Introduction to APIs in Python

Overview

Dive into the exciting world of APIs as we introduce you to the basics of consuming and working with Web APIs using Python.

Dive into the exciting world of APIs as we introduce you to the basics of consuming and working with Web APIs using Python. This course is designed to demystify the concepts and practical applications of APIs. It offers you a hands-on introduction where you'll learn how to interact with a REST API and integrate it into your applications or workflows. By the end of this course, you'll have a comprehensive understanding of APIs and the confidence to apply your knowledge in real-world scenarios.

Syllabus

Making API Requests with Python

This chapter introduces Web APIs, showing you how to make your first API requests with the requests Python package. You’ll learn about the key components of an API request, HTTP verbs, and how to build URLs and send & receive data. We’ll also cover headers and status codes, using a music catalog API for practical examples. By the end of this chapter you'll be able to confidently integrate a simple REST API with Python.

More API request concepts

In this chapter, you’ll learn how to authenticate with APIs, covering different methods like Basic and API key authentication using the requests package. We’ll then dive into working with structured data, focusing on requesting and handling JSON data. Finally, you’ll master error handling, including how to manage errors with requests, understand error types, and respect API rate limits.