django-rest-framework/docs/index.rst
2011-06-09 02:07:46 +01:00

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.. meta::
:description: A lightweight REST framework for Django.
:keywords: django, python, REST, RESTful, API, interface, framework
Django REST framework
=====================
Introduction
------------
Django REST framework is a lightweight REST framework for Django, that aims to make it easy to build well-connected, self-describing RESTful Web APIs.
**Browse example APIs created with Django REST framework:** `The Sandbox <http://api.django-rest-framework.org/>`_
Features:
* Automatically provides an awesome Django admin style `browse-able self-documenting API <http://api.django-rest-framework.org>`_.
* Clean, simple, views for Resources, using Django's new `class based views <http://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/topics/class-based-views/>`_.
* Support for ModelResources with out-of-the-box default implementations and input validation.
* Pluggable :mod:`.parsers`, :mod:`renderers`, :mod:`authentication` and :mod:`permissions` - Easy to customise.
* Content type negotiation using HTTP Accept headers.
* Optional support for forms as input validation.
* Modular architecture - MixIn classes can be used without requiring the :class:`.Resource` or :class:`.ModelResource` classes.
Resources
---------
**Project hosting:** `Bitbucket <https://bitbucket.org/tomchristie/django-rest-framework>`_ and `GitHub <https://github.com/tomchristie/django-rest-framework>`_.
* The ``djangorestframework`` package is `available on PyPI <http://pypi.python.org/pypi/djangorestframework>`_.
* We have an active `discussion group <http://groups.google.com/group/django-rest-framework>`_ and a `project blog <http://blog.django-rest-framework.org>`_.
* Bug reports are handled on the `issue tracker <https://github.com/tomchristie/django-rest-framework/issues>`_.
* There is a `Jenkins CI server <http://datacenter.tibold.nl/job/djangorestframework/>`_ which tracks test status and coverage reporting. (Thanks Marko!)
Any and all questions, thoughts, bug reports and contributions are *hugely appreciated*.
Requirements
------------
* Python (2.5, 2.6, 2.7 supported)
* Django (1.2, 1.3 supported)
Installation
------------
You can install Django REST framework using ``pip`` or ``easy_install``::
pip install djangorestframework
Or get the latest development version using mercurial or git::
hg clone https://bitbucket.org/tomchristie/django-rest-framework
git clone git@github.com:tomchristie/django-rest-framework.git
Or you can `download the current release <http://pypi.python.org/pypi/djangorestframework>`_.
Setup
-----
To add Django REST framework to a Django project:
* Ensure that the ``djangorestframework`` directory is on your ``PYTHONPATH``.
* Add ``djangorestframework`` to your ``INSTALLED_APPS``.
For more information on settings take a look at the :ref:`setup` section.
Getting Started
---------------
Using Django REST framework can be as simple as adding a few lines to your urlconf.
``urls.py``::
from django.conf.urls.defaults import patterns, url
from djangorestframework.resources import ModelResource
from djangorestframework.views import ListOrCreateModelView, InstanceModelView
from myapp.models import MyModel
class MyResource(ModelResource):
model = MyModel
urlpatterns = patterns('',
url(r'^$', ListOrCreateModelView.as_view(resource=MyResource)),
url(r'^(?P<pk>[^/]+)/$', InstanceModelView.as_view(resource=MyResource)),
)
Django REST framework comes with two "getting started" examples.
#. :ref:`views`
#. :ref:`modelviews`
Examples
--------
There are a few real world web API examples included with Django REST framework.
#. :ref:`objectstore` - Using :class:`views.View` classes for APIs that do not map to models.
#. :ref:`codehighlighting` - Using :class:`views.View` classes with forms for input validation.
#. :ref:`blogposts` - Using :class:`views.ModelView` classes for APIs that map directly to models.
All the examples are freely available for testing in the sandbox:
http://api.django-rest-framework.org
(The :ref:`sandbox` resource is also documented.)
How Tos, FAQs & Notes
---------------------
.. toctree::
:maxdepth: 1
howto/setup
howto/usingcurl
howto/alternativeframeworks
howto/mixin
Library Reference
-----------------
.. toctree::
:maxdepth: 1
library/authentication
library/compat
library/mixins
library/parsers
library/permissions
library/renderers
library/resource
library/response
library/status
library/views
Examples Reference
------------------
.. toctree::
:maxdepth: 1
examples/views
examples/modelviews
examples/objectstore
examples/pygments
examples/blogpost
examples/sandbox
howto/mixin
Indices and tables
------------------
* :ref:`genindex`
* :ref:`modindex`
* :ref:`search`