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I hope this doesn't come off like too strange a question, but I'm relatively new to Django specifically. I currently have a website going using Heroku and Django and I would like to post a bunch of mini-projects and such I make there. One of the ones I want to do is a text-based adventure. I'm relatively proficient in Python and Javascript individually and have built similar things in both, however I'm having trouble thinking how best to translate this into the Django framework.

Currently on my website I have a bunch of pages just for things like articles and written pieces. All of that is working fine and I've even added a mini CMS to the backend and that all works alright. However most of that was either building stuff entirely in backend, or entirely in frontend and then just doing a data linkage. There's no real python code going on in the backend outside of constructing the views and models etc. If I was to build this in Javascript I would likely just hardcode a lot of the writing for a text-based game, likewise with Python, however I feel with Django and a linked Postgres DB there's potential to make it more dynamic and less hard coded using this, but I can't quite figure out which is best.

My question based on this is: should I construct the game entirely in javascript which is just served to the webpage and then update the view using POST requests and a data table, or is there a way to create a python script which integrates with the web page a bit more effectively. I suppose the question is really more is it better to build the game in front-end or back-end, as I can't see a particularly effective way of dividing it across both?

Adam Gaffney
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You have to ask yourself about what data does the game needs from the backend (Django and Postgres)? Be clear and specific about what data and when that data need to be in the game frontend (Javascript)?

With that said, one way to approach this is to have the game written in a pure frontend and will be cleaner to be written in javascript. It should focus on the game logic and gameplay.

Seeding Initial Game Data

If you're very clear with what you need on the game (i.e. frontend) during the initial loading, then you can consider feeding all those data during the initial page load. (more detail: https://stackoverflow.com/a/298793/764592)

Subsequent Data

The other data from the backend which cannot be determined after the initial load will have to be requested via XMLHttpRequest to a separate Django views which returns the data only (either in JSON/XML/etc).

In those requests, you need to make sure if the backend logic does the necessary validation as well as the frontend logic. If you find that there is a duplication in the frontend and backend logic, do consider move that logic in the backend, and have the frontend call the backend instead.

Make sure you are clear with the responsibility of each backend and frontend. The game runs on Javascript, and the backend stored data is validated in the Django.

Note: The above is just one way you can deal with it in a clear separation of responsibility. But if your game is extremely simple, you can even consider do everything in Django level without Javascript. Or Everything in Javascript without Django at all if no database/server logic required.

Yeo
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