Django React Blog App | Part 2 - Backend Setup

Step-by-Step Tutorial: Setting Up a Django Backend for a Blog App

1. Install PostgreSQL:

   • Go to Google and search for PostgreSQL.
   • Download the correct installer for your operating system.
   • Install PostgreSQL on your system.

2. Create Backend Folder:

   • Create a folder named "backend" to hold your backend code.

3. Set Up Database:

   • Open your terminal in the "backend" folder.
   • Run psql to open the PostgreSQL terminal.
   • Create a database by running create database blog_life with owner = postgres;.
   • Exit the database terminal.

4. Create Virtual Environment:

   • Create a virtual environment by running python3 -m venv <name>.
   • Activate the virtual environment using source <name>/bin/activate.

5. Install Dependencies:

   • Install Django by running pip install django.
   • Install Django REST framework, Cors headers, Django Summernote, psycopg2-binary by running the respective commands.

6. Create Django Project:

   • Run django-admin startproject <project_name> to create a new Django project.
   • Create a new Django app by running python manage.py startapp <app_name>.

7. Configure Settings:

   • Update the INSTALLED_APPS, MIDDLEWARE, DATABASES, STATIC_URL, MEDIA_URL, and other settings in the settings.py file.

8. Set Up Models:

   • Define your models in the models.py file.
   • Create classes for BlogPost and Categories with necessary fields.

9. Integrate Django Summernote:

   • Follow the Django Summernote documentation to set up the widget for rich text editing in the admin panel.

10. Define Admin Functions:

    • Implement the save function in the BlogPost model to automatically generate unique slugs.
    • Define the __str__ function to represent the model as a string.

11. Create Views:

    • Create API views for listing blog posts, displaying featured posts, and filtering posts by category.
    • Use Django REST framework classes like ListAPIView and RetrieveAPIView for different views.

12. Configure URLs:

    • Define URL patterns in the urls.py file for different API views.
    • Map the views to their respective URLs using Django's path function.

13. Test the Backend:

    • Run the Django development server by executing python manage.py runserver.
    • Test the API endpoints using tools like Postman to ensure they return the expected data.

14. Verify Functionality:

    • Create blog posts, set featured posts, and filter posts by category using the API endpoints.
    • Check the admin panel to ensure the slugs are generated correctly and the blog posts are displayed as expected.

15. Completion:

    • Once you have tested and verified the backend functionality, you have successfully set up the Django backend for your blog app.
    • Proceed to the next steps to integrate the frontend with the backend for a complete blog application.

By following these steps, you can effectively set up a Django backend for your blog application and ensure smooth communication between the frontend and backend components.