Django Channels
Django Channels is an extension to the Django web framework that enables handling of asynchronous protocols like WebSockets, HTTP/2, and long-polling connections, in addition to traditional HTTP requests. It allows Django applications to support real-time features such as chat applications, live notifications, and collaborative editing by providing a layer that manages connections and routes messages to consumers. Built on ASGI (Asynchronous Server Gateway Interface), it integrates seamlessly with Django's ORM and authentication system while scaling across multiple processes.
Developers should learn Django Channels when building Django applications that require real-time, bidirectional communication, such as chat apps, live dashboards, or multiplayer games, as it extends Django's synchronous request-response model to handle WebSockets and other async protocols efficiently. It is particularly useful in scenarios where low-latency updates are critical, like stock tickers or IoT device monitoring, because it leverages Django's existing infrastructure for authentication, database access, and templating, reducing development overhead compared to standalone async solutions.