User authentication is a crucial component of any web application. In Django, a powerful Python web development framework, user authentication is made easy through its built-in authentication system. In this chapter, we'll explore how to implement user authentication with email and password in Django.
Introduction to Authentication in Django
In Django, authentication not only refers to the act of verifying a user's identity (i.e. "who you are"), but also to authorization (i.e. "what you are allowed to do") . Authentication is an essential aspect of security in any web application, and Django provides robust tools to handle it.
User Authentication with Email and Password
By default, Django uses the username to authenticate users. However, it is common for modern web applications to use the email address as the primary identifier for users. Fortunately, Django is flexible enough to allow user authentication with email and password.
Configuring Authentication with Email
To set up email authentication, you first need to customize Django's default user model. This involves creating a new user model that extends the base user model and replaces the 'username' field with the 'email' field.
Once you've defined the new user model, you need to tell Django to use this custom model instead of the default model. This is done by adding a setting to your project's settings.py file.
Implementing User Authentication
With the custom user model in place, you can implement authentication functionality. This involves creating a login form that accepts the user's email address and password, and a view that renders that form.
Django provides the 'authenticate' function that you can use to authenticate user details. If authentication succeeds, the function returns the user object; otherwise, it returns 'None'.
After authenticating the user, you need to start a session for that user. This is done using the 'login' function provided by Django. The 'login' function accepts the request object and the user object and associates the user with the current session.
Securing Views with Login Required
With user authentication implemented, you can now secure your views by requiring users to be logged in to access them. Django provides a decorator called 'login_required' that you can use for this purpose.
The 'login_required' decorator checks that the user is authenticated before allowing access to the view. If the user is not authenticated, he will be redirected to the login page.
Conclusion
In summary, authenticating users with email and password in Django involves customizing the default user model, implementing the authentication functionality, and securing the views with the 'login_required' decorator. While the process may seem complex, Django provides the necessary tools to make it manageable and secure.
I hope this chapter has given you a clear understanding of how to implement email and password user authentication in Django. In the next chapter, we'll explore how to implement password recovery functionality.
