Python as a programming language is leading in frameworks available for development, and as a web pro, web development may be an integral part of your business. In our previous post, we covered the 6 Best GUI Frameworks for Python and from the overwhelming response we received, we decided to go a step ahead.
In this post, I’ll be covering two of the most popular and sought-after Web Frameworks for Python, Flask, and Django. I’ll walk you through features and advantages which will help you decide the best framework for you.
What is a Web Framework?
A web framework is a component that helps you simplify the development of your web applications. It is like a toolkit that includes web services, resources, APIs and provides a stable base for your application.
A web framework allows you, the web pro to build your application without really creating it from scratch. When it comes to Python, there are several web frameworks available like Django, Flask, Pyramid, Bottle etc. Each web framework has its own set of pros and cons and choosing a framework largely depends on your requirements as a web pro. Out of the many frameworks, two of the most popular ones are Flask and Django. Let us examine them in detail.
Flask and its Features
Flask was launched in 2010 as an open-source web development framework. It is a widely used web framework for Python. Its working is similar to a LEGO set where developers can build anything they want. This makes Flask easy to use and understand.
Let us have a look at its features,
- Speed
Although speed wasn’t much of a consideration during the development phase of Flask, to a user speed is of utmost importance. Flask follows a minimalist design approach and thus has a faster performance ratio as compared to Django. Flask can support hundreds of queries per second without any negative impact. - Simplicity
Flask being minimalistic provides the developer necessary features to build a prototype for a web application easily. It gives developers control as well as flexibility as to how they wish to develop their web apps. With Flask, there are various templating languages available along with the default language Jinja2 library. Also, Flask comes with an inbuilt WSGI toolkit library and web server so you don’t have to rely on external web servers like Apache to test your app. - Easy Database Integration
Unlike some web frameworks, Flask doesn’t have an additional database access layer nor does it rely on ORM (Object-Relational Mapping). As a result, integration with database toolkits like SQLAlchemy and NoSQL databases like MongoDB and DynamoDB is fairly easy.
Django and its Features
Django was first released in the year 2005 and is aimed at large applications. It includes an ORM, which allows you to switch between various relational databases quickly. It even provides an MVC and Django REST framework. Let us have a look at its features,
- Browsable API
Django REST framework supports REST-ful API and an inbuilt user model API for authorization and authentication. Thus it supports human-friendly HTML output generation for a resource when the HTML format is requested. These pages allow you to easily browse for resources and developers can execute GET and POST easily in their browsers. This browsable API is built with Bootstrap, making customization simple. - Simple Database Management
Since Django includes an ORM, it allows various relational databases like PostgreSQL, Oracle, MySQL, SQLite etc to interact with application data. Django allows models and easy creation of tables and fields automatically. Also, changes like creating tables and indexes are rolled out with a single command - Useful Admin Panel
Django comes with an automatic and very customizable admin panel. This admin panel makes the production and development of a CMS (Content Management System) very easy.
Conclusion
Overall, Django and Flask are two diverse frameworks, each having its own set of pros and cons. The choice of the framework is really based on what you as a developer deal with. While Django is more suitable for heavy and complex applications, Flask is suitable for lightweight simple web apps. If you are a beginner, then Flask is the recommended framework as it is a great learning tool with several modules and libraries. Django can be used to deliver a final & professional product, just as well as Flask can, but Django may have a slightly steeper learning curve for a beginner.
If you have any comments or suggestions on this post or have worked with either of these technologies, please let us know in the comments below.
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