Advanced API Insights – Taking Your API Knowledge Further (30 Pages)

Description

Advanced API Insights – Taking Your API Knowledge Further 🚀

Welcome back to the second part of our API journey! 🚀 Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s move on to some advanced concepts and additional HTTP methods used in APIs.

𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐏𝐈 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐬:

– 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
APIs often require credentials, like API keys or tokens, to verify and authorize users. These layers protect data and ensure only authorized access.

– 𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 & 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬:
JSON is the most common format, but APIs may also use XML. Knowing these formats helps when parsing responses and formatting requests.

– 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
APIs limit the number of requests per user or app within a set timeframe to prevent overload and maintain security.

– 𝐄𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠:
API responses include status codes like 404 (Not Found) or 500 (Server Error). Learning to interpret these codes helps diagnose issues quickly.

𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐓𝐓𝐏 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝𝐬:

– 𝐏𝐔𝐓: Updates or replaces a resource completely. For instance, `PUT /users/{userId}` replaces a user’s profile information.
– 𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇: Partially updates a resource. For example, `PATCH /users/{userId}` might only change the email address instead of the entire profile.
– 𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐄: Removes a resource. `DELETE /users/{userId}` deletes a specific user’s profile.

𝐀𝐏𝐈 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐧:

Testing APIs with tools like Postman enables us to simulate requests, check responses, and debug without writing code first. Postman is also useful for creating automated tests to validate API performance and reliability.