DjangoCon Europe 2026

Static Islands, Dynamic Sea
2026-04-15 , AMPHITHEATRE

Python's dynamic nature is a feature, not a bug! Sometimes we want type safety too. Let's look at building "static islands" around Django's dynamic core. Type-safety where you need it, without sacrificing the flexibility of Python that you know and love.


Python's dynamic nature isn't a bug—it's a feature. Django leveraged this from
the start, building elegant APIs that would be impossible in a rigidly typed
system. Duck typing, runtime introspection, and flexible interfaces gave us the
expressiveness we grew up with.

But sometimes we want more. Type safety at API boundaries. Auto-completion that
actually works. Data classes instead of ORM objects. The confidence that comes
with catching errors before runtime.

The answer isn't to abandon Python's dynamic core—it's to build static islands
where they help. Incremental typing lets us wrap specific layers (like the ORM)
in type-safe interfaces while leaving Django's liquid core untouched.

This talk explores when, why, and how to add these type-safe layers, and
demonstrates Mantle, utilities for typing around Django's liquid core. We'll
keep the Python you love, with those little extras when you need them.


Topics:

General Python, DB, Rest APIs, Forms

Audience Level:

Intermediate

Carlton is a former Django Fellow and creator and/or maintainer of multiple open-source projects in the Django ecosystem. He is also the co-host of the Django Chat podcast.