django-patterns

Use a config package with split settings files (base.py, development.py, production.py, test.py) and place business apps under an apps/ directory. Production settings should enforce DEBUG=False, secure cookies, HSTS, and file-based logging.

Use select_related for foreign key relationships and prefetch_related for many-to-many fields when querying. Encapsulate these in custom QuerySet methods like with_category() so the optimization is applied consistently across the codebase.

The service layer pattern moves business logic out of views and models into dedicated service classes, such as an OrderService handling order creation and payment processing. This keeps views thin and makes transactional logic with transaction.atomic easier to test.

Use the @action decorator on ViewSet methods, specifying detail=True for single-object endpoints or detail=False for collection endpoints. You can override permission_classes per action and route them automatically through the DRF router.

Cache expensive operations like aggregated queries or featured product lists using Django's low-level cache API with explicit keys and timeouts. Use per-view caching with cache_page for expensive views and template fragment caching for costly sidebar or partial renders.