Introduction to Django REST Framework

What Problem Does DRF Solve?

A plain Django view returns HTML. Many apps (mobile apps, JavaScript frontends, other services) instead need data as JSON. DRF gives you the tools to expose your models as a clean JSON API without writing JSON parsing and validation logic by hand.

Note: Regular Django views and DRF API views can live side by side in the same project.

Example: What Problem Does DRF Solve?

A plain Django view returns HTML. Many apps (mobile apps, JavaScript frontends, other services) instead need data as JSON. DRF gives you the tools to expose your models as a clean JSON API without writing JSON parsing and validation logic by hand.

# A plain Django view returns HTML for humans:
def book_list(request):
    books = Book.objects.all()
    return render(request, 'books/list.html', {'books': books})

# DRF instead returns JSON for programs to consume,
# built from the same Book model using a serializer + API view.

DRF Is Built on Django

DRF does not replace Django's models, URLs, or settings — it adds new pieces (serializers and API views) that work alongside them. Your Book model from earlier chapters can be reused directly with DRF.

Example: DRF Is Built on Django

DRF does not replace Django's models, URLs, or settings — it adds new pieces (serializers and API views) that work alongside them. Your Book model from earlier chapters can be reused directly with DRF.

from django.db import models

class Book(models.Model):
    title = models.CharField(max_length=200)
    author = models.CharField(max_length=100)
    published_year = models.IntegerField()

    def __str__(self):
        return self.title

The Browsable API

One of DRF's most useful features is the browsable API: visiting an API endpoint in a normal web browser shows a readable HTML page with the JSON data and forms to try requests, instead of raw text.

Note: The browsable API is only shown to browsers; other clients (like curl or a mobile app) still get plain JSON.

Example: The Browsable API

One of DRF's most useful features is the browsable API: visiting an API endpoint in a normal web browser shows a readable HTML page with the JSON data and forms to try requests, instead of raw text.

# No code needed to see this -- once a DRF view is wired up,
# visiting its URL in a browser (e.g. /api/books/) shows:
# - the JSON response
# - a form to POST new data
# - clickable links to related endpoints