I’m Matt Layman.

I want to help you learn more about Django and Python.

Want to learn Django from top to bottom?

My book, Understand Django, will walk you through the Django web framework.

We start from the top at an exploration of the browser and the layers that make the internet work, then dig deep down through the framework to reveal how you can make web applications using Django.

By the time you finish reading Understand Django, you'll have a much deeper knowledge of how web applications work and, specifically, how Python-based web applications are built.

You can read the book online for free, right now, and soon will be able to able to buy an e-book, physical book, or audio book from your favorite online stores.

Get started right now by clicking this link!

  • #Python
  • #Django
  • #sessions

Locking Down Your Users' Secrets: Django Sessions 101

Are you worried about the security of your web application’s user sessions? Look no further than Django! In this article, we explore the secure foundation that Django provides for …

  • #python
  • #django
  • #saas
  • #sets

Cater Waiter, Template Bugs, and Type Fixes - Building SaaS with Python and Django #155

In this episode, I did another Exercism problem in Python that dug into Python sets. Once the exercise was complete, we went back to the issue list. I debugged and fixed a template error, …

  • #Python
  • #Django
  • #signals

Sync or Async? Unpacking the Mysteries of Django Signals

Django signals provide a powerful way to trigger actions when specific events occur, but are they asynchronous or synchronous? In this article, we’ll explore the answer to this …

  • #Python
  • #Django
  • #django-simple-history

Time Travel with django-simple-history

Are you tired of manually tracking changes to your Django models? Say hello to django-simple-history! This powerful package allows you to easily keep track of modifications made to your …

  • #Python
  • #Django
  • #Ruby on Rails

Learn Django or Ruby on Rails?

Why am I into Django and not Ruby on Rails? This post covers my context and rationale for using Django.

  • #Python
  • #Exercism
  • #Django
  • #GraphQL
  • #Go
  • #gqlgen

Inventory Management / Custom 404 page / Go gqlgen - Building SaaS #154

In this episode, I did another Exercism problem in Python which focused on working with dictionaries. Once the exercise was complete, we worked on the homeschool app and created a custom 404 …

  • #python
  • #django
  • #drf
  • #django rest framework

Backend Development 101 with Django REST Framework

If you’re familiar with Python, you’ve most certainly heard of Django, but may not know what it is used for and why people like it so much. We will first run through a …

  • #Python
  • #Django
  • #Neovim
  • #Exercism
  • #django-stubs

Neovim setup / Tisbury Treasure Hunt / django-stubs - Building SaaS #153

In this episode, I updated and supercharged my editor by switching to Neovim. After that, we did an Exercism excercise that looked at Python tuples. Then I started on a new issues for my …

  • #Python
  • #types

Gimme a (Type) Hint in Python

Types are a core part of understanding how Python works. This Python Frederick presentation introduces Python types (like str, int, float), explains how Python uses types, shows how to use …

  • #Python
  • #Django
  • #SaaS
  • #list methods
  • #Stripe
  • #CSP
  • #cookies

Colossal Coaster and Stripe CSP - Building SaaS with Python and Django #152

In this episode, we did an Exercism excercise that looked at Python list methods. Then we dug into Stripe and got to the bottom of some warnings reported by Firefox about potential Content …

  • #Python
  • #learn
  • #example
  • #booleans
  • #Exercism

Learn Python By Example - Ghost Gobble Arcade Game

Learn Python By Example shows a simple Python exercise from Exercism. This problem illustrates booleans in Python.

  • #Python
  • #Django
  • #SaaS
  • #Blackjack
  • #Exercism
  • #comparisons
  • #strings

Blackjack and Bugs - Building SaaS with Python and Django #151

In this episode, we started with a Python exercise on Exercism that explored Blackjack. We wrote functions that handled some of Blackjack’s core rules. After the Python exercise, we …

  • #Python
  • #learn
  • #numbers
  • #operators
  • #Exercism

Learn Python By Example - Currency Exchange

Learn Python By Example shows a simple Python exercise from Exercism. This problem illustrates numbers in Python and how to use the built-in math operators. Since this is the first video in …

  • #Python
  • #Django
  • #SaaS
  • #Exercism
  • #runserver

Development Cached Templates - Building SaaS with Python and Django #150

In this episode, I ran through a Python exercise on Exercism that focused on strings. Then we moved onto the homeschool app and fixed an issue with templates that were cached during …

  • #Python
  • #Django
  • #SaaS
  • #PDFs
  • #CSS

Exercism and PDF Page Numbering - Building SaaS with Python and Django #149

In this episode, we started to work on Python learning problems on Exercism. Then I added page numbers to PDFs on my homeschool app.

  • #Python
  • #Django
  • #SaaS
  • #Sentry

How To Add Sentry - Building SaaS with Python and Django #148

In this episode, I switched my error management system from Rollbar to Sentry and walked through some of Sentry’s features.

  • #Python
  • #cryptography
  • #Python Frederick

Cryptography in Python

Cryptography underpins virtually all of modern data security, including everything from safe online shopping to secure password storage. But it’s also famous for being difficult to …

  • #Django
  • #Python
  • #SaaS
  • #Heroku
  • #htmx

Heroku Stack Upgrade - Building SaaS with Python and Django #147

In this episode, I did some upgrades. We upgraded the app to the latest Heroku stack, upgraded htmx to the latest version, then worked on a small feature to add an empty state to a page when …