Django URLs

URL Components

path('home/', views.home)

path('post/<int:id>/', views.detail)

path('about/', views.about, name='about')

path('blog/', include('blog.urls'))

🔹 Basic URL Configuration

URL patterns are defined in urls.py files. The main project urls.py routes to app-specific URL configurations for better organization.

🔸 Project URLs (mysite/urls.py)

# mysite/urls.py
from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import path, include

urlpatterns = [
    path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
    path('blog/', include('blog.urls')),
    path('', include('home.urls')),
]

🔸 App URLs (blog/urls.py)

# blog/urls.py
from django.urls import path
from . import views

urlpatterns = [
    path('', views.post_list, name='post_list'),
    path('about/', views.about, name='about'),
    path('contact/', views.contact, name='contact'),
]

🔹 URL Parameters

Capture dynamic values from URLs using path converters. These values are passed as arguments to your view functions.

# blog/urls.py
from django.urls import path
from . import views

urlpatterns = [
    # Integer parameter
    path('post/<int:pk>/', views.post_detail, name='post_detail'),
    
    # String parameter
    path('category/<str:name>/', views.category, name='category'),
    
    # Slug parameter
    path('article/<slug:slug>/', views.article, name='article'),
]

# blog/views.py
from django.shortcuts import render, get_object_or_404
from .models import Post

def post_detail(request, pk):
    post = get_object_or_404(Post, pk=pk)
    return render(request, 'blog/post_detail.html', {'post': post})

def category(request, name):
    posts = Post.objects.filter(category=name)
    return render(request, 'blog/category.html', {'posts': posts, 'category': name})

🔹 Named URLs

Naming URLs allows you to reference them in templates and views without hardcoding paths. This makes your code more maintainable.

# blog/urls.py
from django.urls import path
from . import views

app_name = 'blog'  # Namespace for this app

urlpatterns = [
    path('', views.post_list, name='post_list'),
    path('post/<int:pk>/', views.post_detail, name='post_detail'),
    path('create/', views.post_create, name='post_create'),
]

🔸 Using Named URLs in Templates

<!-- templates/blog/post_list.html -->
<a href="{% url 'blog:post_list' %}">All Posts</a>
<a href="{% url 'blog:post_detail' pk=post.id %}">Read More</a>
<a href="{% url 'blog:post_create' %}">Create New Post</a>

🔸 Using Named URLs in Views

# blog/views.py
from django.shortcuts import redirect
from django.urls import reverse

def create_post(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        # Create post logic
        return redirect('blog:post_list')
    
    # Or use reverse() to get URL string
    url = reverse('blog:post_detail', kwargs={'pk': 5})
    return redirect(url)

🔹 Including App URLs

Use include() to reference other URL configurations. This keeps your project organized by separating app-specific URLs.

# mysite/urls.py
from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import path, include

urlpatterns = [
    path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
    path('blog/', include('blog.urls')),
    path('shop/', include('shop.urls')),
    path('users/', include('users.urls')),
    path('', include('home.urls')),
]

# blog/urls.py
from django.urls import path
from . import views

app_name = 'blog'

urlpatterns = [
    path('', views.home, name='home'),
    path('posts/', views.post_list, name='post_list'),
]

# shop/urls.py
from django.urls import path
from . import views

app_name = 'shop'

urlpatterns = [
    path('', views.shop_home, name='home'),
    path('products/', views.product_list, name='product_list'),
]

🔹 Regular Expression URLs

For complex URL patterns, use re_path() with regular expressions. This provides more flexibility than simple path converters.

# blog/urls.py
from django.urls import path, re_path
from . import views

urlpatterns = [
    # Match year/month/day format
    re_path(r'^archive/(?P<year>[0-9]{4})/(?P<month>[0-9]{2})/$', 
            views.archive, 
            name='archive'),
    
    # Match specific pattern
    re_path(r'^post/(?P<slug>[\w-]+)/$', 
            views.post_by_slug, 
            name='post_by_slug'),
]

# blog/views.py
def archive(request, year, month):
    posts = Post.objects.filter(
        published_date__year=year,
        published_date__month=month
    )
    return render(request, 'blog/archive.html', {
        'posts': posts,
        'year': year,
        'month': month
    })

🔹 URL Query Parameters

Access query parameters (e.g., ?page=2&sort=date) using request.GET in your views:

# blog/views.py
def post_list(request):
    # Get query parameters
    page = request.GET.get('page', 1)
    sort = request.GET.get('sort', 'date')
    search = request.GET.get('q', '')
    
    posts = Post.objects.all()
    
    # Filter based on search
    if search:
        posts = posts.filter(title__icontains=search)
    
    # Sort posts
    if sort == 'title':
        posts = posts.order_by('title')
    else:
        posts = posts.order_by('-published_date')
    
    return render(request, 'blog/post_list.html', {
        'posts': posts,
        'search': search,
        'sort': sort
    })

<!-- Example URLs -->
<a href="{% url 'post_list' %}?sort=title">Sort by Title</a>
<a href="{% url 'post_list' %}?sort=date">Sort by Date</a>

<form method="get">
    <input type="text" name="q" placeholder="Search...">
    <button type="submit">Search</button>
</form>

🔹 Error Handling URLs

Django provides default error pages, but you can customize them by creating specific views and templates:

# mysite/urls.py
from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import path, include

urlpatterns = [
    path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
    path('', include('blog.urls')),
]

# Custom error handlers
handler404 = 'blog.views.custom_404'
handler500 = 'blog.views.custom_500'

# blog/views.py
from django.shortcuts import render

def custom_404(request, exception):
    return render(request, 'errors/404.html', status=404)

def custom_500(request):
    return render(request, 'errors/500.html', status=500)

🔹 Best Practices

Follow these guidelines for clean and maintainable URL configurations: