Django in a Dev Container

This repository demonstrates a basic Django application configured to run inside a Visual Studio Code Development Container. The main goal is to showcase the setup and benefits of a containerized development environment.

Prerequisites

• Docker Desktop
• Visual Studio Code
• Dev Containers extension for VS Code

Getting Started

1. Clone the repository and open the folder in Visual Studio Code.

   git clone <your-repository-url>
   cd Dev-Containers-Practice
   code .

2. Reopen in Container:

   • When you open the folder, VS Code will detect the .devcontainer configuration and prompt you to "Reopen in Container".
   • Click that button.
   • If you don't see the prompt, open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P) and run Dev Containers: Re-open in Container.

3. Wait for the build:

   • The first time, Docker will build the image, which may take a few minutes.
   • The postCreateCommand in .devcontainer/devcontainer.json will automatically install all Python dependencies listed in requirements.txt.

4. Run the Django Server:

   • Once the container is running, open a new terminal in VS Code (Ctrl+ or Cmd+).
   • Run the database migrations and start the development server:

     python manage.py migrate
     python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000

   • VS Code should automatically forward port 8000. You can now access the application in your browser at http://localhost:8000.

Dev Container Configuration

• .devcontainer/devcontainer.json: This is the core configuration file. It tells VS Code how to build and configure the container, what extensions to install, and what commands to run after creation.
• .devcontainer/setup.sh: A shell script that is run by the postCreateCommand. It's used here to install Python packages.
• requirements.txt: Lists the Python dependencies for the project, which are installed automatically when the container is created.