Django CRUD App Lab Exercise

Build Your Own Full Stack Django Application

This lab is an opportunity to apply what you’ve learned in building the Django CRUD App, Cat_Collector, to a project of your own.

Use the structure and techniques from Cat_Collector as a guide to create a custom application.

1. Setup Your Django Application

Create Your Application

Start a New App: Begin by setting up an application within the Django project you created during the setup phase.
```
python3 manage.py startapp my_app
```
Register Your Application: Add your new app to the list of INSTALLED_APPS in settings.py.
Start the Server: Test your new app connection.
```
python3 manage.py runserver
```

Configure the Database

Create Your Database: Before adjusting the settings.py, ensure you create your database.
```
createdb mycoolapp
```

Database Settings: Edit the settings.py file to include your local database settings.

DATABASES = {
   'default': {
       'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql',
       'NAME': 'mycoolapp',
   }
}

Migrate Models: After setting up your model classes in models.py, make and apply migrations.
```
python3 manage.py makemigrations
python3 manage.py migrate
```

Set Up URL Routing

Create URL Configuration: Make a new urls.py in your app directory to handle app-specific routes.

Include App URLs in Project: Modify the project’s urls.py to include your app’s URL configurations.

from django.urls import path, include

urlpatterns = [
   path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
   path('', include('my_app.urls')), # Mount the app's routes at the root URL
]

2. Implement Full CRUD for a Model

Develop URL patterns, views, and templates to manage a resource fully. Your application should include views for:

Home: The landing page
Index: List all instances of the model
Detail: Show details of a single instance
Create: Form to create a new instance
Update: Form to update an existing instance
Delete: Handle the deletion of an instance

3. Introduce a Secondary Model with Associations

Model Association: Create a one-to-many relationship with a second model.
Manage Resources: Implement full CRUD operations for the secondary model, ensuring resources can be created, read, updated, and deleted.

4. Integrate Authentication

Enable Django Authentication: Incorporate Django’s built-in authentication system to manage user accounts.
Admin Dashboard: Utilize Django’s admin to manage user activities.
Protect Resources: Ensure that routes related to user-owned resources require authentication.

Level Up

5. Introduce a Third Model with Associations

Model Association: Create a many-to-many relationship with a third model.
Manage Resources: Implement full CRUD operations for the third model, ensuring resources can be created, read, updated, and deleted.