Flask 101: A Comprehensive Guide to Getting Started with Flask Web Development

Flask is a micro web framework for Python that allows you to quickly and easily develop web applications. In this guide, we will cover the basics of Flask and walk you through the process of getting started with Flask web development.

Setting Up Flask

To get started with Flask, you will first need to install Flask on your computer. You can do this by running the following command in your terminal:

pip install Flask

Once Flask is installed, you can create a new Flask project by creating a new directory and adding a new Python file, typically named app.py. In this file, you will define your Flask application and routes.

Defining Routes

In Flask, routes are used to map URLs to Python functions. You can define routes in your Flask application using the @app.route decorator. For example:

from flask import Flask
app = Flask(__name)

@app.route('/')
def hello():
    return 'Hello, World!'

In this example, the route / is mapped to the hello function, which simply returns the string ‘Hello, World!’. When you run your Flask application and navigate to the root URL in your browser, you will see the message ‘Hello, World!’ displayed on the page.

Running the Flask Application

To run your Flask application, you can use the following command in your terminal:

python app.py

This will start a development server that you can access in your browser by navigating to http://127.0.0.1:5000. Any changes you make to your Flask application will be automatically updated when you refresh the page in your browser.

Conclusion

Flask is a powerful and easy-to-use web framework for Python that allows you to quickly develop web applications. In this guide, we covered the basics of Flask and walked you through the process of getting started with Flask web development. We hope this guide has been helpful and that you are now ready to start building your own Flask applications!