Django and Rails

[Enrique Shadah]

Hi all,

I am learning Django after trying once with Rails. As I am a newbie to software development, Rails seemed more obscure and difficult to digest. I chose to learn Django because Python is easier to understand than Ruby (at least to me) and because I thought it had a bigger or more enthusiastic community to learn from.

However, I am finding that Django has some limitations Rails does not.  One is that its community is fading (or at least it feels that way).  Another is that Rails seems to be better at automating mundane tasks (staying true to the DRY principle). For example, rake db migrate can add/subtract fields on table without writing any sql.  Django can add fields and tables with syncdb, but if I need to subtract fields or change whether the field is required or not, I am faced to writing sql.  This seems pretty silly given that new site is constantly changing, thus models will suffer many changes as users suggest/reject features. 

These are just two limitations off the top of my head.  I am sure Django is awesome, but could anyone share their views on whether I should just learn Rails off the bat instead of going the Django then Rails route?

[Lachlan Musicman]

For db changes, you want South, although the author of South has just
finished integrating it into Django 1.7.

http://south.aeracode.org/
http://south.readthedocs.org/en/latest/
http://south.readthedocs.org/en/latest/tutorial/index.html

Version 1.7 of Django, due any day now, will have migrations built in.

cheers
L.

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[Lachlan Musicman]

Also, the community certainly doesn't seem to be fading to me -
between this list, SO and the IRC channel, there is lots of movement.

There is a new release every 6 months or so and the devs are pushing
security updates at about one every two months although that's more
dependent on when the security issues are discovered than running to a
plan.

I wouldn't fear the Django community disappearing anytime soon.

cheers
L.

[WongoBongo]

Try the tutorial and if you like it then stick with Django.

Also, go and meet other python developers. Meetup is good for finding local groups. There might also be an active SIG nearby.

K

On Wednesday, May 28, 2014 8:55:58 PM UTC-7, Enrique Shadah wrote:

Hi all,

[willyhakim]

Django learning curve might be steeper than Rails, but it will make you a better web dev in the long run. Check out realpython.com and maybe start by getting a solid foundation on python

[Enrique Shadah]

Thanks everyone.  You've confirmed what I have suspected. Also, an MIT CS prof. suggested today to stick to python/django.  Rails may be fast and cool, but that it may offer too much "magic" to really know what's going on and debug if needed.  For a newbie like me, I need explicit guidance and clear thinking. Maybe when I reach django ninja status, I can try other more esoteric frameworks.

[Derek]

Hi Enrique

Apart from the mailing list, a good place to keep up with Python and Django in general is the http://www.pythonweekly.com/ newsletter.  Its not long, is well-structured and  will help give some idea of the current  "buzz" ...

(PS Not everyone is convinced that Rails is "faster" - http://www.techempower.com/benchmarks/#section=data-r9&hw=peak&test=query&b=1&s=2&f=so-0-0-0 but I won't debate the "cooler" part though)