Phase 1: Python Fundamentals (4-6 weeks)
Week 1-2: Basic Python
- Syntax and Data Types
- Variables, numbers, strings, booleans
- Lists, tuples, dictionaries, sets
- String formatting and manipulation
- Input/output operations
- Control Flow
- Conditional statements (if/elif/else)
- Loops (for, while)
- Break, continue, pass statements
- List comprehensions
- Functions
- Function definition and calling
- Parameters and arguments
- Return statements
- Lambda functions
- Scope and global/local variables
Week 3-4: Intermediate Python
- Object-Oriented Programming
- Classes and objects
- Instance and class variables
- Methods and constructors
- Inheritance and polymorphism
- Encapsulation and abstraction
- Error Handling
- Try/except blocks
- Exception types
- Custom exceptions
- Finally clause
- File Handling
- Reading and writing files
- Working with CSV, JSON
- File paths and directories
Week 5-6: Advanced Python Concepts
- Modules and Packages
- Importing modules
- Creating custom modules
- Package structure
- Virtual environments (pip, venv)
- Advanced Data Structures
- Generators and iterators
- Decorators
- Context managers
- Regular expressions
- Standard Library
- datetime, collections, itertools
- os, sys, pathlib
- json, csv, sqlite3
Phase 2: Web Development Prerequisites (2-3 weeks)
Web Fundamentals
- HTML5
- Semantic markup
- Forms and inputs
- Accessibility basics
- CSS3
- Selectors and properties
- Flexbox and Grid
- Responsive design
- CSS frameworks (Bootstrap/Tailwind)
- JavaScript Basics
- DOM manipulation
- Event handling
- AJAX and Fetch API
- ES6+ features
- HTTP Protocol
- Request/response cycle
- HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE)
- Status codes
- Headers and cookies
Phase 3: Django Fundamentals (6-8 weeks)
Week 1-2: Django Basics
- Setup and Project Structure
- Django installation
- Project vs App concept
- Settings configuration
- URL routing basics
- Models
- Model definition
- Field types and options
- Database relationships (OneToOne, ForeignKey, ManyToMany)
- Migrations
- Django ORM basics
- Views
- Function-based views
- URL patterns and namespacing
- Request/response objects
- HTTP shortcuts
Week 3-4: Templates and Forms
- Django Templates
- Template syntax and tags
- Template inheritance
- Context processors
- Static files handling
- Forms
- Form classes
- Model forms
- Form validation
- CSRF protection
- File uploads
Week 5-6: Advanced Models and Admin
- Advanced ORM
- QuerySets and managers
- Complex queries and annotations
- Database transactions
- Model methods and properties
- Django Admin
- Admin site customization
- Custom admin forms
- Inline editing
- Admin actions
Week 7-8: User Management and Security
- Authentication System
- User model
- Login/logout views
- User registration
- Password management
- Authorization
- Permissions and groups
- Decorators and mixins
- Custom permissions
- Security Best Practices
- CSRF protection
- XSS prevention
- SQL injection prevention
- Security middleware
Phase 4: Intermediate Django (4-6 weeks)
Week 1-2: Class-Based Views
- Generic Views
- ListView, DetailView
- CreateView, UpdateView, DeleteView
- FormView and TemplateView
- View mixins
- Custom CBVs
- Method overriding
- Context manipulation
- Permission mixins
Week 3-4: Advanced Features
- Middleware
- Built-in middleware
- Custom middleware development
- Middleware ordering
- Signals
- Built-in signals
- Custom signals
- Signal handlers
- Caching
- Cache framework
- Template caching
- Database caching
- Redis integration
Week 5-6: Testing and Debugging
- Testing Framework
- Unit tests
- Integration tests
- Test client
- Fixtures and factories
- Debugging
- Django Debug Toolbar
- Logging configuration
- Error handling
- Performance profiling
Phase 5: Advanced Django (6-8 weeks)
Week 1-2: APIs and REST
- Django REST Framework
- Serializers
- ViewSets and routers
- Authentication and permissions
- API versioning
- API Design
- RESTful principles
- Pagination
- Filtering and searching
- API documentation
Week 3-4: Advanced Database Operations
- Database Optimization
- Query optimization
- Database indexing
- Connection pooling
- Read replicas
- Advanced ORM
- Raw SQL queries
- Custom managers
- Database functions
- Aggregation and annotation
Week 5-6: Scalability and Performance
- Asynchronous Django
- ASGI and async views
- Channels for WebSockets
- Background tasks with Celery
- Performance Optimization
- Query optimization
- Template optimization
- Static file optimization
- Database connection management
Week 7-8: Advanced Topics
- Custom Template Tags and Filters
- Internationalization (i18n)
- Multi-tenancy
- Custom Management Commands
Phase 6: Deployment and DevOps (3-4 weeks)
Production Deployment
- Server Setup
- Linux server basics
- Web servers (Nginx, Apache)
- WSGI servers (Gunicorn, uWSGI)
- Database Management
- PostgreSQL setup
- Database migrations in production
- Backup strategies
- Containerization
- Docker basics
- Docker Compose
- Container orchestration basics
CI/CD and Monitoring
- Version Control
- Git workflows
- Code review processes
- Automated testing
- Monitoring
- Application monitoring
- Error tracking (Sentry)
- Performance monitoring
- Log management
Phase 7: Specialized Topics (Ongoing)
Choose Based on Interest/Need
- E-commerce Development
- Payment integration
- Inventory management
- Order processing
- Content Management
- Wagtail CMS
- Custom CMS development
- Machine Learning Integration
- Django + scikit-learn
- TensorFlow/PyTorch integration
- Data visualization
- Microservices Architecture
- Service decomposition
- API gateways
- Inter-service communication
Practical Projects Timeline
Beginner Projects
- Personal Blog (Week 4-5 of Django)
- Todo Application (Week 6-7 of Django)
- Library Management System (Week 8-10 of Django)
Intermediate Projects
- E-commerce Site (Month 4-5)
- Social Media Platform (Month 5-6)
- API-First Application (Month 6-7)
Advanced Projects
- Multi-tenant SaaS Application (Month 7-8)
- Real-time Chat Application (Month 8-9)
- Microservices Project (Month 9-10)
Learning Resources
Books
- “Python Crash Course” by Eric Matthes
- “Two Scoops of Django” by Audrey and Daniel Roy Greenfeld
- “Django for Professionals” by William Vincent
- “High Performance Django” by Peter Baumgartner
Online Platforms
- Django Official Documentation
- Real Python
- Django Girls Tutorial
- Python.org tutorials
- Codecademy Python/Django tracks
Practice Platforms
- HackerRank (Python)
- LeetCode (Python problems)
- Django Rest Framework Tutorial
- GitHub (open source contributions)
Daily Learning Schedule
Time Commitment: 2-3 hours/day
1 Hour: Theory and concept learning 1 Hour: Hands-on coding practice 30 minutes: Review and documentation reading
Weekly Goals
- Complete specific roadmap sections
- Build small practice projects
- Review and refactor previous code
- Contribute to open source (advanced phase)
Success Metrics
Beginner Level (Month 1-2)
- Can build simple Python scripts
- Understands OOP concepts
- Comfortable with Django basics
Intermediate Level (Month 3-5)
- Can build full Django applications
- Understands REST APIs
- Comfortable with testing
Advanced Level (Month 6-10)
- Can architect scalable applications
- Understands performance optimization
- Can mentor others
Expert Level (Month 10+)
- Can design complex systems
- Contributes to open source
- Can lead technical teams
Tips for Success
- Practice Daily: Consistency is key
- Build Projects: Apply concepts immediately
- Read Code: Study open source Django projects
- Join Communities: Django/Python communities, forums
- Document Learning: Keep notes and code examples
- Teach Others: Explanation solidifies understanding
- Stay Updated: Follow Django releases and Python updates