Instruction: Describe how to create and use custom template filters and tags in Django.
Context: This question tests the candidate's ability to extend Django's templating engine for custom data presentation logic.
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Template filters in Django are essentially simple Python functions that act on a variable's value. These filters are applied using the | character and are incredibly useful for formatting data. For instance, Django comes with built-in filters like lower, which can convert text to lowercase. However, the true power lies in creating custom template filters when the built-in ones don't meet your specific requirements. To create a custom filter, you would define a function in a templatetags Python module within your app. This function takes in the original value and returns it modified in some way. After registering this function with Django using the @register.filter decorator, it becomes available to use in your templates. An example could be creating a custom filter to format dates in a specific way...