Understanding the MVC Architecture in Django


Introduction

The Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture is a fundamental concept in web development and is the backbone of many web frameworks, including Django. Understanding MVC is essential for building robust web applications. In Django, the MVC pattern is represented as Model-View-Template (MVT).


MVT Overview

In Django, the MVT pattern is divided into three components:

  • Model: Represents the data and database schema of your application.
  • View: Handles the presentation logic and interacts with the model.
  • Template: Defines the HTML structure and how the data is presented to the user.

Sample Code

Let's look at a simple example to illustrate the MVT architecture in Django.


Model

The model defines the structure of your database and the data that your application will work with. For example:

from django.db import models
class Product(models.Model):
    name = models.CharField(max_length=100)
    price = models.DecimalField(max_digits=5, decimal_places=2)

View

Views handle the logic of your application. They interact with the model to retrieve and process data. For example:

from django.shortcuts import render
from .models import Product
def product_list(request):
    products = Product.objects.all()
    return render(request, 'product_list.html', {'products': products})

Template

Templates define how the data is presented to the user. For example:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Product List</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Products</h1>
    <ul>
{% for product in products %}
<li>{{ product.name }} - ${{ product.price }}</li>
{% endfor %}
    </ul>
</body>
</html>

Conclusion

The MVT architecture in Django separates concerns and makes it easier to develop and maintain web applications. By understanding the roles of models, views, and templates, you can create well-structured and scalable web projects.