Flask Python

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Course Agenda
Flask Python

● Introduction to web frameworks

● Introduction to Flask
● Installing Flask
● Understanding Flask
● Flask vs Django
● Applications of Flask
● Advantages and disadvantages of Flask
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 Introduction to
web frameworks

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 Introduction to web frameworks
Here is an overview:
Consider that you are swiping down the feed on Instagram:

● With every swipe and refresh, the application (Instagram) will have to generate content based
on your interaction and activity in the app.

● It has to retrieve data from a couple of servers for querying, receiving and even data updation.

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Introduction to web frameworks
Here is an overview:

● What if the app never had to do any real-time processing or data retrieval?

● It would be static and a lot simpler and faster to work with, correct?

● Web frameworks sometimes are associated with being slower that is

because of the complexity involved to retrieve and serve the data.

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Introduction to web frameworks
There are two sides to a web application ecosystem:

Client-side Server-side

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Introduction to web frameworks
Quick look at the two sides:

● Client-side: The code gets executed on the user’s browser and

serves as a user interface to work with the application.

● Server-side: Consists of the entire backend needed to design, build,

host and test applications over the net.

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Introduction to web frameworks
So, what is a web framework?

● A web framework is an architecture that includes

various tools, libraries, and techniques for efficiently
building and maintaining large online applications.

● Code reusability is a large factor in designing web

applications.

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Introduction to web frameworks
What about the coding?

● To create the backend of the web app, we require the

usage of a server-side language.

● Python, being one of the world’s most popular

programming languages consists of a lot of
frameworks like Django and Flask for this purpose.

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Introduction to Flask

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Introduction to Flask
What is Flask?

● Flask is a lightweight framework that that provides a wide variety

of tools and techniques that can be used to build both small and
large scale applications.

● Its core functionality is pretty lightweight as it depends on two

external libraries called the Jinja2 template and Werkzeug WSGI
toolkit to function.

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Introduction to Flask
WSGI, Werkzeug and Jinja2?
● WSGI – Stands for Web Server Gateway Interface, it is used as a standard for the
creation of an interface between the server and the web application.

● Werkzeug – It is a toolkit that is used to implement requests, response objects and

other important utility functions. Serves as a foundation for a web framework itself.

● Jinja2 – Jinja2 is a templating engine built for Python. It is popularly used to render
dynamic web pages.

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Introduction to Flask
For what tasks would you use Flask?

● Working on supporting secure cookies.

● Where there is a requirement for fast debugging.

● Jinja2 templating.

● Where a web app requires a modular approach to design.

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Introduction to Flask
Things to keep in mind when constructing an API for a web application:

● New prospects or visitors should be able to create accounts for themselves.

● Users who register must be able to do tasks such as logging in, logging out and
editing some information on their profile.

● Additional functionality for registered users can include access-based creation,

updation and maintenance of tasks.

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Introduction to Flask
Prerequisites to learning and using Flask:

Here are some of the important things you need to know:

● Python syntax and workflow

● Hands-on experience with HTML

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 Installing Flask

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Installing Flask
Pretty simple steps:

● Install the latest version of Python for your operating system.

● Install an IDE such as Sublime, PyCharm or Visual Studio Code.

● Create a virtualenv in the project to work in.

● Run the following command:

● $ pip install Flask

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Installing Flask
Verifying the installation:

A sample piece of code

running on Google Colab

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Understanding Flask

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Understanding Flask
Debugging in Flask:
● After you have executed a sample piece of code, the development server will not be running
in the debug mode.

● Activating debug mode enables automatic reloading. Whenever changes are made to the
code, the server automatically reloads.

● It also activates the Python debugger to check on variables during the execution.

● To go into debug mode, stop the running server and run the following piece of code:

● FLASK_ENV=development flask run

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Understanding Flask
Using HTML templates
● A simple application only displays a message without using any HTML attributes.

● Almost all of the web apps use HTML to display information to the visitor.

● Flask provides a helper function called render_template() that allows the usage of the Jinja
template engine.

● Doing this will ensure that you can write HTML code in .html files and even write
functionality and logic of the application there too.

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Understanding Flask
Setting up a database
● A database is required to store almost all the data that is used by the application.

● You can use many SQL databases and integrate it with sqlite3 module which can help you
interact with the database easily and readily.

● Data conversion from one format to the other would be required as the data is used in the
form of rows and columns in a database.

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 Flask vs Django

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Flask vs Django
1. Handling admin tasks:

Flask Django

Flask does not support any Django provides support any

admin-related features. admin-related features.

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Flask vs Django
2. Template:

Flask Django

Flask uses Jinja2 that is based Django comes built-in with a

on Django’s template engine. template engine.

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Flask vs Django
3. Support for visual debugging:

Flask Django

Flask does not provide any native Django provides native

support for visual debugging. support for visual debugging.

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Flask vs Django
4. Development styles:

Flask Django

Flask offers a wide variety of tools Django’s workflow is considered

and techniques to develop apps. to be very monolithic.

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Flask vs Django
5. Development styles:

Flask Django

Flask was built for rapid Django was built for easy and
prototyping and development. structured development.

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Applications of Flask

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Applications of Flask
There are numerous examples:
● The website Pinterest is one of the largest social media sites in the world, the creator shared
that it was built using the Flask framework.

● Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign site used Flask a the main web framework.

● Lyft is a very popular ride sharing app that uses a lot of frameworks to work but it is mainly
built around Flask.

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Applications of Flask
Here are some of the companies that use Flask:

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 Advantages and
disadvantages of Flask

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Advantages and disadvantages of Flask
There are numerous advantages:

● Built for rapid prototyping.

● Overall code base is comparatively smaller and simpler.

● Highly scalable even for complex projects.

● Database integration is very simple and straightforward.

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Advantages and disadvantages of Flask
There are numerous advantages:

● Flask has a small core that provides great extensibility.

● Minimalism is the approach used to help developers create better apps.

● Lots of documentation available on GitHub and other sources on the web.

● Backed by a very talented community of developers and experts.

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Advantages and disadvantages of Flask
Here are some of the disadvantages:

● Setting up the environment for a large project requires a lot of previous experience.

● Maintenance seems to be complex for complex projects.

● Flask does not provide any login mechanism or authentication like login by default.

● Migration of apps can be very difficult.

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 Summary

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