How do I write a single-file Django application?

Question

I want to write a very small Django application in a single file, requiring all the appropriate modules and stuff, and then be able to run that as a normal Python script, li

Answer 1

The code below represents a single file django app. It was shamelessly copied from this interesting book chapter, and can be run using python singlefile.py runserver (if the file is called singlefile.py). Works at least in Django 1.9 and 2.0.

import sys
from django.conf import settings

settings.configure(
    DEBUG=True,
    SECRET_KEY='thisisthesecretkey',
    ROOT_URLCONF=__name__,
    MIDDLEWARE_CLASSES=('django.middleware.common.CommonMiddleware',
                        'django.middleware.csrf.CsrfViewMiddleware',
                        'django.middleware.clickjacking.XFrameOptionsMiddleware')
)

from django.conf.urls import url
from django.http import HttpResponse


def index(request): return HttpResponse('Hello World')

urlpatterns = (url(r'^$', index), )

if __name__ == "__main__":
    from django.core.management import execute_from_command_line
    execute_from_command_line(sys.argv)

... it does look a lot like the answer by un1t, except for some details.

Answer 2

You also may want to take a look at web.py. (Tutorial)

It's another compact, but powerful web framework.

Sample from the main page:

import web

urls = ('/(.*)', 'hello')
app = web.application(urls, globals())

class hello:        
    def GET(self, name):
        if not name: 
            name = 'world'
        return 'Hello, ' + name + '!'

if __name__ == "__main__":
    app.run()

Answer 3

You might want to consider Simon Willison's library:

• djng—a Django powered microframework

From the readme:

djng is a micro-framework that depends on a macro-framework (Django).

My definition of a micro-framework: something that lets you create an entire Python web application in a single module:

import djng

def index(request):
    return djng.Response('Hello, world')

if __name__ == '__main__':
    djng.serve(index, '0.0.0.0', 8888)

[...]

Answer 4

Well, the easiest way to do that is to mimic the django project arbo in one file. So in one module, assure there is :

Root_module :
    Root_module.settings
    Root_module.urls
    Root_module.app_in_the_module
    Root_module.app_in_the_module.models
    Root_module.app_in_the_module.views

Then code is as a normal Django project. What you must know is that Django does not need anything to be in a specific place. Standard names and paths are at beat, convention, at worst, shortcut to prevent you from defining a setting.

If you know Django very well, you don't even need to mimic the arbo, just write you django app making all the data from the above modules interconnected the way they should be.

Answer 5

Then what you need is not Django. What you need is exactly what micropy does.