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The Python micro framework for building web applications.

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Top Related Projects

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The Web framework for perfectionists with deadlines.

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Fast, unopinionated, minimalist web framework for node.

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Quick Overview

Flask is a lightweight and flexible web application framework for Python. It's designed to be simple and easy to use, allowing developers to quickly build web applications with minimal boilerplate code. Flask is known for its extensibility and is often referred to as a "micro" framework due to its minimalistic core.

Pros

  • Simple and intuitive API, making it easy to learn and use
  • Highly extensible, with a large ecosystem of extensions
  • Flexible and unopinionated, allowing developers to choose their preferred tools and libraries
  • Excellent documentation and active community support

Cons

  • Lacks built-in features that come standard in larger frameworks (e.g., ORM, form validation)
  • Can require more setup and configuration for larger, more complex applications
  • May not be as performant as some other frameworks for high-traffic applications
  • Limited built-in security features compared to more comprehensive frameworks

Code Examples

Creating a simple Flask application:

from flask import Flask

app = Flask(__name__)

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

if __name__ == '__main__':
    app.run(debug=True)

Handling form submissions:

from flask import Flask, request, render_template

app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route('/form', methods=['GET', 'POST'])
def form():
    if request.method == 'POST':
        name = request.form['name']
        return f'Hello, {name}!'
    return render_template('form.html')

Using Flask-SQLAlchemy for database operations:

from flask import Flask
from flask_sqlalchemy import SQLAlchemy

app = Flask(__name__)
app.config['SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI'] = 'sqlite:///example.db'
db = SQLAlchemy(app)

class User(db.Model):
    id = db.Column(db.Integer, primary_key=True)
    username = db.Column(db.String(80), unique=True, nullable=False)

    def __repr__(self):
        return f'<User {self.username}>'

Getting Started

To get started with Flask, follow these steps:

  1. Install Flask:

    pip install flask
    
  2. Create a new Python file (e.g., app.py) and add the following code:

    from flask import Flask
    
    app = Flask(__name__)
    
    @app.route('/')
    def hello():
        return 'Hello, Flask!'
    
    if __name__ == '__main__':
        app.run(debug=True)
    
  3. Run the application:

    python app.py
    
  4. Open a web browser and navigate to http://localhost:5000 to see your Flask application in action.

Competitor Comparisons

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The Web framework for perfectionists with deadlines.

Pros of Django

  • Full-featured framework with built-in admin interface, ORM, and authentication system
  • Follows "batteries included" philosophy, providing more out-of-the-box functionality
  • Robust ecosystem with many third-party packages and extensions

Cons of Django

  • Steeper learning curve due to its larger codebase and more complex structure
  • Less flexibility for customization compared to Flask's minimalist approach
  • Heavier footprint, which may impact performance for smaller applications

Code Comparison

Django:

from django.http import HttpResponse
from django.urls import path

def hello(request):
    return HttpResponse("Hello, World!")

urlpatterns = [
    path('hello/', hello),
]

Flask:

from flask import Flask

app = Flask(__name__)

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

The code comparison demonstrates Django's URL routing system and view function structure, while Flask showcases its decorator-based routing and simpler application setup. Django requires more boilerplate code but offers a more structured approach, whereas Flask provides a more lightweight and flexible solution for smaller applications or microservices.

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Pros of Express

  • Faster performance and better scalability for high-traffic applications
  • More extensive middleware ecosystem and plugin support
  • Easier to integrate with front-end JavaScript frameworks

Cons of Express

  • Steeper learning curve for beginners
  • Less opinionated, requiring more configuration and decision-making
  • Lack of built-in features compared to Flask's batteries-included approach

Code Comparison

Flask:

from flask import Flask
app = Flask(__name__)

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

Express:

const express = require('express')
const app = express()

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('Hello, World!')
})

Both frameworks offer simple and concise ways to create basic routes and handle HTTP requests. Flask uses decorators for route definitions, while Express uses method chaining. Express requires explicit importing of the framework, whereas Flask's import structure is more straightforward for beginners.

Spring Boot

Pros of Spring Boot

  • More comprehensive out-of-the-box features and auto-configuration
  • Better suited for large-scale enterprise applications
  • Strong support for microservices architecture

Cons of Spring Boot

  • Steeper learning curve due to its complexity
  • Heavier footprint and potentially slower startup times
  • More opinionated, which may limit flexibility in some cases

Code Comparison

Flask (Python):

from flask import Flask

app = Flask(__name__)

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

Spring Boot (Java):

import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;

@SpringBootApplication
@RestController
public class Application {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SpringApplication.run(Application.class, args);
    }

    @GetMapping("/")
    public String hello() {
        return "Hello, World!";
    }
}

The code comparison shows that Flask is more lightweight and requires less boilerplate code to get started, while Spring Boot provides a more structured approach with annotations and built-in dependency injection.

78,107

Laravel is a web application framework with expressive, elegant syntax. We’ve already laid the foundation for your next big idea — freeing you to create without sweating the small things.

Pros of Laravel

  • Full-featured framework with built-in tools for authentication, routing, and ORM
  • Elegant syntax and extensive documentation for rapid development
  • Robust ecosystem with packages and community support

Cons of Laravel

  • Steeper learning curve for beginners
  • Heavier footprint and potentially slower performance
  • More opinionated, less flexibility in architectural decisions

Code Comparison

Laravel (routing example):

Route::get('/users/{id}', function ($id) {
    return 'User '.$id;
});

Flask (routing example):

@app.route('/users/<int:user_id>')
def show_user(user_id):
    return f'User {user_id}'

Both frameworks offer simple routing, but Laravel's syntax is more declarative, while Flask's decorator approach is more Pythonic. Laravel provides a more comprehensive set of tools out-of-the-box, whereas Flask's minimalist design allows for greater customization. Laravel is ideal for large, complex applications with its built-in features, while Flask excels in lightweight, flexible projects where developers want more control over the stack.

55,872

Ruby on Rails

Pros of Rails

  • Full-stack framework with integrated ORM, providing a complete solution for web development
  • Convention over configuration approach, leading to faster development and consistent project structure
  • Rich ecosystem with built-in tools for testing, database migrations, and asset management

Cons of Rails

  • Steeper learning curve due to its opinionated nature and larger codebase
  • Can be overkill for smaller projects or microservices
  • Less flexibility in choosing components or architectural patterns

Code Comparison

Rails (config/routes.rb):

Rails.application.routes.draw do
  get '/hello', to: 'greetings#hello'
end

Flask (app.py):

from flask import Flask
app = Flask(__name__)

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

Rails provides a more structured approach to routing, while Flask offers a simpler, decorator-based method. Rails' routing is centralized in a dedicated file, whereas Flask routes are typically defined alongside the view functions.

Both frameworks have their strengths, with Rails excelling in large, complex applications and Flask offering simplicity and flexibility for smaller projects or microservices. The choice between them often depends on project requirements, team expertise, and scalability needs.

75,448

FastAPI framework, high performance, easy to learn, fast to code, ready for production

Pros of FastAPI

  • Automatic API documentation with Swagger UI and ReDoc
  • Built-in data validation and serialization using Pydantic models
  • Asynchronous support out of the box

Cons of FastAPI

  • Steeper learning curve for beginners due to type hinting and Pydantic models
  • Smaller ecosystem and community compared to Flask

Code Comparison

FastAPI:

from fastapi import FastAPI

app = FastAPI()

@app.get("/")
async def root():
    return {"message": "Hello World"}

Flask:

from flask import Flask

app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route("/")
def hello_world():
    return {"message": "Hello World"}

Both frameworks offer simple and intuitive ways to create routes and handle requests. FastAPI's use of type hints and async/await syntax is evident, while Flask follows a more traditional approach. FastAPI's code is slightly more concise and provides built-in support for returning JSON responses without additional imports.

FastAPI's automatic API documentation and data validation features make it particularly well-suited for building RESTful APIs quickly. Flask, on the other hand, offers more flexibility and a gentler learning curve, making it a popular choice for a wide range of web applications beyond just APIs.

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README

Flask

Flask is a lightweight WSGI web application framework. It is designed to make getting started quick and easy, with the ability to scale up to complex applications. It began as a simple wrapper around Werkzeug and Jinja, and has become one of the most popular Python web application frameworks.

Flask offers suggestions, but doesn't enforce any dependencies or project layout. It is up to the developer to choose the tools and libraries they want to use. There are many extensions provided by the community that make adding new functionality easy.

A Simple Example

# save this as app.py
from flask import Flask

app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route("/")
def hello():
    return "Hello, World!"
$ flask run
  * Running on http://127.0.0.1:5000/ (Press CTRL+C to quit)

Donate

The Pallets organization develops and supports Flask and the libraries it uses. In order to grow the community of contributors and users, and allow the maintainers to devote more time to the projects, please donate today.