existPythonofWebdevelopment areas,DjangoandFastAPIThese are two high-profile frameworks.
Through the practice and comparison of the two, this article summarizes their characteristics and applicable scenarios, hoping to provide developers with a reference when making choices.
1. Comparison of design concepts
From the perspective of the characteristics of the framework,
DjangobyFull stack frameworkIt is famous for having many built-in tools, covering ORM, data validation, authentication, session management, caching, command line tools and automatic CRUD management interface.
This allows developers to quickly build the infrastructure in the early stages of the project, reducing the search and integration costs for external dependencies. Thanks to the unified design concept, the components collaborate efficiently and there are relatively few version conflicts.
DjangofollowMVT（Model-View-Template) architecture, like an experienced guide, plans the project structure and development path for developers. From model definition, view logic to template rendering, the layers are clear. Following its specifications can efficiently build stable applications.
However, when faced with suchSPA（single page application), microservices, serverless architecture and other modern development trends, this relatively fixed architecture may seem inadequate. If project requirements are inconsistent with traditionalMVTThe modes are quite different, and forcibly applying them may cause a lot of inconvenience and performance bottlenecks.
andFastAPIIt adheres to the concept of simplicity, and the framework itself only provides core functions. For example, Pydantic is used for data validation, and SQLAlchemy is often used for ORM.
Although this design requires developers to manually integrate various components during initial configuration, it also gives the project greater flexibility and customization, avoiding excessive framework constraints.
FastAPIIt remains architecturally neutral and gives developers ample room for free play.
It is like a solid foundation. After providing basic tools, it allows developers to build personalized architecture according to the unique needs of the project.
This flexibility allows it to cope with diverse project scenarios with ease, but it also places higher demands on developers' architectural design capabilities. Developers need to weigh and decide on their own on technology selection and architecture construction strategies at all levels.
2. Full stack and separation of front-end and back-end
DjangoAs a full-stack framework, it has certain front-end development capabilities and is especially suitable for building traditional multi-page applications (MPA), when creating a management background, etc., which do not require high interactivity.CRUDIt performs well in operation-oriented scenarios and can quickly implement functions while ensuring a certain degree of stability.
But in the face of the highly interactive single-page applications pursued by modern web applications (SPA), its front-end capabilities are slightly insufficient. Forcible combination may lead to code redundancy and reduced development efficiency.
FastAPIIt focuses on back-end API development, aiming to provide support for building efficient and high-performance API services. It works well with modern front-end frameworks (such as React, Vue, and Angular) and can well meet the needs of the back-end in front-end and back-end separation projects. , laying a solid foundation for creating a smooth user experience.
3. Framework coupling comparison
DjangoThere are many built-in tools, which not only bring convenience, but also make the coupling of various parts within the framework higher.
For example itsORMTightly coupled with the framework, developers canDjangoAfter investing effort in learning and using it in the project, if you switch to other frameworks, the transfer cost of this part of knowledge and skills will be higher.
FastAPIIt provides interfaces to connect with external tools (such as Pydantic, SQLAlchemy), so it has greater versatility.
byPydanticFor example, it can also play an important role in data science projects, promoting model sharing and collaboration between different development teams (such as back-end and data science teams), and broadening the boundaries of technology applications.
4. Comparison of learning difficulty
DjangoIt is friendly to beginners. Its rich tutorials and stable API enable novices to get started quickly. They can build usable projects according to the recommended best practice path. During the project development process, most complex logic is hidden by the framework, making it easier for developers to No need to understand the underlying mechanism in depth.
But this may also make it more difficult for developers to debug when they encounter problems due to unfamiliarity with the underlying principles.
FastAPIThe learning curve is relatively steep, and developers need to make decisions on many technical details themselves, from tool selection to architecture construction, which increases the possibility of making mistakes to a certain extent.
However, with in-depth study and practice, developers can have a more thorough understanding of the project's operating mechanism, and the code they write is more maintainable and scalable. The feature of code as a document also helps with subsequent development and cooperation.
5. Support for new features
In terms of new feature support,DjangoSlightly lagging. Although it performs well in terms of stability and backward compatibility, it is still not perfect in asynchronous programming support. After years of development, it has not yet fully realized asynchronousization, which may become a performance bottleneck when dealing with high concurrency scenarios.
In addition, the lack of official type support also affects the robustness and maintainability of the code. Although there are unofficial solutions, they are always not ideal.
FastAPIthen keep up with the pace of the times, andPydanticThe deep integration ofPythonType annotations realize type safety and code automatic completion functions, which greatly improves the development experience and code quality.
At the same time, its built-in asynchronous support makes processingWebSocketsSuch asynchronous tasks become easy and provide a strong guarantee for the development of high-performance, real-time applications.
6. Comparison of community support
DjangoAdopting a democratic governance model and promoting the development of the framework through regular board elections, this mechanism ensures diversity and sustainability of decision-making.
Many developers jointly participate in maintenance and improvement, allowing the framework to maintain stability and vitality in long-term development. The community has rich resources and can receive extensive support and help when encountering problems.
FastAPIDeveloped by individuals, this approach has certain risks, such as facing a large number ofPull RequestandIssueThere may be situations where the processing is not timely.
And there may be community disputes caused by personal decisions in the direction of the development of the framework, e.g.SQLModelThe introduction of it caused quite a stir in the community.
7. Comparison of configuration and deployment
In terms of project configuration and deployment,DjangoDemonstrates a high degree of automation.
Taking unit testing as an example, you only need to simply run the test command, and the framework will automatically complete a series of operations such as the creation of the test database and test execution, which greatly simplifies the testing process and reduces the developer's workload.
at the same time,DjangoIt also provides a wealth of built-in commands and tools to assist with database configuration and other tasks, making project deployment more convenient and efficient.
FastAPIDevelopers are required to complete most of the configuration work manually. For example, the configuration of unit tests involves many details such as database creation, data cleaning, and the association between the data factory and the test database. Developers need to have an in-depth understanding of the underlying mechanism and carefully design the configuration plan.
8. Summary
In general,DjangoandFastAPIEach has advantages and disadvantages in multiple dimensions.
When developers choose a framework, they should closely consider the specific needs of the project, the technical background of the team, and future development plans. Don't be misled by some hype articles.
In addition, although these two frameworks are currently in the limelight, inPythonworld, newWebFrames will keep appearing,
The new framework will draw on the experience and lessons of the previous framework and combine it with newPythoncharacteristic.
Therefore, while considering using the above two frameworks, don’t forget to pay attention to new frameworks that may appear at any time.