Happy 10th Birthday Django!
10 years ago, just before lunch on July 13, 2005, Jacob Kaplan-Moss made the first commit to the public repository that would become Django. This was followed by a series of commits by Adrian Holovaty importing from the private repository where Django had lived up to that point.
I don't think anyone could have predicted what would happen in the 10 years that followed that commit. The project has grown from a handful of developers working in Lawrence, Kansas, to an international team of contributors. The leadership team has moved from 2 BDFLs to a large group, with elected leaders. We've established the not-for-profit Django Software Foundation to steward the future of the framework, and to raise funds. Those funds have been used to help the community grow, and to pay the salary of a Django Fellow to keep on top of contributions.
There are three dedicated DjangoCon conferences (in the US, Europe and Australia) held around the world every year, and countless Django-focussed user groups and smaller events all over the world. These events attract hundreds of attendees. There is also strong Django presence at PyCons and other Python meetups.
The community has also become a leader in social change. We've adopted a Code of Conduct and a Diversity policy to address issues of harassment and diversity in our community. These policies are now being adopted by many other projects, often using Django's policies as a template. These policies are also backed up by actions - events like DjangoGirls directly address issues of diversity in our community.
And, of course, Django continues to be the very best web framework choice for Perfectionists with Deadlines.
Only a fool would try to predict what the next 10 years will hold. The web of 2005 is very different to the web of 2015; we can only imagine what the web of 2025 will look like. But I have no doubt that whatever the outcome, Django will still be there, helping developers turn their dreams into a digital reality.
Happy 10th birthday, Django!
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