Django Online Marketplace Course Notes

Introduction

• Instructor: Stein
• Course Focus: Build an online marketplace using Django
• Key Features: Authentication, communication between users, item dashboard, form handling, etc.
• Prerequisite Knowledge: Basic HTML

Project Overview

• Demo Provided: Overview of the frontend layout
  • Menu with items: inbox, dashboard, browse items, create a new item
  • Display of the six newest items on the front page
  • Item filtering by category and search functionality
  • Inbox for user conversations
  • Item management on the dashboard

Project Development

1. Environment Setup:

   • Create a virtual environment:

     python3 -m venv env
     

   • Activate it:

     source env/bin/activate
     

   • Install Django:

     pip install Django
     

   • Create a new Django project:

     django-admin startproject puddle
     

2. Create Django Apps:

   • Create the core app:

     python manage.py startapp core
     

   • Register the core app in settings.py

3. Creating Views and Templates:

   • Define views in views.py for the home page, contact page, etc.
   • Set up templates for rendering HTML.

4. Base Template Creation:

   • Create a base.html template to avoid redundancy in the layout, and extend it in other templates.

5. Categorization:

   • Setup the item app for handling items and categories:

     python manage.py startapp item
     

   • Create models for Category and Item in models.py
   • Migrate the database:

     python manage.py makemigrations
     python manage.py migrate
     

6. Dashboard and Item Management:

   • Setup the dashboard for editing and deleting items.
   • Create item detail views and forms for editing items.

User Authentication

• Setup User Registration:
  • Create user registration forms and views.
• Login Functionality:
  • Implement login forms using Django’s built-in authentication views.

Conversations

• Create conversation App:
  • Models for Conversation and ConversationMessage for user communication around items.
  • Implement views for creating new conversations and viewing messages.

Final Touches

• Browse Functionality:

  • Implement search by item name and description.
  • Filter items by categories.
  • Create UI elements for filtering and search.

• Inbox:

  • Create an inbox view to display conversations.
  • Details view for each conversation with the ability to send messages.

Conclusion

• Complete Functionality: Users can create, edit, delete items, interact through conversations, and manage their profiles.
• Encouragement to Expand: Use this project as a base for adding features like email verification, galleries, and more.