Learning Flask Framework

Build dynamic, data-driven websites and modern web applications with Flask

About This Book

• Discover the most popular Flask resources on the web with ease


• Familiarize yourself with third-party libraries commonly used with Flask


• Create a fast, interactive, and secure web app with this hands-on guide

Who This Book Is For

This book is for anyone who wants to develop their knowledge of Python into something that can be used on the web. Flask follows the Python design principles and can be easily understood by anyone who knows Python, and even by those who do not.

What You Will Learn

• Create your web pages to add modularity and flexibility to your web app using templates


• Store and retrieve relational data using SQLAlchemy


• Develop schema migrations with Alembic


• Produce an admin section using flask-admin


• Build RESTful APIs using Flask-Restless


• Simulate requests and sessions using the Flask test client


• Make Ajax requests from Jinja2 templates

In Detail

Flask is a small and powerful web development framework for Python. It does not presume or force a developer to use a particular tool or library. Flask supports extensions that can add application features as if they were implemented in Flask itself. Flask's main task is to build web applications quickly and with less code. With its lightweight and efficient web development framework, Flask combines rapid development and clean, simple design.

This book will take you through the basics of learning how to apply your knowledge of Python to the web.

Starting with the creation of a "Hello world" Flask app, you will be introduced to the most common Flask APIs and Flask's interactive debugger. You will learn how to store and retrieve blog posts from a relational database using an ORM and also to map URLs to views. Furthermore, you will walk through template blocks, inheritance, file uploads, and static assets.

You will learn to authenticate users, build log in/log out functionality, and add an administrative dashboard for the blog. Moving on, you will discover how to make Ajax requests from the template and see how the Mock library can simplify testing complex interactions.

Finally, you will learn to deploy Flask applications securely and in an automated, repeatable manner, and explore some of the most popular Flask resources on the web.

Matt Copperwaite

Matt Copperwaite graduated from the University of Plymouth in 2008 with a bachelor of science (Hons) degree in computer systems and networks. Since then, he has worked in various private and public sectors in the UK. Matt is currently working as a Python software developer and DevOps engineer for the UK Government, focusing mainly on Django. However, his first love is Flask, with which he has built several products under the General Public License (GPL). Matt is also a trustee of South London Makerspace, a hackerspace community in South London; a cohost of The Dick Turpin Road Show, a podcast for free and open source software; and LUG Master of Greater London Linux User Group. He has also been the technical reviewer of the Flask Framework Cookbook.