The latest articles on DEV Community by irfan k (@irfan_khan_a4ea790d3fe37c). https://dev.to/irfan_khan_a4ea790d3fe37c https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3590067%2F4ec0fb44-70b1-4d68-932f-52b44d35f3ce.png https://dev.to/irfan_khan_a4ea790d3fe37c en irfan k Thu, 04 Jun 2026 13:00:47 +0000 https://dev.to/irfan_khan_a4ea790d3fe37c/what-django-feels-like-after-react-i5l https://dev.to/irfan_khan_a4ea790d3fe37c/what-django-feels-like-after-react-i5l <p>after spending the last 10 months in the frontend world, javascript started feeling like home. react made sense, its ecosystem made sense, and i got comfortable there.</p> <p>but i wanted to go full stack. so i spent nearly a month just… deciding. which backend, which language, which path. longer than i’d like to admit.</p> <p>i ended up picking django. which was surprising even to me, because i had zero python background. it meant leaving behind everything familiar and starting from scratch. new language, new mental model, new way of thinking about web apps. still felt like the right call though.</p> <p>so i learned python. then jumped into django.</p> <p>i’ve been going through views, urls, and templates lately. posting about it a bit late, but that’s genuinely where i am right now.</p> <p>to actually understand how things connect, i built a small project. calling it an “app” is generous. it was mostly just me poking around trying to make things work. but it helped.</p> <p>one thing that actually surprised me was django’s url routing. the moment i saw it, it reminded me of react router. same core idea, different syntax. that one familiar thing made the whole thing feel less foreign.</p> <p>honestly, i’ve enjoyed django more than i expected to. there’s some setup at the start that feels like a lot, but once you’re past it, the framework just gives you things. you’re not stitching packages together to get basics working.</p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Ffux4fpco0qokhzguqiyp.jpeg" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Ffux4fpco0qokhzguqiyp.jpeg" alt=" " width="800" height="1067"></a><br> <a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F6pf1fwsztpaha378qtma.jpeg" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F6pf1fwsztpaha378qtma.jpeg" alt=" " width="800" height="600"></a><br> i’m still a beginner. there’s definitely harder stuff ahead. but after months in react-land, django has been a genuinely refreshing shift. seeing a completely different philosophy for building web apps changes how you think a little.</p> <p>choosing django still feels like the right decision. more updates as i keep going.</p> webdev backend django react irfan k Thu, 30 Oct 2025 19:02:28 +0000 https://dev.to/irfan_khan_a4ea790d3fe37c/-my-first-hacktoberfest-experience-1cm5 https://dev.to/irfan_khan_a4ea790d3fe37c/-my-first-hacktoberfest-experience-1cm5 <h2> my contributions </h2> <h3> peri </h3> <p>added custom language support and improved ui responsiveness.</p> <p>pull request</p> <p><a href="https://lnkd.in/e5zzMSFb" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://lnkd.in/e5zzMSFb</a></p> <h3> mind care </h3> <p>enhanced frontend components and adjusted navigation styling.</p> <p>pull request</p> <p><a href="https://lnkd.in/eivA58hn" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://lnkd.in/eivA58hn</a></p> <h3> exam countdown extension </h3> <p>added a weather widget with custom location support and automatic location detection.</p> <p>pull request</p> <p><a href="https://lnkd.in/eU_rwu8K" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://lnkd.in/eU_rwu8K</a></p> <h3> music_app </h3> <p>updated layout styles in home and inputbar components to improve the mobile experience.</p> <p>pull request</p> <p><a href="https://lnkd.in/ejTAwmNW" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://lnkd.in/ejTAwmNW</a></p> <h2> overview </h2> <p>12 merged pull requests</p> <p>8 open source projects contributed to</p> <p>frontend development, responsiveness improvements, ui enhancements, and feature implementation</p> <p>experience working with real world codebases, code reviews, and open source collaboration</p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F20ivk4uy0tq9wv9bl93m.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F20ivk4uy0tq9wv9bl93m.png" alt=" " width="800" height="723"></a></p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F49h24jtjr6j3g5azxae6.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F49h24jtjr6j3g5azxae6.png" alt=" " width="799" height="287"></a></p> devchallenge 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