? Decorators like @login_required

? Quick Overview

Django provides several built-in decorators that allow you to control access to views in a convenient and secure manner. One of the most commonly used decorators is @login_required, which restricts access to a view so that only authenticated users can access it.

? Key Concepts

• Decorators modify view behavior without changing view code
• @login_required ensures only authenticated users can access a view
• Unauthorized users are redirected to the login page
• Decorators also work with class-based views

? Syntax / Theory

A decorator in Python is a function that wraps another function to extend its behavior. Django uses decorators to handle authentication, authorization, and permissions efficiently.

? Code Examples

// Restrict access to authenticated users only
from django.contrib.auth.decorators import login_required
from django.shortcuts import render

@login_required
def profile_view(request):
    return render(request, 'profile.html')

// Configure custom login redirect URL
LOGIN_URL = '/accounts/login/'

// Apply login_required to class-based view
from django.contrib.auth.decorators import login_required
from django.utils.decorators import method_decorator
from django.views.generic import TemplateView

@method_decorator(login_required, name='dispatch')
class ProfileView(TemplateView):
    template_name = 'profile.html'

// Restrict view based on specific permissions
from django.contrib.auth.decorators import permission_required
from django.shortcuts import render

@permission_required('auth.view_user', raise_exception=True)
def user_details_view(request):
    return render(request, 'user_details.html')

? Live Output / Explanation

? Interactive / Visual Understanding

Think of decorators as a security gate placed before your view logic. Requests pass through authentication checks before reaching the view.

? Use Cases

• User dashboards and profiles
• Admin-only or staff-only pages
• Permission-based reports
• Secure CRUD operations