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Flask Framework Cookbook
Flask Framework Cookbook

Flask Framework Cookbook: Over 80 hands-on recipes to help you create small-to-large web applications using Flask

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Flask Framework Cookbook

Chapter 2. Templating with Jinja2

This chapter will cover the basics of Jinja2 templating from the perspective of Flask; we will also learn how to make applications with modular and extensible templates.

In this chapter, we will cover the following recipes:

  • Bootstrap layout
  • Block composition and layout inheritance
  • Creating a custom context processor
  • Creating a custom Jinja2 filter
  • Creating a custom macro for forms
  • Advanced date and time formatting

Introduction

In Flask, we can write a complete web application without the need of any third-party templating engine. For example, have a look at the following code; this is a simple Hello World application with a bit of HTML styling included:

from flask import Flask
app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route('/')
@app.route('/hello')
@app.route('/hello/<user>')
def hello_world(user=None):
    user = user or 'Shalabh'
    return '''
<html>
    <head>
      <title>Flask Framework Cookbook</title>

    </head>
      <body>
        <h1>Hello %s!</h1>
        <p>Welcome to the world of Flask!</p>
      </body>
</html>''' % user

if __name__ == '__main__':
    app.run()

Is the preceding pattern of writing the application feasible in the case of large applications that involve thousands of lines of HTML, JS, and CSS code? Obviously not!

Here, templating...

Bootstrap layout

Most of the applications in Flask follow a specific pattern to lay out templates. In this recipe, we will talk about the recommended way of structuring the layout of templates in a Flask application.

Getting ready

By default, Flask expects the templates to be placed inside a folder named templates at the application root level. If this folder is present, then Flask will automatically read the contents by making the contents of this folder available for use with the render_template() method, which we will use extensively throughout this book.

How to do it…

Let's demonstrate this with a small application. This application is very similar to the one we developed in Chapter 1, Flask Configurations. The first thing to do is add a new folder named templates under my_app. The application structure will now look like the following lines of code:

flask_app/
    - run.py
    my_app/
        – __init__.py
        - hello/
            - __init__.py
            - views...

Block composition and layout inheritance

Usually, any web application will have a number of web pages that will be different from each other. Code blocks such as headers and footers will be the same in almost all the pages throughout the site. Likewise, the menu also remains the same. In fact, usually, just the center container block changes, and the rest usually remains the same. For this, Jinja2 provides a great way of inheritance among templates.

It's a good practice to have a base template where we can structure the basic layout of the site along with the header and footer.

Getting ready

In this recipe, we will try to create a small application where we will have a home page and a product page (such as the ones we see on e-commerce stores). We will use the Bootstrap framework to give a minimalistic design to our templates. Bootstrap can be downloaded from http://getbootstrap.com/.

Here, we have a hardcoded data store for a few products placed in the models.py file. These are read in...

Creating a custom context processor

Sometimes, we might want to calculate or process a value directly in the templates. Jinja2 maintains a notion that the processing of logic should be handled in views and not in templates, and thus, it keeps the templates clean. A context processor becomes a handy tool in this case. We can pass our values to a method; this will then be processed in a Python method, and our resultant value will be returned. Therefore, we are essentially just adding a function to the template context (thanks to Python for allowing us to pass around functions just like any other object).

How to do it…

Let's say we want to show the descriptive name of the product in the format Category / Product-name:

@product_blueprint.context_processor:
def some_processor():
    def full_name(product):
        return '{0} / {1}'.format(product['category'], product['name'])
    return {'full_name': full_name}

A context is simply a dictionary...

Creating a custom Jinja2 filter

After looking at the previous recipe, experienced developers might think that it was stupid to use a context processor to create a descriptive product name. We can simply write a filter to get the same result; this will make things much cleaner. A filter can be written to display the descriptive name of the product as shown here:

@product_blueprint.template_filter('full_name')
def full_name_filter(product):
    return '{0} / {1}'.format(product['category'], product['name'])

This can be used as follows:

{{ product|full_name }}

The preceding code will yield a similar result as it did in the previous recipe.

How to do it…

To take things to a higher level, let's create a filter to format the currency based on the current local language:

import ccy
from flask import request

@app.template_filter('format_currency')
def format_currency_filter(amount):
    currency_code = ccy.countryccy(request.accept_languages...

Introduction


In Flask, we can write a complete web application without the need of any third-party templating engine. For example, have a look at the following code; this is a simple Hello World application with a bit of HTML styling included:

from flask import Flask
app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route('/')
@app.route('/hello')
@app.route('/hello/<user>')
def hello_world(user=None):
    user = user or 'Shalabh'
    return '''
<html>
    <head>
      <title>Flask Framework Cookbook</title>

    </head>
      <body>
        <h1>Hello %s!</h1>
        <p>Welcome to the world of Flask!</p>
      </body>
</html>''' % user

if __name__ == '__main__':
    app.run()

Is the preceding pattern of writing the application feasible in the case of large applications that involve thousands of lines of HTML, JS, and CSS code? Obviously not!

Here, templating saves us because we can structure our view code by keeping our templates separate...

Bootstrap layout


Most of the applications in Flask follow a specific pattern to lay out templates. In this recipe, we will talk about the recommended way of structuring the layout of templates in a Flask application.

Getting ready

By default, Flask expects the templates to be placed inside a folder named templates at the application root level. If this folder is present, then Flask will automatically read the contents by making the contents of this folder available for use with the render_template() method, which we will use extensively throughout this book.

How to do it…

Let's demonstrate this with a small application. This application is very similar to the one we developed in Chapter 1, Flask Configurations. The first thing to do is add a new folder named templates under my_app. The application structure will now look like the following lines of code:

flask_app/
    - run.py
    my_app/
        – __init__.py
        - hello/
            - __init__.py
            - views.py
        - templates...
Left arrow icon Right arrow icon

Description

If you are a web developer who wants to learn more about developing applications in Flask and scale them with industry-standard practices, this is the book for you. This book will also act as a handy tool if you are aware of Flask's major extensions and want to make the best use of them. It is assumed that you have knowledge of Python and a basic understanding of Flask. If you are completely new to Flask, reading the book from the first chapter and going forward will help in getting acquainted with Flask as you go ahead.

What you will learn

  • Configure Flask in the best way to suit your application needs
  • Integrate Flask with technologies such as Redis, Sentry, and MongoDB
  • Integrate your applications with most of the login mechanisms available
  • Write beautiful RESTful applications
  • Create an admin interface for your application
  • Learn about efficient and effective debugging, logging, and error handling in Flask
  • Test your applications as you write them to prevent future complications
  • Implement fulltext search for effective user query handling

Product Details

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Publication date : Nov 21, 2014
Length: 258 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781783983414
Languages :
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Product Details

Publication date : Nov 21, 2014
Length: 258 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781783983414
Languages :
Tools :

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Table of Contents

13 Chapters
1. Flask Configurations Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Templating with Jinja2 Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Data Modeling in Flask Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Working with Views Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Webforms with WTForms Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Authenticating in Flask Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. RESTful API Building Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Admin Interface for Flask Apps Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
9. Internationalization and Localization Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
10. Debugging, Error Handling, and Testing Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
11. Deployment and Post Deployment Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
12. Other Tips and Tricks Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.3
(4 Ratings)
5 star 50%
4 star 25%
3 star 25%
2 star 0%
1 star 0%
Martin Jan 07, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Kurze beispiele die Praxis relevant sind und viel wiederkehrende aufgaben kurz und gut erklären.Preis leistung stimmen. Der inhalt ist nicht so einfach zusammen zu googlen so das ich das Buch jederzeit wieder Kaufen würde.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Neil Goldman Nov 30, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I also own the Flask Web Development book, and was worried there would be a lot of overlap in content, because that's also written with a cookbook-ish style. But I'm very happy with this purchase, it goes very in depth and provides several alternative ways to build parts your application. It also covers more advanced "real-world" topics, like caching, logging/monitoring in production, and deploying to a variety of different servers and platforms.Like any other cookbook, most of the content can be found by searching Google or SO, but it's worth it to me to have a book of well-written examples to things I encounter frequently.The Kindle edition is well formatted and readable on my paperwhite and the desktop app just fine.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
William P Ross Jul 27, 2016
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
This is a well written recipe book for intermediate and advanced users of Flask. It assumes you already know Python and have used Flask before. I found the topics to be wide ranging, and each recipe is usually 1-5 pages long.The primary example app used throughout the book is a catalog of digital products. In the beginning are recipes were dedicated to setting up the page and displaying the products, such as showing an iPhone and its price. Later items focused on things like using a database, caching, and searching. This example worked well because many modern websites are displaying different items, and a lot of the examples could be easily adapated to another application.Writing in the book is intelligent, and the order is well structed. One thing was the author deferred to often to online documentation at the end of recipes rather than just making the recipe longer. I think certain sections needed more of a meta-view or summary than just purely having the recipes. For example, chapter 11 is about deployment. It is less than 30 pages long but covers: Apache, uSWGI, Nginx, Gunicorn, Supervisor, Tornado, Fabricc, S3, Heroku, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Pingdom, and New Relic. This was just too many topics to try and introduce all at once, and there was no indication as to which would be the best deployment service for most users; or what to use in specific cases.Overall this book has a lot of value for Flask users and I would read this author again.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Jerry W. Feb 21, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
Although the book was coherently written, the kindle version was not adequately formatted for copying and pasting source code straight from the book. Because of this, I cannot give more than three stars.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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