Suggestions wanted: learning material for Django

Question

I am looking for advice on best resources to learn how to develop webapps with Django [the python framework]. Here's a few information to help responders to narrow-down the gazillion options "out there".

Where I stand

• I know python (2.x series) and I have developed a few applications/scripts with it. I wouldn't define myself a python-ninja in any way, but I think got a very good understanding of the language structure and - above all - philosophy.
• I have PHP-only experience with web development.
• I have fair understanding of MVC approach to frameworks (CakePHP) but not so much experience IRL.

What I am looking for

• Structured learning material: book titles, online tutorials, videos, etc...
• Life stories and personal accounts: how did you learn? why did you choose to learn that way? did it work? would you change anything in the way you learnt django?
• Any kind of advice you think is worth sharing!

I would like to stress that I am not looking just for raw links (I could probably find those myself with google, after all!) but I am rather looking for your opinion and advice (with a link attached to them)!

Thank you in advance for your time!

Answer 1

Well, I have a trivial solution - get used to reading the manual and the django book they host.

Django manual is organized well, and once you have a mental picture of it, you'll really be able to make a good use of it.

Two things I wish Django docs were better at - tell clearly where to import stuff right at each definition of class and sometimes I wish explanations were a little shorter.

Answer 2

Check out PyCharm from JetBrains - I am just starting to dabble with Django, and this IDE has built-in Django support.

Answer 3

My opinion has been expressed in this answer

I have read the djangobook, practical django projects, pro django and some portions of "Web development with django". They are all good books.

But I think, for someone with already enough php and python experience, James Bennet's Practical Django projects is a very good asset. I highly recommend it.

Answer 4

Djangobook has been the best asset to my learning so far. They structure it in a way that lets you suffer doing things the hard way first so that you get an understanding of what is really going on behind the scenes when you take the "shortcuts." I've read nearly the whole book, and I reference back every now and then when the occasional question comes up.

This leads me to my next point. Django is known for having great documentation. There are so many code examples, and gotcha's explained in there that makes the docs one of the most valuable things to django.

Finally don't be afraid to ask the django community questions. This site (stackoverflow), and the IRC channel (irc.freenode.net #django) are very welcoming and helpful. If you have any questions just ask. Someone will be able to help.