To develop in Django can be confusing for a new Python developer but using Windows to develop in Django can be a major obstacle too.

How to choose the right IDE for Windows and how to find and install Python libraries? Below six fundamental resources to program with Python on Windows.

Bitnami Django Stack

For developer using Windows, Bitnami Django Stack is a life-saver. It raises you to the need of installing and configuring many libraries and simply create a Python / Django environment on your system. Even if you don’t want to use Django, it can be a great starting point to install Python and fundamental libraries you can extend via PyCharm.

PyCharm

JetBrains’ PyCharm is the multiplatform IDE to develop in Python. You can forget about the indentation issue and focus on programming. The autocomplete dropdown, the Python console, the easy management of DVCS systems (Git, Mercurial), the easy access to Python packages repositories will make it the tools for Python programming, especially in Windows where there are few alternatives than Linux. On Windows, rely on the Bitnami Django Stack you’re using to load the right libraries.

PyPI – Cheese Shop

PyPI is the repository of Python packages. Since the PyPI is nearly unpronounceable, you can call it Cheese Shop. Python was named by Guido van Rossum after the British comedy group Monty Python and the Cheese Shop is this sketch:

Contrary on the poor guy in the sketch, you will find all sort of cheese you need in the cheese shop.

Pip

Pip is the definitive tool for installing Python packages from Cheese shop on your environment. pip install package-name and you’ll get the package ready and running. Even more interesting is the pip install -r requirements.txt feature. It will install all the packages listed in the requirements.txt text file usually shipped with a package having some dependencies.

PgAdmin

Django and PostgreSQL DBMS are a powerful couple. If you have to use a PostgreSQL database, the best interface you can use is PgAdmin.

Django Packages

Django Packages is the Hitchhiker guide to the cheese shop. You’ve to choose a REST framework but you don’t want to marry with a unreliable partner? You need a good photo gallery and you want to get the best django app to implement in your django application? Django packages will guide you to the best solution for your needs.

Any feature has a comparison matrix, where all projects are listed in columns where these criterion, elaborated from Github, are contemplated:

• Project status (production, beta, alpha)
• Commit frequency in the repository
• How many times the project was forked
• Who work on the project
• Link to online documentation
• Features comparison

If you’re coming from a CMS like Drupal here some tips to how to approach a Model-View-Controller like Django, starting from the Entity-Relationship model.

Personal note: Back in the 1998 I start to develop application for the web using ASP and PHP and dependencies weren’t an issue since these languages are for the web. Developing in Python is more challenging and really more fun than programming in PHP. You have a powerful multipurpose language with a ton of libraries competing in a far larger arena than the web development. Not surprising, Google use this language extensively as of some popular web services like Pinterest and Instagram: these last two are using Django.

Read also on the same topic: Django development on Virtualbox: step by step setup