Using Django Admin for a custom database solution

Question

A client wants to have a simple intranet application to manage his process. He runs a query and wishes to track number of loads delivered per day and associated activities.

Since I knew about Django's excellent Admin interface, I figured I could define the "Schema" in models.py and have Django Admin generate the forms.

I did exactly that and the result is not bad at all. I've been able to customize the look and feel to suit the client's taste.

Some questions:

1. Is Django Admin the right choice for such a use-case?
2. Will I run to problems in the future due to flexibility of the framework?
3. Is there a better framework out there specifically designed for this use-case (general Database management for small businesses)? I prefer ones written in Python since I can hack it up to customize.

Thanks!

Answer 1

In my personal experience, Django is a good choice for just being able to have a nice-looking UI on top of a database.

There is a chance you could run into flexibility issues trying to customize the admin interface... however, using Django's ModelForms and Templates - it is easy to create your own CRUD application - if you can't do what you need in the admin interface.

As far as Python frameworks go, I personally prefer Django over Turbogears or Pylons (which I believe also have admin interfaces) because it seems much simpler to get installed, setup and running.

Again, that is just my personal preference. ymmv.

Answer 2

I've been tempted to do something similar, and the answer is that in general, you don't want to hack the admin interface, because that's not it's purpose, and sooner or later you'll run into some flexibility issues.

Check my Q: How to implement a client admin in Django?

Having said so, I'd stick with django.