Book Image

Building SPAs with Django and HTML Over the Wire

By : Andros Fenollosa
5 (1)
Book Image

Building SPAs with Django and HTML Over the Wire

5 (1)
By: Andros Fenollosa

Overview of this book

The HTML over WebSockets approach simplifies single-page application (SPA) development and lets you bypass learning a JavaScript rendering framework such as React, Vue, or Angular, moving the logic to Python. This web application development book provides you with all the Django tools you need to simplify your developments with real-time results. You’ll learn state-of-the-art WebSocket techniques to realize real-time applications with minimal reliance on JavaScript. This book will also show you how to create a project with Docker from the ground up, test it, and deploy it on a server. You’ll learn how to create a project, add Docker, and discover development libraries, Django channels, and bidirectional communication, and from then, on you’ll create real projects of all kinds using HTML over WebSockets as a chat app or a blog with real-time comments. In addition, you’ll modernize your development techniques by moving from using an SSR model to creating web pages using WebSockets over HTML. With Django, you’ll be able to create SPAs with professional real-time projects where the logic is in Python. By the end of this Django book, you’ll be able to build real-time applications, as well as gaining a solid understanding of WebSockets with Django.
Table of Contents (14 chapters)
1
Part 1: Getting Started with Python
4
Part 2: WebSockets in Django
8
Part 3: HTML over WebSockets
11
Part 4: Simplifying the frontend with Stimulus

Rendering HTML in the backend

In this chapter, we will take the first steps on the principles of HTML over WebSockets. The backend will be in charge of rendering the HTML, taking the responsibility away from JavaScript and simplifying its tasks. On the other hand, we will avoid the need to incorporate a framework such as React, Vue, or Angular, and an API for an HTTP client.

The goal will be to build a body mass index (BMI) calculator for adults using the metric system. All calculations and HTML creation will be a Django task.

All the code for the example can be found at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Building-SPAs-with-Django-and-HTML-Over-the-Wire/tree/main/chapter-3/Rendering%20HTML.

We will ask for the height, in centimeters, and the weight, in kilograms. The formula to get it is weight (kg) / (height (m))2.

In Python, it would be translated as follows: weight / (height ** 2).

And its result will indicate the status:

Table 1.1 –...