DEV Community: Rebecca-254

Day 5: Connecting Everything with Django’s MVT Architecture

Rebecca-254 — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 18:41:36 +0000

Hi, so today I focused on understanding and applying Django’s MVT architecture, the foundation of how Django apps work.

MODEL – Data layer.

So what is a Model in Django?
I understood Model as a Python class used to define the structure of your database.

Django uses it to create tables automatically, based on your field definitions.

It handles all data-related operations: Create, Read, Update, Delete (CRUD). For example in my previous project I added this kind of model.

from django.db import models

class Item(models.Model):
    name = models.CharField(max_length=100)
    description = models.TextField()
    created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)

    def __str__(self):
        return self.name

VIEW – Logic Layer

what is a View in Django?
A View is a Python function (or class) that handles the logic behind a page.

It receives a request, fetches data (usually from the Model), and returns a response (usually a rendered Template).

I created a view to fetch data from the database and send them to the template:

from django.shortcuts import render

def home(request):
    return render(request, 'app1/home.html')

TEMPLATE – Presentation Layer

So what is a Template in Django?

A Template is an HTML file used to display content to the user.

It uses Django’s built-in Template Language (DTL) to display variables, loop through data, and include logic.
So in both apps I used the the templates as in the previous article.

URL – Routing Layer

what are URLs in Django?
The URL configuration connects user requests (like http://localhost/products) to the correct view.

URLs act like a bridge between the browser and the backend logic.
Then I used my URLs in my previous article.

HOW IT ALL CONNECTS (MVT FLOW):

User types http://localhost:8000/products/ URL routes it to view
View calls the Product model View
Model fetches data from the database Model
View passes data to the template View
Template displays data in HTML Template

Summary of Each Part

Part Django File Purpose

Model- models.py Defines structure of database tables
View- views.py Contains logic to fetch/process data
Template templates/.html Displays data using HTML & DTL
URL- urls.py Connects browser requests to views

My Reflection on Day 5
Understanding how each MVT part plays its role helped me finally see Django as a full web framework — not just scattered files. Now I can create real, working web pages powered by Python and databases, not just static HTML.

day 4: Django structure

Rebecca-254 — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 14:57:25 +0000

Hello, today marks my 4th day in my journey of developers. Am quite excited to share what I did today while learning Django structure.

step 1; setting up my project.

As part of my tech journey, I decided to build a Django project to practice web development. I named my project njeriproject. Here’s how I got started:


django-admin startproject njeriproject
cd njeriproject
python -m venv rbenv
rbenv\Scripts\activate
pip install django

in this i created a virtual environment by the name brenv and installed django.
Then I created two apps inside it:

Step 2: Understanding the Django Structure

After running the command, my project looked like this:

njeri/
├── manage.py
├── mysite/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── settings.py
│   ├── urls.py
│   ├── asgi.py
│   └── wsgi.py

I explored and learned what each file does:

manage.py- This lets me run commands like runserver or makemigrations
settings.py- This Contains all project settings like installed apps and database config
urls.py- Handles all routing and linking to app URLs
asgi.py and wsgi.py- Help when deploying to a web server

Step 3: Creating Two Django Apps

To organize my site into separate features, I created two apps where each app came with important files like;
views.py, models.py, admin.py, apps.py, tests.py, and a migrations/ folder

Step 4: Registering the Apps

To make Django recognize both apps, I opened mysite/settings.py and added them in INSTALLED_APPS

Step 5: Writing Views and Creating URLs

For app1
In app1/views.py i created this code

from django.shortcuts import render

def app1_home(request):
    return render(request, 'app1_home.html')

then created urls.py for app1 added the following in it

from django.urls import path
from .views import app1_home

urlpatterns = [
    path('', app1_home, name='app1_home'),
]

** For app2**
In app2/views.py:

from django.shortcuts import render

def app2_home(request):
    return render(request, 'app2_home.html')

Then I created app2/urls.py:

from django.urls import path
from .views import app2_home

urlpatterns = [
    path('', app2_home, name='app2_home'),
]

Step 6: Connecting Both Apps in mysite/urls.py

Now it was time to connect both apps to the main URL configuration.

In mysite/urls.py I wrote:

from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import path, include

from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import path, include

urlpatterns = [
    path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
    path('app1/', include('app1.urls')),
    path('app2/', include('app2.urls')),
]

At first, I forgot to import include and Django gave me an error. But once I fixed that, the server ran smoothly.

Step 7: Adding Templates for HTML Pages

After getting simple text responses to show up using HttpResponse, I wanted to display proper HTML pages using templates.

So I created a templates folder inside each app
In both app1 and app2, I made this folder structure:

app1/
└── templates/
    └── app1/
        └── home.html

app2/
└── templates/
    └── app2/
        └── home.html

I created basic HTML files in both apps.

I updated the views to render templates
In app1/views.py:

from django.shortcuts import render

def home(request):
    return render(request, 'app1/home.html')

In app2/views.py:

`from django.shortcuts import render

def home(request):
    return render(request, 'app2/home.html')

Step 8: Testing It All

I ran the server with the following command

python manage.py runserver

Then I opened my browser and tested. this is what my page looked like after adding /app1 in the URL generated.

Seeing both apps work made me feel proud and confident in using Django.

This is what I Learned

Django projects can be modular — I can add many apps like I did with app1 and app2.
The outer folder (njeri) holds everything; the inner mysite/ config folder manages settings, URLs, and deployment files.
Even small mistakes (like forgetting include) can break the app — but the error messages help a lot

Finally

Building the njeri project taught me how Django is structured and how everything connects from creating apps, to writing views, to linking URLs. Working with two apps in one project showed me Django’s power and flexibility.

I’m still learning, but now I feel more confident to build real Django websites.
Feel free to connect and grow together at github @Rebecca-254

Day 3: python data type.

Rebecca-254 — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 21:30:15 +0000

Today i went through something every programmer must understand deeply "data types". Not just in theory, but to use them practically with arrays (lists) and simple logic.

so what are data types in python

In Python, I learnt that everything is an object and every object has a type.
Data types are just the “kind” of information your code is working with.

Whether it’s a name, a number, a yes/no response, or even a list of items Python wants to know: “What type of data is this?”

common data types in python

Integer 'int'

This are digits. They are whole numbers either negative or positive. For example

Points=[7][5][8][6][9]  #list of integers.

Float 'float'

This are used to show numbers with decimal points. For example

Temperature= 36.7

3.string 'str'

This is used in any text inside a quote. Can be a number, name or even emojis. For example

Name= "Rebecca"

4.Boolean 'bool'

This used in logic values. Either true or false. Suitable for conditions. For example

is-coding-cool=true

List 'list'

This is just a collection of multiple items in a single variable. One can mix items too. For example

my_list = [10, "apple", True, 3.5]
print(type(my_list))  # <class 'list'>

Tuples 'tuple' This one is the same as list but in this case can not be changed. For example

my_birthdate = (2004, 6, 23)

Dictionary 'doct' Is just collection of key-value pairs — like mini-databases. For example

student = {"name": "Rebecca", "age": 21}

Set 'set'

Is an unordered collection of unique values where duplicates are ignored. For example

unique_numbers = {1, 2, 2, 3}

It gives 1,2,3 as the results.
For better understanding.
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/python/python-data-types/

summary

What are arrays?

Basically , it is like a box with many compartments, where you can store multiple values without creating separate variables. For example

students = ["Alice", "Brian", "Clare"]

While using python to deal with arrays I learned that one can use three formats.

Python list
Array modules
Numpy arrays.

1. Using Python Lists

Python can use lists like arrays. This is how it works step by by step

Create a list eg

fruits = ["apple", "banana", "orange"]

Access items eg

print(fruits[0]) # The first item is apple.
Add items eg

fruits.append("mango")
Change items eg

fruits[1] = "coffee" # Replaces banana with coffee
Remove items eg

fruits.remove("apple")

Loop through items

for fruit in fruits: print(fruit)

2. Using the array Module

When one is dealing with numbers only, can use the array module.this is the way.

import array example

marks = array.array('i', [60, 70, 80])  
marks.append(90)
print(marks[2])

3. Using NumPy Arrays

When doing math, statistics, or big data, one should use NumPy arrays. Example

import numpy as np
nums = np.array([1, 2, 3, 4])
print(nums * 2)

What I tried

I opened my VS Code and wrote simple examples for each type.
Then printed the type using type() and played with changing values. Like

Adding integers and floats
Joining strings
Creating a list of my favorite colors 4.Creating a dictionary for a student profile

It felt great seeing Python understand what I meant just by using the right type.

Thanks for reading
If you’ve just started learning Python, feel free to reach out or comment below. Let’s grow together

GitHub: Rebecca-254

2nd day as a developer:

Rebecca-254 — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 12:37:19 +0000

undestanding version control with git ang git hub

the second day i went a step ahead into something I had heard about a lot but never really understood: version control.

At first, it sounded like a scary technical thing. But once I read more about it, I realized… it’s basically just a smart way to save and track your work.

So what is version control
I understood version control as a system that helps developers keep track of changes in their code over time. It helps in;

Save every change you make
Go back to older versions if something breaks
Work on projects without messing up the main one
Collaborate with other developers safely

Tools Learned

Git
Git tracks your changes locally and is installed in computer as i did in my previous article.

GitHub

Tis is the cloud platform where your Git-tracked projects can be uploaded, shared, and collaborated on with others.

in other words
Git = Your notebook
GitHub = The cloud where you back it up and share with friends

Basic Git terms

Repo: A Git folder/project
Commit: A saved change with a message
Branch: A copy of your code to test new things
Push: Upload to GitHub
Pull: Download from GitHub

for further understanding ; https://about.gitlab.com/topics/version-control/

This is what i tried

-Created a test project folder using git bash by running the following command

mkdir my-besquat-project
cd my-besquat-project

then created a ripo named besquat in GitHub

then ran this on git
git init git add . git commit -m "my first commit" git remote add origin https://github.com/Rebecca-254/my-besquat-project.git git branch -M main git push -u origin main

It took a few tries, but when I saw my code on GitHub, I was proud

struggles
-confused between Git and GitHub😂
-My push failed because I hadn’t set up the remote URL correctly

What i learned

Git is like “Save with notes”
GitHub is where your saved work lives online
Version control isn’t hard — it just takes practice

First Day as a Developer:

Rebecca-254 — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 09:28:41 +0000

Setting Up Git, Python, VS Code, WSL & Docker from Scratch

I’m Rebecca Gitau, a curious beginner developer taking her first steps in tech.You can reach out to me on GitHub at @Rebecca-254: https://github.com/Rebecca-254

Today, I installed all the tools I need to get started, and I’m sharing that journey.(What worked and what didn't).

step 1: installed git and git bash

Git, a version control tool that helps track changes in code, was the first tool I installed. It also came with Git Bash, which gives a better command-line experience than the default Windows CMD.

After installing Git from
➡️https://git-scm.com, I opened Git Bash and ran this command to confirm the installation:
➡️git --version
It worked✅ My first success

Step 2: Connected Git to GitHub with SSH

I then connected Git to my GitHub account securely using SSH.
I generated a key pair and added the public key to GitHub under Settings > SSH and GPG Keys.

Step 3: Installed Python 3.10+

downloaded it from
➡️ https://www.python.org.
After installing, I typed python --version in Git Bash — and yes, Python 3.10 showed up.

At one point, Python wasn’t recognized in my terminal. I had to restart the PC and make sure Python was added to the system PATH. That fixed it.

Step 4: Installed Visual Studio Code (VS Code)

I installed VS Code from
➡️https://code.visualstudio.com.

Step 5: Enabled WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)

Since I’m using Windows, I installed WSL so I can use Linux tools without needing a separate system.
I ran the command
➡️ wsl --install in PowerShell (Admin), then restarted my PC. Then installed Ubuntu from the Microsoft Store.

Step 6: Installed Docker
Lastly, I installed Docker Desktop from
➡️https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop.
At first, Docker wouldn’t work — until I enabled WSL 2 support in Docker settings and restarted my computer.

Challenges I Faced

Copied the wrong SSH
Docker wouldn’t start until I changed the WSL 2 settings.

What Achieved✅

-Git + GitHub set up using SSH

-Python 3.10+ installed and running

-VS Code ready with extensions

-WSL and Ubuntu installed

-Docker installed and tested

Finally

This wasn’t just about installing tools — it was about starting something meaningful.
I’m excited for the road ahead, and if you’re just getting started too, I hope this post helps make things feel less scary.

Let’s connect and grow together!

— Rebecca

GitHub: https://github.com/Rebecca-254