Writing an API Client
In this project, you will practice accessing an API. You'll see how an API request is made from code, and see how data is returned from an API.
Objectives
- Understand API requests and responses from code.
Setup
For C#:
For JavaScript:
Explorer Mode
- TOP TIP: Choose an API that has a simple, less nested API. Perhaps one that just returns an array of one-level-deep objects. This will make your task significantly easier.
- Choose one of the APIs from this list that does not request "AUTH" (Authorization) since an API that requires authorization is a little more difficult to use when first learning. I have also selected some sample APIs that will be good choices:
| API | Documentation |
|---|---|
| Dogs | https://dog.ceo/dog-api/ |
| Studio Ghibli | https://ghibliapi.herokuapp.com/#tag/Films |
| Open Brewery | https://www.openbrewerydb.org/ |
| Recipes | http://www.recipepuppy.com/about/api/ |
| Deck of Cards! | http://deckofcardsapi.com/ |
| Geocode | https://geocode.xyz/api |
| Jobs | https://jobs.github.com/api |
| Lyrics | https://lyricsovh.docs.apiary.io/#reference |
| Quotes | https://pprathameshmore.github.io/QuoteGarden/ |
| SpaceX | https://docs.spacexdata.com/?version=latest |
| Jokes | https://github.com/15Dkatz/official_joke_api |
| Star Wars API | https://swapi.dev |
| Harvard Art Museum API (this one requires an API key, but set up is very simple) | https://www.harvardartmuseums.org/collections/api |
- After choosing your API read the documentation.
- Create a new application for accessing the API.
- For
C#create a class to store information that comes back from your API. - Write code to query the API and show results.
- If your API has more than one endpoint (URL) support a few options, perhaps by creating a menu system in your application.
Epic Mode
Use the site Mockaroo to create a mock API. You may need an account and then learn how their "Mock API" feature works.
Once you have created your Mock API for whatever schema you wish, create a client application to work with it.