Pinax Long Tutorial Slides

transcript

Pinax Long Tutorial

PyCon 2010

Introduction

~10 minutes

Who are we? - James Tauber

Pinax Founder

CEO of Eldarion

http://jtauber.com

Who are we? - Daniel Greenfeld

Pinax Core Developer

Software Engineer for NASA's Science Mission Directorate

Author/Instructor for Holden Web, LLC (holdenweb.com)

Developer for Eldarion

http://pydanny.com

Tutorial Prerequisites

• Basic understanding of Python

• Basic understanding of Django

• Laptop

• Python 2.5.x or 2.6.x

History of Pinax

2008: James Tauber decides to stop repeating himself0.5 — First official release

2009: First full year of Pinax0.7 — Groups, Static Media, Move to pip and virtualenv,

Section 508

2010: Today0.9 — Next great thing

Philosophy of Pinax

By integrating numerous reusable Django apps to take care of the things that many sites have in common, it lets you focus on what makes your site different.

In other words...

Don't Repeat Yourself

What will we be doing?

Installing Pinax

Reviewing the core underlying layer

Changing the look and feel

Various Pinax tricks

Building on what Python and Django gives us

Deployment

Community

Pinax Installation

~10 minutes

Where to get Pinax

• http://pinaxproject.com/download/

• USB key with bundle

virtualenv

• Ian Bicking

• Isolates all Pinax components from your global environment

• virtual environments is used for dependency control

• You can use multiple virtualenv/pinax-env

• http://pypi.python.org/pypi/virtualenv

• Ian Bicking

• pip is a replacement for easy_install

• All packages are downloaded before installation. Partially-completed installation doesn't occur as a result.

• Supports requirement files for consistently creating environments of many packages.

• http://pypi.python.org/pypi/pip

Core Underlying Components

~10 minutes

Core: Accounts

AvatarEmail AddressesLanguageOpenIDPassword ManagementSignupTimezone

Sign Up Options

Closed Sign Up

Private Beta

Optional email confirmation

Core: Groups

Groups in Pinax are containers with user membership and content.

They are a base on which to write your own app and plug in whatever content apps you need.

Examples:Tribes (Wiki, Photos)Projects (Tasks, Wiki)Guilds (Events)

Core: Static Media Handling

css, images, javascript

Project vs Pinax Theme vs App level

Separation of static media from user-contributed media.

build_static management command for deployment

Pinax Projects

~10 minutes

Overview of the starter projects

boilerplate code

scaffolding to get started more quickly

already integrated apps

Examples:• basic_project• social_project• code_project• company_project (NEW)

Using pinax-admin

List all the currently available projects in Pinax

pinax-admin clone_project -l

Cloning a project

pinax-admin clone_project social_project djangofans

What is in a Pinax project?

• apps directory

• media directory

• slightly extended manage.py

• requirements.txt with project dependencies required to run

• deploy directory for modpython, fastcgi, and wsgi.

• templates directory with the blocking done

• tests directory to help push you to test.

Pinax specific settings.py

~5 minutes

Some Pinax Settings

SITE_NAME (used in some default templates)CONTACT_EMAIL (used in some default templates)

PINAX_THEME (prefix for template resolution)

ACCOUNT_OPEN_SIGNUP (can anyone join?)ACCOUNT_REQUIRED_EMAIL (is email address required?)ACCOUNT_EMAIL_VERIFICATION (must email be verified?)EMAIL_CONFIRMATION_DAYS (how long before expiry?)

LOGIN_REDIRECT_URLNAME (first page to go after login)

Media/Static Files Settings

MEDIA_URL / MEDIA_ROOT (URL and filesystem location for files uploaded/stored by Django

STATIC_URL / STATIC_ROOT (URL and filesystem location for site assets such as CSS, JS and

images)

SERVE_MEDIA (Used in urls.py to hook-up MEDIA_URL and STATIC_URL used

for development)

local_settings.py

Good place for environmental settings such as:

Databases Debug

Media locations

Modification of core Pinax applications

~10 minutes

Profiles

Frequently extended application

You always want a custom field

Modification of core Pinax applications

Before you change a core application:

Can you accomplish your tasks with CSS?

Can you accomplish your tasks with Javascript?

Can you accomplish your tasks with template changes?

Can you create a new application that does the work?

But my task needs a code/database change!

pinax-env/lib/python2.x/site-packages/Pinax/pinax/apps/<app>

pinax-env/src/Pinax/pinax/apps/<app>

Don't make changes in Pinax itself!

But my task needs a code/database change!

Option 1: Use the apps directory of your project

cd apps/django-admin.py startapp profiles

Option 2: Use virtualenv/pip

Create a stand alone app (best done eggified)pip install -e my-app

Adding Django applications

~10 minutes

Won't conversion be hard?

Remember: Pinax is just Django with an opinion

pip install <django-app>

(Don't forget to add it to your requirements.txt file)

make changes to INSTALLED_APPS, etc in settings.pymake template changes

Modification of templates

~10 minutes

Customize templates, don't change them

cp -r site-packages/pinax/templates/default/profiles my-project/templates

Don't edit the Pinax templates directory!

Themes in Pinax

Change your look and feel by just changing settings.py!

PINAX_THEME = "default"

But only one theme is currently shipped with Pinax

PINAX_THEME = "default"

Changing the logo

Step 1: Add your image to <my-project>/media

Step 2: In <my-project>/templates/site_base.html in the logo_link_image block change the name of the logo image to match your own.

(but really you should be making more style changes than just the logo)

Handy Pinax template blocks

• head_title

• extra_head

• extra_bodyLoads after main body. Good for custom Javascript

• footer

Changing the look and feel

~10 minutes

base.html versus site_base.html

If you are writing a theme to be used across multiple sites, you

should modify base.html, not site_base.html.

If you want to keep a particular theme but modify content for a

specific site, you should modify site_base.html.

Adding and removing tabs

1. In site_base.html add a new li in the right_tabs block. Make sure that li has and id specific to that to that tab, e.g. tab_myapp

2. Create a myapps/base.html template that all pages under that tab will extend. Make sure it defines a block body_class with contentmyapp

3. edit the CSS file (site_tabs.css if it exists) and at the appropriate points add the selectors:o body.myapp #tab_myappo body.myapp #tab_myapp a

see http://pinaxproject.com/docs/dev/tabs.html for more information

Adding CSS

In templates/site_base.html {% block extra_head_base %}:

mkdir site_mediamkdir site_media/mediatouch custom.css

body { background-color: #000;}

Changing Avatar defaults

~10 minutes

django-avatar by default uses Gravatar

Gravatars follow a user's account name across the Internet

Means users get a default avatar anywhere

You might not want the default Gravatar avatar image

You might not want to lock user avatars into a single service

Changing the default Gravatar logo

In settings.py

AVATAR_DEFAULT_URL = STATIC_URL + "<our_custom_avatar.jpg>"AVATAR_GRAVATAR_BACKUP = False

django-groups

~10 minutes

What are groups?

Groups in are containers with user membership and content.

Example:

A project with tasks and wiki

A guild with a forum and events

What does django-groups give you?

• Base model on which to build your group app

• A way to do all your URL routing so you get to the right content objects for the group.

• Nested group support (group apps can be content object apps at the same time)

Creating a group app

• Adding content objects is simple:

from groups.bridge import ContentBridge bridge = ContentBridge(Project) urlpatterns = patterns("", ...) # URLs for the group views urlpatterns += bridge.include_urls("topics.urls", r"^project/(?

P<project_slug>[-\w]+)/topics/")

• Group model interface is simple:o member_queryset (needed if member m2m is named

other than members)o user_is_membero get_url_kwargs

Creating content object apps

• Most bits must be aware of group association. Views, forms, model and template context.

• By 0.9 most all major apps will support group protocol for content apps.

• Apps don't need to depend on django-groups• Protocol bits of note

o ContentBridge get_group reverse

o Group model instance content_objects(Model, [join=[...]])

o Template context {% extends group_base|default:"site_base.html" %}

Looking at django-groups

pinax-admin clone_project sample_group_project sgpcd sgppython manage.py syncdbpython manage.py runserver

django-uni-form

~10 minutes

What is Section 508?

• Rules for making technology theoretically accessible by individuals with disability.

• Easy to implement if you know how.

• Unfortunately doesn't actually force software to be accessible to the disabled.

• Enforceable across all government agencies or organizations accepting money from government agencies.

Why do we care?

• US Government work requires it.

• Disability software is said to be a $170 billion a year industry.

• Open source tends to support accessibility/usability well.

• Its the right thing to do!

Django forms rock!

Tables are for tabular data

In Section 508, some tabular forms are allowed

Out of the box pretty Django forms are tabular

Django Uni-Form =

Django forms docs + template tag + Uni-Form css/js forms library

Basic Usage

Advanced Django Uni-Form

~10 minutes

Making form generation easier

{% load uni_form_tags %}{% with form.helper as helper %}{% uni_form form helper %}{% endwith %}

Adding action handlers

{% load uni_form_tags %}{% with form.helper as helper %}

{% uni_form form helper %}

{% endwith %}

Media Handling

~10 minutes

Static Files

css, images, javascript

Separation of static media from user-contributed media.

build_static management command for deployment

STATIC_URL context variable

SERVE_MEDIA for development

Static media is good

Caching

Security

Separating servers

build_static tool

python manage.py help build_static

Copy static media files from apps andother locations in a single location.

--dry-run (don't copy but show what will be done)--link (create symlinks rather than copy)

Project vs Pinax Theme vs App level

STATIC_URL

TEMPLATE_CONTEXT_PROCESSORS = [ "staticfiles.context_processors.static_url",]

(be sure to use RequestContext)

STATICFILES_DIRS

• Defines resolution order for static media handling

STATICFILES_DIRS = [ os.path.join(PROJECT_ROOT, "media"), os.path.join(PINAX_ROOT, "media", PINAX_THEME), ]

Serving Static Files During Developmentfrom django.conf import settings

if settings.SERVE_MEDIA: urlpatterns += patterns("", (r"", include("staticfiles.urls")), )

JavaScript, jQuery and Pinax

~5 minutes

Why was jQuery chosen for Pinax?

Because Pinax has an opinion

But you can still use YUI, Mootools, or plain old JavaScript

Best practice for JavaScript use

django-ajax-validation

~5 minutes

In urls.py:

from my_app.forms import MyAppForm

(r"^validate/$", "ajax_validation.views.validate", { "form_class": MyAppForm, "callback": lambda request, *args, **kwargs: {"user": request.user} }, "myapp_form_validate"),

in templates/my-app/edit.html:

{% block extra_body %} {% load jquery_validation %} {% include_validation %} <script type="text/javascript"> $(function(){ $('#myapp_form').validate('{%

url myapp_form_validate %}', {type: 'uni_form'}); }); </script>{% endblock %}

django-pagination

~2 minutes

django-pagination

{% load pagination_tags %}

{% autopaginate results 10 %}

... {% paginate %}

style with CSS:.pagination, .page, .page.selected, .page-prev, .page-next

Testing your Pinax application

~5 minutes

Why should you bother testing?

"Untested code is broken code"Martin Aspelli

"Code without tests is broken as designed"Jacob Kaplan-Moss

"All the cool kids are doing tests"Chris Shenton

"If I go to another testing talk I'm going to die"Daniel Greenfeld

Pinax Deployment

~10 minutes

What Pinax gives you

• Each project has a deploy/ directory

• deploy/ contains working mod_wsgi, FastCGI and mod_python deployment files.

• Much of Pinax has been designed to be a simple deployment with the way we've constructed settings.

Example Apache config

<VirtualHost *:8001> ServerName eldarion.com WSGIDaemonProcess eldarion.com user=eldarion group=eldarion processes=1

threads=25 python-path=/home/eldarion/virtualenvs/eldarion_project/lib/python2.5/site-packages

WSGIProcessGroup eldarion.com WSGIScriptAlias /

/home/eldarion/webapps/eldarion.com/eldarion_project/deploy/pinax.wsgi <Directory /home/eldarion/webapps/eldarion.com/eldarion_project/deploy> Order deny,allow Allow from all </Directory> ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/eldarion.com.error.log LogLevel warn CustomLog /var/log/apache2/eldarion.com.access.log combined </VirtualHost>

Things to remember when deploying

• Setup cron jobs for clearing mail queue and notification queue

• Recommended to create a maintenance.wsgi script that you can simply cp over pinax.wsgi to take the site down for deployment (don't forget to actually do this)

• Always remember to run build_static before claiming your deployment is complete

Community

~10 minutes

How to communicate

1. Don't be 'that guy'.

2. Be friendly.

3. Be patient.

4. Tell us your operating system and version of Python.

5. Use a pasting service for code or shell statements:

dpaste.de code.pinaxproject.com

Finding Help

Documentation:

http://pinaxproject.com/docs/0.7/ http://pinaxproject.com/docs/dev/

#pinax

Mailing List:

http://groups.google.com/group/pinax-users

Contributing back

http://code.pinaxproject.com

Task tracker and wiki for the Pinax project

Search the tickets before creating a new ticket

http://github.com/pinax/pinax

Fork and submit pull requests

Tests and documentation are required

Documentation must be in restructured text

Contributing back - Modular Efforts

For stand-alone Django or Python efforts:

Documentation and tests are required

Make your work modular and easy to use

Put your finished work on PyPI

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