Web_Dev_Grad

Django's templating language is a lightweight, secure, and Python-like syntax used to build dynamic HTML pages. It lets you insert variables, loop through data, use conditionals, and call filters directly in your templates using the context passed from the view. It avoids direct Python code in templates for security and separation of concerns, making your views responsible for logic and templates focused on presentation.

Variables

Action	Syntax	Description
Display a variable	{{ variable_name }}	Renders a variable passed from the view context
Nested attribute	{{ user.first_name }}	Access attributes of objects
List index (0-based)	{{ my_list.0 }}	Access list items by index
Dictionary key	{{ my_dict.key_name }}	Access dictionary value using dot notation

For Loops

Action	Syntax	Description
Loop over a list	{% for item in items %} ... {% endfor %}	Iterates over items
Show fallback if list empty	{% for item in items %}{% empty %}No items.{% endfor %}	Displays message if list is empty
Loop metadata (counter, etc.)	{{ forloop.counter }}	Starts at 1, use forloop.counter0 for 0-based

If Statements

Condition Type	Syntax	Notes
Basic if	{% if condition %} ... {% endif %}	Checks truthiness of variable or condition
If / else	{% if condition %} ... {% else %} ... {% endif %}	Two-branch logic
If / elif / else	{% if a %} ... {% elif b %} ... {% else %} ... {% endif %}	Multi-branch condition
Compare values	{% if value == 10 %}	You can use ==, !=, >, <, >=, <=
Check existence	{% if my_list %}	True if list has any items
Logical AND / OR	{% if a and b %} / {% if a or b %}	Basic logic supported
Negation	{% if not user.is_authenticated %}	"not" also supported

Filters

Filters follow the variable wrapped in the double curly brackets by a pipe (|). For example in the capitalise row of the table below the full syntax would be {{ variable | capfirst }} and the rest follow this {{ variable | filter name }} syntax.

Filter	Filter Name
Capitalise	capfirst
Lowercase	lower
Uppercase	upper
Default fallback	default:"Unknown"
Length of list/string	length
Date formatting	date:"F j, Y"
Safe HTML	safe
Truncate chars/words	truncatechars:20 or truncatewords:10

Tags and blocks:

Action	Syntax	Usage
Load static files	{% load static %}	Used at the top of templates for static files
Static file reference	<img src="{% static 'img/logo.png' %}">	Load images, CSS, JS
Template inheritance	{% extends "base.html" %}	Inherit from a base template
Define block in base	{% block content %}{% endblock %}	Mark sections to be filled by child templates
Include a template	{% include "includes/navbar.html" %}	Insert reusable chunks like navbars
Comment out code	{# This is a comment #}	Won't be rendered in output