calvinfeng/muxchannels

django, channels, data binding

Mux

Motivation

Mux is short for multiplexing. According wikipedia, the process of multiplexing is defined as

A method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium

In the context of Django channels, multiplexing means converting multiple payloads into one single source. Through process of de-multiplexing, these payloads are then broadcast to multiple channels. This is a project for me to dive deep into implementation of channels in Django and find a way to intercept these messages.

File Structure

The standard file structure for Django is:

github_repo/
  django_project/
    manage.py
    project_name/
      settings.py
      wsgi.py
      urls.py
    app_a/
      models.py
      views.py
    app_b/
      models.py
      views.py

I am approaching it differently:

github_repo/
  django_project/
    manage.py
    settings.py
    urls.py
    wsgi.py
    app_a/
      models.py
      views.py
      ...
    app_b/
      models.py
      views.py
      ...

Start new project

1. Navigate to Mux, create an environment, source the environment, and pip install the dependency.
2. Start a new project, django-admin startproject server.
3. Move all files from server/server to server/.
4. Rename the paths, for example server.settings to just settings.

Create the apps

1. Create api, python manage.py startapp api
2. Create management, python manage.py startapp management
3. Add rest_framework, 'channels', 'management' and api to settings file inside INSTALLED_APPS

INSTALLED_APPS = [
    'django.contrib.admin',
    'django.contrib.auth',
    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
    'django.contrib.sessions',
    'django.contrib.messages',
    'django.contrib.staticfiles',
    'api',
    'management'
    'rest_framework',
    'rest_framework.authtoken'
    'channels'
]

4. Remove migrations/, admin.py, models.py inside management.
5. Create a templates/ folder and urls.py inside management.

Serve static files

In the settings.py file, add the following:

STATIC_URL = '/'
STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(BASE_DIR), "server", "management", "static")
STATICFILES_DIRS = [os.path.join(BASE_DIR, "server", "management", "static")]

Then create a static folder inside management app and whatever is inside will be served at the static URL, e.g. localhost:8000/scripts/index.js