BT5110 - Your first Django app

A barebones Django app used for the BT5110 module at NUS. Shows how to create a web app that

1. Interacts with a database
2. Is deployed to the internet (for free!)

This template starter code is heavily based on Python: Getting Started.

Running Locally

Make sure you have Python 3.9 and Git installed. Also make sure you have PostgreSQL running and create a new database for local development. Then run the following in a terminal:

$ git clone https://github.com/BT5110/demo.git
$ cd demo
$ git remote remove origin  # Delete the reference to the BT5110/demo repo

This will download the code to your computer. One of the files will be called .env-sample. Make a new file called .env where you copy the contents over, and then you can set the values as you desire (namely, make sure LOCAL_DB_NAME and LOCAL_DB_USER are correctly configured, and LOCAL_DB_PASSWORD if you have set up a local password).

Now run the following to finish the setup:

$ python3 -m venv .venv
# The next step depends on your OS:
$ source .venv/bin/activate   # macOS / Linux
$ .venv/Scripts/activate.bat  # Windows

$ pip install -r requirements.txt

$ python manage.py migrate
$ python manage.py collectstatic
$ python manage.py runserver

Your app should now be running on localhost:8000.

Deploying to Heroku

Make sure you have followed the steps above to run it locally. Then:

1. Create a new private repository on GitHub
   • Go to https://github.com/new.
   • Name your repository whatever you like. NB: Make sure to choose "Private" - this is a requirement to avoid that other students plagiarise your code for the assignment. Also make sure to not check any of the boxes under "Initialize this repository with". When you are done, click Create repository.
   • Copy the commands under "...or push an existing repository from the command line" to push the code you cloned for running locally.
2. Create the deployment on Heroku
   • Go to https://dashboard.heroku.com/new-app and click Create new app
   • Name your app whatever you like. For region, Heroku sadly doesn't support Asia. You can choose either Europe or United States. Click Create app.
   • Go to Resources, Under Add-ons search for "postgres" and select it as shown here (you might need to click "Submit Order Form", just make sure you choose the free hobby dev):
   • Go to "Deploy", choose GitHub, connect your GitHub account, search for the repo you created previously to connect to, click "Connect".
   • Deploy your app in its current state, and do such that Heroku automatically deploys changes whenever you push your code to GitHub.
3. After 1-2 min, you should be able to see your page at your-app-name.herokuapp.com!

Known issues

Please refer to the erratum post on LumiNUS if you run into any issues.