Django to run on Apache requires getting Python to interpret that, you can do this with WSGI. follow the tutorial found here:
https://code.djangoproject.com/wiki/django_apache_and_mod_wsgi
there are other methods to deploy this, you can find here:
https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/howto/deployment/

A list of everything I need for running my app on a web server

What I want to know are actually 2 things.
Part 1:
I have a developed source code for an application in python that uses Django framework.
What I want is to be able to run the code on a developer machine and see the result. What do I need for it?
(my guesses):
Python development enironment (Eclipse/PyDev/Aptana Studio 3 seem to be the better ones for windows not sure linux yet),
I also have a postgre database already setup (I know there's a file where I have to specify connection information)
- something installed from django or would this be already included in the code that I have?
Part II:
I also want to make a dev server accessible through internet.
- this is the major part of the question and the most important. How do I publish the app?
- I have a linux machine that I would do this on, but unsure of all the things I need. Apache server?
To answer your questions:
What you need: A list of requirements and instructions to get started with Django is available here: http://djangobook.com/en/2.0/chapter02/.
Database: that chapter also includes a section on configuring access to your database, with a specific section on postgreSQL.
Dev server: To start a basic development server, see this tutorial section
Deploying django (production): For instructions on how to deploy Django for production, see chapter on deploying Django.
Publishing on internet: as for making your dev server accessible through the internet, ask on https://serverfault.com/. Make sure you provide more information about your network setup, what you've tried, what isn't working, etc. (Briefly, you need to make sure that the host you are running your server on is on a publicly accessible IP, or has port 80 forwarded to it from such a host. If in doubt, speak to your sys/network admin if you have one. Or use a django hosting service such as those listed on http://djangohosting.com)
IDE : Regarding IDE, it's down to personal preference. What you mentioned are fine and can run on Linux too.
As a first step, I suggest you follow the tutorial which guides you through the process of starting a development server and developing a basic app.
Even if your goal is to deploy an existing app, the tutorial will give you an idea of how the different components work together (apps, models, urls, templates, etc) which will help with debugging when something goes wrong with your deployment.
Good luck.
You need Python, Django, a WSGI container (e.g. mod_wsgi, uWSGI, Paste Deploy), and a database server. You make the Django project available as a WSGI app, bound to the appropriate interface on the machine.

Django: how to publish an app

I have developed an app using Django 1.1.1 and python 2.7.1. I want to publish it on a commercial website, but not sure which one.
the app works fine on the apache server running on my local machine, however, before investing on a host, I want to be sure that I have the necessary requirements, so if it matters, what are the possible hosts I can use?
I use Apache 2.2 with python 2.7.1 on my local machine running with Django 1.1.1. I use the Windows OS. I tried looking at linode but they don't have a documentation for Windows users in using Django and mod_wsgi, so does it even matter?
This is the first time I try to publish on a commercial site, so I don't want to invest on a host and then find myself stuck and not knowing how to upload my Django app.
Thanks,
You can follow the docs on linode just fine, it doesn't matter that you're a Windows user, the app will be deployed on a linux box.
You can also try a shared hosting solution, that will run django right way, without any need to configure and setup a new machine. My personal recommendation is http://www.webfaction.com/ . Another alternative is https://www.djangy.com/.

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