Django + apache & mod_wsgi: having to restart apache after changes
My suggestion is that you run the application in daemon mode. This way you won't be required to restart apache,just touch my_handler.wsgi and the daemon will know to restart the app. The apache httpd will not be only yours (in production) so it is fair not to restart it on every update.
No changes require you to RESTART. You simply need to reload using "sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 reload". Which I have aliased in my bashrc to 'a2reload'.
function a2reload (){sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 reload}
Apache loads Django environment when starting and keep running it even when source is changed.
I suggest you to use Django 'runserver' (which automatically restarts on changes) in heavy development sessions, unless you need some Apache-specific features (such as multi-thread).
Note also that changes in templates do not require the restart of the web server.