Django REST API Development

Course Description & Syllabus

The Django REST API Development course at NishanTechLab is designed for students, Python developers, web developers, and aspiring backend engineers who want to build secure, scalable, and production-ready REST APIs using Python, Django, and Django REST Framework (DRF).This course takes students from Python and Django fundamentals to advanced API development. You will learn how to design RESTful APIs, work with databases and relationships, implement authentication and authorization, validate requests, handle errors, optimize API performance, document APIs, write automated tests, and deploy APIs to production.The training is strongly practical and project-based, with students building real-world backend APIs that can be consumed by React, mobile applications, or other frontend clients.

Course Syllabus

Module 1: Introduction to Backend & REST API

• What is backend development?
• What is an API?
• API vs. website
• What is REST?
• REST principles
• HTTP request and response
• HTTP methods: GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE
• HTTP status codes
• JSON data format
• REST API architecture
• API development workflow

Module 2: Python for Backend Development

• Python fundamentals
• Variables and data types
• Operators
• Conditional statements
• Loops
• Functions
• Lists, tuples, sets, and dictionaries
• Exception handling
• Modules and packages
• Object-Oriented Programming
• Virtual environments
• pip and dependency management

Module 3: Django Fundamentals

• Introduction to Django
• Django project structure
• Creating Django projects and apps
• URL routing
• Views
• Templates overview
• Models
• Django ORM
• Migrations
• Django Admin
• Static and media files
• Django settings and configuration

Module 4: Database & Django ORM

• Database fundamentals
• SQLite and PostgreSQL concepts
• Django ORM
• Model fields
• Primary keys
• ForeignKey
• OneToOneField
• ManyToManyField
• QuerySets
• Filtering and searching
• Ordering
• Aggregation
• Database optimization basics

Module 5: Django REST Framework Fundamentals

• Introduction to Django REST Framework
• Installing and configuring DRF
• Creating API endpoints
• API views
• Request and response objects
• JSON responses
• Function-Based API Views
• Class-Based API Views
• APIView
• Understanding RESTful API structure

Module 6: Serializers

• What is serialization?
• ModelSerializer
• Serializer fields
• Validation
• Custom validation
• Read-only and write-only fields
• Nested serializers
• Serializer relationships
• Serializer methods
• Handling complex API responses

Module 7: CRUD API Development

• Creating API endpoints
• GET API
• POST API
• PUT API
• PATCH API
• DELETE API
• CRUD operations
• Request validation
• Response formatting
• Handling API errors
• Building complete CRUD APIs

Module 8: Generic Views & ViewSets

• Generic API views
• ListAPIView
• CreateAPIView
• RetrieveAPIView
• UpdateAPIView
• DestroyAPIView
• ListCreateAPIView
• RetrieveUpdateDestroyAPIView
• ViewSets
• ModelViewSet
• Routers
• Choosing the appropriate API architecture

Module 9: URL Routing & API Versioning

• API URL structure
• Path parameters
• Query parameters
• Routers
• Nested URLs
• API namespaces
• Versioning strategies
• URL-based versioning
• Header-based versioning
• Maintaining backward compatibility

Module 10: Authentication & JWT

• Authentication fundamentals
• Session authentication
• Token authentication
• JWT authentication
• Access tokens
• Refresh tokens
• Login API
• Registration API
• Logout concepts
• Token expiration
• Implementing JWT with Simple JWT

Module 11: Permissions & Authorization

• Authentication vs. authorization
• DRF permissions
• AllowAny
• IsAuthenticated
• IsAdminUser
• Custom permissions
• Object-level permissions
• User roles
• Role-based access control
• Protecting sensitive API endpoints

Module 12: Filtering, Searching & Pagination

• API filtering
• django-filter
• SearchFilter
• OrderingFilter
• Query parameters
• Pagination concepts
• Page number pagination
• Limit/offset pagination
• Custom pagination
• Search and filtering combinations

Module 13: File & Image Upload APIs

• Handling multipart requests
• File uploads
• Image uploads
• Media configuration
• Serializer file fields
• Image validation
• User profile images
• Product image APIs
• Managing uploaded files securely

Module 14: Advanced API Development

• Nested API relationships
• Custom actions
• Custom API responses
• Dynamic serializers
• Serializer optimization
• Custom ViewSets
• Reusable API components
• API response standards
• Clean architecture
• Production-ready API structure

Module 15: Error Handling & API Security

• HTTP error responses
• Custom exception handling
• Validation errors
• 400, 401, 403, 404, and 500 responses
• Global exception handling
• CSRF concepts
• CORS configuration
• API security fundamentals
• Secure authentication
• Input validation
• Preventing common API vulnerabilities

Module 16: API Documentation

• Why API documentation matters
• OpenAPI specification
• Swagger UI
• ReDoc
• drf-spectacular
• Documenting endpoints
• Request and response schemas
• Authentication documentation
• API testing through Swagger

Module 17: API Testing

• Why API testing is important
• Django TestCase
• DRF APITestCase
• Testing GET requests
• Testing POST requests
• Testing authentication
• Testing permissions
• Testing validation
• Testing CRUD operations
• Automated API testing
• Postman API testing

Module 18: API Performance & Optimization

• Query optimization
• select_related()
• prefetch_related()
• Database indexing
• Reducing unnecessary queries
• API response optimization
• Pagination
• Caching concepts
• Redis fundamentals
• API throttling
• Performance monitoring

Module 19: Advanced Production Features

• API throttling
• Rate limiting
• Caching
• Redis integration
• Background tasks
• Celery fundamentals
• Email/background processing
• API logging
• Environment variables
• Production settings
• Secure configuration

Module 20: Git, GitHub & Deployment

• Git fundamentals
• GitHub repository management
• Branching workflow
• Environment configuration
• requirements.txt
• Production database configuration
• Gunicorn
• Nginx/production server concepts
• Docker fundamentals
• Deployment workflow
• HTTPS and SSL basics
• Monitoring production APIs

Practical Projects

Students will build practical REST API projects such as:

• Student Management REST API
• Blog REST API
• Course Management API
• Employee Management API
• E-Commerce REST API
• Authentication & User Management API
• Product, Cart & Order API
• Review & Rating API

Final Capstone Project

Students will develop a complete production-ready Django REST API project integrating the major concepts covered throughout the course.

Capstone Development Process

Project Planning → Database Design → Django Models → Serializers → CRUD APIs → Authentication → JWT → Permissions → Filtering → Searching → Pagination → API Documentation → Testing → Optimization → DeploymentThe final project will provide students with a portfolio-ready backend application that can be connected to React.js, mobile applications, or other frontend technologies.

What You Will Learn

• Python for backend development
• Django framework
• Django ORM
• PostgreSQL database concepts
• Django REST Framework
• RESTful API architecture
• Serializers
• CRUD API development
• Generic Views and ViewSets
• API authentication
• JWT authentication
• Permissions and RBAC
• Filtering and searching
• Pagination
• File and image uploads
• API validation
• Error handling
• Swagger/OpenAPI documentation
• Postman and automated API testing
• Caching and Redis
• API throttling
• Celery and background tasks
• Git and GitHub
• Production deployment
• Secure and scalable API development

Who Should Join?

• Students and fresh graduates
• Python developers
• Django developers
• Frontend developers wanting backend skills
• React.js developers
• Full-stack development aspirants
• Backend development beginners
• Freelancers
• Developers interested in building production APIs

Learning Approach

NishanTechLab follows a practical, project-based learning approach. Students learn Django REST Framework by building real APIs, working with databases, implementing authentication and permissions, testing endpoints, documenting APIs, optimizing performance, and deploying projects in a production-oriented environment.