Flask blog

This is a microblogging platform I'm creating both to learn Flask, Python, web development in general, and also have some place where to write down stuff regardless which device I'm using, with the specific functionalities I need.

Phase 1 - Official Flask tutorial

The initial version of this blog was pretty much identical to the original Flask tutorial.

Phase 2 - Imitating Learning Log

This is the main development phase. Instead of just following the tutorial, I expanded the initial blog to be the functional equivalent of the app Learning Log, developed for Python Crash Course, 2nd Edition by Eric Matthes. Since Learning Log relies on Django, this means implementing several additional features, major ones through extensions:

• More modern look and responsive design with transition to Bootstrap 5
• Object-relational mapping with Flask-SQLAlchemy, for easier and more sustainable handling of underlying database models
• Server-side session management with Flask-Session
  (after some research I decided to not switch, since I couldn't find a good reason to do so, considering both current state and plans for this blog.)
• Administrator dashboard for easier tracking and managing of users, topics, and posts with Flask-Admin
• Faster RDBMS (which also matches the database on the hosting platform), with PyMySQL

Phase 3 - My own blog

The phase after the actual depoloyment. Here I should add any missing essential features for the microblogging I want to do, and then possibly expand further for learning or fun, if I have time. Most significant single source of inspiration (and technical implementation) is Flask Web Development, 2nd Edition by Miguel Grinberg.

Besides updating site structure and altering the visual appearance, some noteable changes are:

• Localization of date and time with Flask-Moment
• Handling database changes with Flask-Migrate
• Transitioning to more secure and convenient forms with Flask-WTF
• Rich text editing for posts with Flask-PageDown
• Improved visual appearance with Bootswatch theme
• Toggling between light and dark themes
• Additional password security with zxcvbn
• Add image support

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Running

To run the app locally, in debug mode:

flask --app dailypush --debug run

Testing

For pytest to successfully recognize dailypush as a module, install the project:

pip install -e .

Alternatively, invoke pytest through Python interpreter (effectively adding the current directory to sys.path):

python -m pytest

Live version

The app currently lives at dailypush.pythonanywhere.com