How can you make a specific action based on the url by base.html?
I have two if -clauses as context statements in base.html. If there is algebra in the GET, then the given context should be shown.
from django.conf.urls.defaults import *
urlpatterns = patterns('',
(r'^algebra/$', 'algebra'),
(r'^mathematics/$', 'mathematics'),
)
My base.html in pseudo-code
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN">
<html lang="en">
<body>
{% if algebra %}
<div>... -- do this -- </div>
{% endif %}
{% if math %}
<div>... -- do this -- </div>
{% endif %}
An alternative to Ned's variable-value-based method is to use two different templates that extend a common base template. E.g.
In templates/base.html:
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN">
<html lang="en">
<body>
{% block main_body %}
{% endblock main_body %}
etc., etc.
Then have your algebra view use templates/algebra.html:
{% extends "base.html" %}
{% block main_body %}
do algebra stuff here
{% end block main_body %}
and do something similar for math or whatever. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages. Pick the one that feels like the best fit to your problem.
Update: You pass "algebra.html" as the first argument to render_to_response(). It extends "base.html" in that it uses all of it except for the block(s) it explicitly replaces. See Template Inheritance for an explanation of how this works. Template inheritance is a very powerful concept for achieving a consistent look and feel across a large number of pages which differ in their body, but share some or all of the menus, etc. And you can do multi-level template inheritance which is extremely nice for managing sites that have subsections which have significant differences with the "main look" and yet want to share as much HTML/CSS as possible.
This is a key principle in DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) in the template world.