Confused by Django's claim to MVC, what is it exactly?

Question

So what exactly is Django implementing?

Seems like there are

Models
Views
Templates

Models = Database mappings

Views = Grab relevant data from the models and formats it via templates

Templates = Display HTML depending on data given by Views

EDIT: S. Lott cleared a lot up with this in an edit to a previous post, but I would still like to hear other feedback. Thanks!

Is this correct? It really seems like Django is nowhere near the same as MVC and just confuses people by calling it that.

Answer 1

Django's developers have a slightly non-traditional view on the MVC paradigm. They actually address this question in their FAQs, which you can read here. In their own words:

In our interpretation of MVC, the “view” describes the data that gets presented to the user. It’s not necessarily how the data looks, but which data is presented. The view describes which data you see, not how you see it. It’s a subtle distinction.

So, in our case, a “view” is the Python callback function for a particular URL, because that callback function describes which data is presented.

Furthermore, it’s sensible to separate content from presentation – which is where templates come in. In Django, a “view” describes which data is presented, but a view normally delegates to a template, which describes how the data is presented.

Where does the “controller” fit in, then? In Django’s case, it’s probably the framework itself: the machinery that sends a request to the appropriate view, according to the Django URL configuration.