This is a bit off topic, but can anyone suggest a decent Django tutorial? I've just recently learned python, and would like to build a few projects using Django. I completed Django's official tutorial[1], but when it came time for me to actually start building something, I found I didn't really understand what was going on. I should mention I'm inexperienced in both web application development and python in general.
I highly recommend Two Scoops of Django and have recommended to every engineer at my company. The one caveat would be that the newest edition is for Django 1.8, so it'd be good to check against the docs periodically if anything looks off. Off the top of my head, the main thing I'd keep an eye out for would be changes to Class-Based Views like permissions mixins, although if I remember correctly, most of those changes were just moving things in django-braces to Django core.
Two Scoops is a great book, and my personal go to reference for best practices. But I don't know if I would recommend it for someone looking to learn Django for the first time as it is more of a reference.
For someone completely new to Django I'd likely recommend Tango with Django or Hello Web App
Danny and Audrey are busy updating two-scoops for version 1.11, so if you can hold off on buying, do so, simply because 1.11 will be the next LTS release.
I'll chime in with also highly recommending the Two Scoops book! It was nice to see their design philosophy. I worked with several older releases of Django and found their thoughts on CBV helpful in deciding when/when not to use them. Also, it was nice to see their thoughts on layout. I stepped away from Django development for awhile and a lot has changed from 1.6 to 1.10! I just wish that they had decided to also offer an electronic version! Any idea if they are planning an electronic release this time?
If your Django project is a million lines of code you're going to appreciate mixins and CBV's. Most built in views are moving to CBV's as well (see login/logout/password reset/etc in 1.11).
I recommend TreeHouse's Django series. I tried other methods (books, blog posts, none really helped me). Not free either, but it really helped. There's a free trial so you can learn Django quickly in 7 days (I did) but I am keeping my membership for now to learn other stuff... (although kinda pricey for me). The series is not up-to-date either, but the basics remain unchanged. You may find one or two syntax / API differences, but that's it.
I also grew up with Django... since 0.9 but didn't really focus on web development using Django, so for me I had to pick it up again from scratch and quick. Two Scoops is a reference book at best IMO. Use it if you are really comfortable with all the basics of Django and you have done at least 6-12 months of Django regularly.
I highly recommend the Django Unchained[1] course from Tuts+, that's my favorite introduction to Django, where you learn the fundamentals by building a HN clone.
Also, a shameless plug, I have built a website[2] where I collect the best webdev learning resources, you can find other good Django tutorials there. Funny enough, the website itself is built based on the stuff I've learned from the Django Unchained course =)
newboston on youtube. I needed a crash course on django -- after the first couple of videos I knew what I needed. But, I got hooked by his fast pace and finished the set over 2 days. A+
I've been learning Django and found that most tutorials are out of date and very few go into detail. Two scoops even breezed over some aspects of the new project environment decisions they recommend (and share on Github). I've turned to asking for help from experts and on occasion hiring a mentor on sites like code mentor to answer questions for me.
Beats the cost of a coding academy and has let me go at my own pace.
A bit of googling and you will find many excellent resources - filter on 'last year' in the search results. One recommended book is 'two scoops of Django'. You should get familiar with the request response cycle (Language agnostic) and that will make things a lot clearer as you build up your skills.
Two scoops is an okay book I suppose, but it's definitely not what the grandparent post is asking for -- it goes over things too quickly.
I actually recommend youtube video tutorials! Like, some will show you how to make a basic photo hosting site... a blog site, etc. Follow those once or twice, and take it from there. Best of luck!
1: https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.10/intro/tutorial01/