The URL configuration (URLconf) is a mapping between URL patterns and view functions. This mapping is defined in a urls.py file, typically located in your project and app directories.
When you create a new Django project, a urls.py file is automatically created in the project directory. This file is the central point for routing URLs to the appropriate views:
# myproject/urls.py
from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import path, include
urlpatterns = [
path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
path('', include('myapp.urls')), # Include the URLs from the app
]
Each app can have its own urls.py file to handle URLs specific to that app. This modular approach keeps your URL configurations organized:
# myapp/urls.py
from django.urls import path
from . import views
urlpatterns = [
path('', views.index, name='index'), # Maps the root URL of the app to the index view
path('about/', views.about, name='about'), # Maps the 'about/' URL to the about view
]
In this example:
path('', views.index, name='index'): Maps the root URL ('') to the index view.path('about/', views.about, name='about'): Maps the about/ URL to the about view.URL patterns are defined using the path() function, which takes the following arguments:
route: A string representing the URL pattern.view: The view function or class that handles requests matching the route.kwargs (optional): Additional arguments to pass to the view function.name (optional): A name for the URL pattern, allowing you to refer to it in templates and views.To avoid name conflicts between URL patterns in different apps, you can use namespaces. Namespaces allow you to group URLs under a specific name, making it easier to refer to them in templates and views.
# myproject/urls.py
from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import path, include
urlpatterns = [
path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
path('blog/', include('blog.urls', namespace='blog')), # Namespaced URLs
]
# blog/urls.py
from django.urls import path
from . import views
app_name = 'blog' # Set the app namespace
urlpatterns = [
path('', views.index, name='index'),
path('post/<int:id>/', views.post_detail, name='post_detail'),
]
In development, Django can serve static and media files for you. You need to add configurations in your project’s urls.py and settings.py files.
# settings.py
from pathlib import Path
BASE_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
STATIC_URL = '/static/'
MEDIA_URL = '/media/'
MEDIA_ROOT = BASE_DIR / 'media'
# myproject/urls.py
from django.conf import settings
from django.conf.urls.static import static
urlpatterns = [
path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
path('blog/', include('blog.urls', namespace='blog')),
]
if settings.DEBUG:
urlpatterns += static(settings.MEDIA_URL, document_root=settings.MEDIA_ROOT)
When a request is received, Django looks for the first match in the URL patterns and dispatches the request to the corresponding view. If no match is found, Django raises a 404 error (Page Not Found).
You can create custom error pages for 404 and 500 errors by creating views and templates for these errors.
# myapp/views.py
from django.shortcuts import render
def custom_404(request, exception):
return render(request, '404.html', status=404)
def custom_500(request):
return render(request, '500.html', status=500)
# myproject/urls.py
handler404 = 'myapp.views.custom_404'
handler500 = 'myapp.views.custom_500'
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Page Not Found</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>404 - Page Not Found</h1>
<p>Sorry, the page you are looking for does not exist.</p>
</body>
</html>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Server Error</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>500 - Server Error</h1>
<p>Sorry, something went wrong on our end.</p>
</body>
</html>