Can packaging improve Django deployments?

How can packaging Django projects make deployments easier, faster and more reliable?

Deployments of Django projects can be a challenging task. Beside the Python source code itself you usually have to handle a lot of other stuff:

• Installing Python dependencies
• Shipping JavaScript code and installing it's dependencies
• Compiling SCSS to CSS
• Collecting static files
• Building documentation
• Compiling translations
• …

And of course you want a deployment approach that is independent of a specific hosting solution.

Also you have to think about the scalability of your deployment when the number of servers you operate increases.

This usually means that git pull is not the best way to deal with these tasks.

So I will discuss different ways to package your Django project like

• Wheels
• JavaScript packages
• Operating system packages
• Containers

Some of these concepts will hopefully help you to make your deployment process easier, faster and more reliable.

Requirements

You have to install the following requirements to build and serve the presentation:

• npm
• Python 3.4 or newer

Installing and linking the dependencies

You can install and link all required resources by running

$ make link

Running the presentation

You can serve the slides by running

$ make serve

Controlling the presentation

• Use the SPACE BAR to move to the next slide.
• Use the arrow keys to move around.
• Use the F key to enter full screen mode. Press the ESC key to leave it again.
• Use the S key to open the moderator monitor containing the notes.
• Use the B key to make the screen dark. Push the same key to brighten the screen again.
• Use the ESC key to enter the bird's-eye view showing all slides. Then use the arrow keys to move around.

Showing all tasks in the Makefile

You can show all tasks in the Makefile by running

$ make

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.