Web API Development with Python: A Beginner's Guide using Flask and FastAPI (Intermediate Python)

✍ Scribed by Rehan Haider

• Year: 2021
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 127
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Completely updated for Flask 2.0.1 and FastAPI 0.65.2

This book is a hands-on project based guide to building APIs designed for beginners who have never built an API before or professionals who want a quick intro to FastAPI or Flask.

The book uses Python libraries such as Flask microframework that is used by the likes of Netflix, Airbnb, Uber, Instagram, etc. making its way up to modern framework like FastAPI, which is on par to any with NodeJS, and Go in terms of performance and quickly being adopted as the #1 API tools written in Python.

You will also learn efficient routing, type-hinting, data transfer, HTTP messages, form data handling, REST API design, and data validation techniques.

In this book you will learn

Fundamentals of APIs
Introduction to tools for API development
Flask backend development using REST architecture
Connect to Front-end designed using Jinja2 templates
FastAPI backed / API design
Asynchronous API development

✦ Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Prerequisites
1. Internet
2. Accounts
3. Operating System
4. Python
5. Terminal
6. Text Editor / IDE
7. Git for Version Control
8. Docker for Desktop (Optional)
9. Jupyter Notebook
Chapter 1: Introduction to Web APIs
1.1 What is API?
1.2 Types of APIs
1.3 What is a Web API?
1.4 Getting our hands dirty
1.5 Getting hands dirty programmatically
1.6 JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)
1.7 Why are APIs needed?
1.8 API Design Patterns
Chapter 2: Python & Working with APIs
2.1 Programmatically accessing an API
Chapter 3: Building APIs with Flask
3.1 Initialise the development environment
3.2 Understanding the Starter Kit
3.3 Initialising the starter kit
3.3 A minimal Flask API
3.3 Explanation
3.5 Running the API
3.6 Call the API Programmatically
3.7 JSONIFY the response
Chapter 4: Building interactive APIs
4.1 Capturing request arguments
4.2 Explanation
4.3 Testing the API
4.4 Catching sneaky behaviour and errors
4.4 Handling incorrect API requests
Chapter 5: Multi-argument interactive API
5.1 Capturing multiple arguments
5.2 Explanation
5.3 Testing the API
5.4 Reader Challenge
Chapter 6. Google search as an API
6.1 An informal introduction to URL and Querystring
6.2 What can we do with this information?
6.3 Understanding the Starter Kit
6.4 Logic of the application
6.5 Rendering home page
6.6 Returning Search Results
6.7 Explanation
6.8 Student Challenge
Chapter 7: Building a Dictionary API
7.1 Understanding the Starter Kit
7.2 Logic of the application
7.3 Handle incoming searches
7.4 Finding the definition of the word
7.5 Handling list of words
7.6 Testing the API
7.7 Student Challenge
7.8 Jupyter Notebook to test the API
Chapter 8: Building a POST API
8.1 API to add Filters
8.2 Understanding the Starter Kit
8.3 Logic of the application
8.4 Implementing the Filter
8.5 Testing the API
8.6 Getting filtered image
8.7 Bonus Challenge #2
Chapter 9: Bonus Lesson: Deploying the API
9.1 Configuring the CD Pipeline
9.2 Testing the API
9.3 Pro Tip: Testing using Terminal
9.4 Bonus Challenge
Chapter 10: Introducing FastAPI
10.1 Asynchronous Programming
10.2 Enter FastAPI
10.3 Understanding the Starter Kit
10.4 Saying Hello FastAPI
Chapter 11: Dictionary using FastAPI
11.1 Understanding the Starter Kit
11.2 Implementing the usage instructions
11.3 Implementing the dictionary
11.4 Testing the API
11.5 : FastAPI OpenAPI Docs and Swagger UI
11.6 Handling a list of words
11.7 Testing The API
Chapter 12: Image filters using FastAPI
12.1 Bonus: Deployment to Heroku
Chapter 13: FastAPI async / await
13.1 Making the program asynchronous
13.2 Making the filter API asynchronous
13.3 Test Scenario 1
13.4 Test Scenario 2
13.5 Test scenario 3
13.6 Test Scenario 4
13.7 Conclusion
13.8 Bonus Challenge
Chapter 14: Making a TODO API
14.1 API Specifications
14.2 Initialise the environment
14.3 Understanding the starter kit
14.4 Request Body and Data Validation
14.5 Data Model for TODO
14.6 Task manager
14.7 Building the API
14.8 Final API design
14.9 Testing the API
14.10 Where to from here?
Au Revoir
About the Author
Acknowledgements