Working with django and mod_wsgi in Windows - python

I finished installing django on my Windows machine using Apache 2.2/Python 2.6/Django 1.3/mod_wsgi. It seems like everytime I change my Python code (such as settings.py), I need to restart Apache in order for changes to take effect.
I understood that using WSGIRestrictEmbedded should solve this issue but the docs for wsgi state about WSGIRestrictEmbedded that:
This option does not exist on Windows,
or Apache 1.3 or any other
configuration where daemon mode is not
available.
What can I do then in order to avoid restarting Apache on every change?

Read:
http://blog.dscpl.com.au/2009/02/source-code-reloading-with-modwsgi-on.html
It refers you to how to enable auto reload on Windows when using Apache/mod_wsgi.
Use of mod_wsgi is important when you need to test the multithread safety of your application and inbuilt development server is not multithreaded.
This auto reload mode should not be used on production systems.

The answer is: don't use Apache in development. Use the built-in development server, or perhaps gunicorn.

Related

Deploying django(windows) with apache(on unix)

I know it might be a bad design but since we are developing the django website on our laptops which runs Win7, I thought it would be better to run django on a Windows platform only in production.
(Laptop is not powerful enough to run a Unix VM inside and our Unix team doesn't provide any Unix server with UI access (Only Putty) so using an IDE is impossible on Unix.)
I have deployed django with gunicorn and nginx on a Linux server very easily, but this time I have to deploy django on a Windows server with Apache on another Unix server (I know it sucks).
Our middleware team is asking(forcing) to run django components on a separate server so that they can manage their Apache (on Unix) instance comfortably. As far as I understand, Apache and django should reside on the same server for mod_wsgi to work.
Is this possible to keep Apache on a Unix machine and make a django website run from a Windows machine?
If not, what are the best possible solutions in my case? (Switch django on Unix? Use waitress on Django windows? Do not separate Apache and Django? etc.)
Regards,
Aditya
Try deploying on IIS instead, as it is the native Web Server on Windows Servers.
Checkout the django-windowsauth package, you can use it to deploy your project to IIS using few simple commands. https://github.com/danyi1212/django-windowsauth.
The best thing in my modest point of view is to create a unix docker image of your project

Adding a production server to Python Flask in Windows

I have an application setup in Flask and running on localhost in a Windows environment. All of the tutorials I have read said to not use the default Flask server in production.
The production servers Gunicorn and uWSGI both only work in Unix. Is there a way to run either one of those through Windows?
Or do I need to switch the project over to a UNIX development environment?
There's many WSGI servers you can use to serve a Flask application. If you really need to deploy it to Windows, then I did find NWSGI, which might be worth a look.
I think it's fair to say that WSGI servers are few and far between on Windows, as this list only mentioned NWSGI. Unless you have a very good reason to deploy to Windows, I think you're probably better off opting for a *nix environment.
Even with this question answered I wanted to add that you can run wsgi apps on IIS
which is a production level web server.
the easiest example is how flask can run on azure (IIS) but I saw a link explaining it even better https://heejune.me/2015/04/22/running-python-flask-on-a-local-iis-not-azure-with-wfastcgi-py/
Waitress is a pure python solution for both Windows and Nix platforms that is no more complex to set up than the development server.

Apache restart when developing python wsgi apps

I am evaluating python for web development (mod_wsgi) and have noticed that on windows I have to restart Apache after changing my python source code. On Ubuntu the problem doesn't exists, probably because linux supports wsgi daemon mode.
Are there any way to have hot deployment during web development on windows, like configuring apache, replacing web server, some IDE, etc?
Accordning to the links in the comments above, restarts after source changes are always necessary on windows. On linux you still need to touch the wsgi file after source changes. Is it only me that finds this being a major drawback, compared to PHP?

Deploy pyramid/pylons application on shared hosting

I have a locally developed Pylons application. I also have hosting provider with SSH access, python 2.6 and have set a virtual environment on the server. After that using easy_install I have installed Pylons and achieved to execute it on port XXXX. The problem is that the firewall of the server is blocking any port other from 80 (the port of the Apache http). Can I redirect Apache to forward to my Pylons server?
If you are in jail or virtual container where running your isolate instance of apache, just kill it.
You can see process list by execute 'top' utility.
You need to configure a virtualhost in apache so that it uses wsgi.
There's a plenty of topics in stackoverflow about this, such as
Trying to get Pyramid running under Apache + mod_wsgi but it's failing
(you can follow the link in the first sentence).
If you cannot use mod_wsgi, that you can try with mod_rewrite or mod_proxy, which have worse performance. If you cannot change the apache configuration, ask you provider, or start thinking about changing provider.

How can Django projects be deployed with minimal installation work?

To deploy a site with Python/Django/MySQL I had to do these on the server (RedHat Linux):
Install MySQLPython
Install ModPython
Install Django (using python setup.py install)
Add some directives on httpd.conf file (or use .htaccess)
But, when I deployed another site with PHP (using CodeIgniter) I had to do nothing. I faced some problems while deploying a Django project on a shared server. Now, my questions are:
Can the deployment process of Django project be made easier?
Am I doing too much?
Can some of the steps be omitted?
What is the best way to deploy django site on a shared server?
To enable easy Django deployement I would to the following:
Fisrt-time server configuration
Install mod_wsgi which allow you to run in embedded mode OR in daemon mode.
Install python and virtualenv
In your development environment
Use virtualenv. Take a look at mod_wsgi and virtualenv configuration
Install Django your django version (using python setup.py install)
Install your python libs
Develop your project
Every time you want to deploy
Copy your virtual environment to the production server
Just add an Include directive in your httpd.conf file (or use .htaccess) to your project's apache configuration. As stated in mod_wsgi integration with django documentation, one example of how Apache included file could be configured would be:
Alias /media/ /usr/local/django/mysite/media/
<Directory /usr/local/django/mysite/media>
Order deny,allow
Allow from all
</Directory>
WSGIScriptAlias / /usr/local/django/mysite/apache/django.wsgi
<Directory /usr/local/django/mysite/apache>
Order deny,allow
Allow from all
</Directory>
Automating deployement
I would consider using Fabric to automate deployement
Can the deployment process of django project be made easier?
No. You can script some of this, if you want. However, you're never going to install MySQL, MySQLPuthon, mod_wsgi (or mod_python), or Django again.
You will, however, tweak your application all the time.
Am I doing too much?
No. Python (and Django) are not part of Apache. PHP is embedded in Apache. PHP is exactly like mod_python (or mod_wsgi). Just one piece of the pie. (Apparently, some hosts handle the PHP installation for you, but don't handle the mod_wsgi or mod_python installation.)
Can some of the steps be omitted?
No. However, you only do it once.
What is the best way to deploy django site on a shared server?
You're doing it correctly.
When I deployed another site with php (using CodeIgniter) I had to do nothing
Certainly an unfair comparison. Apparently, they already installed PHP and the database for you. Nice of them.
Also, PHP is not Python. PHP is a plug-in to Apache. Python is "just" a programming language, that requires a separate plug-in to Apache (i.e., mod_python or mod_wsgi).
See How nicely does Python 'flow' with HTML as compared to PHP?
Django hosting support is not as widespread as for PHP, but there are some good options. I can recommend WebFaction - they provide an easy-to-use control panel which offers various combinations of Django versions, Python versions, mod_python, mod_wsgi, MySQL, PostgreSQL etc. They're cost-effective, too. If you use their setup, you get SSH access but just about all of the setting up can be done via their control panel, apart from the actual uploading of your project folder.
Disclaimer: apart from being a happy customer I have no other connection with them.
You didn't have to do anything when deploying a PHP site because your hosting provider had already installed it. Web hosts which support Django typically install and configure it for you.
You just install this already made solution if your allowed to run an image on a virtual machine. I can imagine installations will be done this way in future as complicated security configuration can be done automatically.
Most shared hosting sites run the LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) stack so deployment is just a matter of copying some files over. If you were using one of the PHP frameworks like CakePHP or something the service hasn't installed (like an imaging library) you'd be going through extra deployment steps as well.
With Django (or Rails, or any other complex framework) you have to set up the stack yourself that one time, then you're good to go.
However, you'll also want to think about post-deployment updating. If it's something you're going to do often you may also want to look into Fabric or Capistrano to help automate that.
P.S. I'll second that WebFaction recommendation. It's as close to one-button installation as I've seen. Pretty happy customer although I mostly use them for test-sites and prototyping.
You can use Python virtualenv and pip (see also "Tools of the Modern Python Hacker: Virtualenv, Fabric and Pip"). I developed my Django project in the virtual environment. I copy the virtual environment file to the production machine when I deploy my application. I use mod_wsgi. You must write that in the mod_wsig file:
import site
site.addsitedir('C:\PythonVirtualEnv\IntegralEnv\Lib\site-packages')

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