book

Python API Development Fundamentals

Name: Python API Development Fundamentals
ISBN: 9781838983994

by Jack Chan, Ray Chung, Jack Huang

November 2019

Beginner to intermediate

372 pages

6h 24m

English

Packt Publishing

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Preface
About the BookAbout the AuthorsLearning ObjectivesAudienceApproachHardware RequirementsSoftware RequirementsConventionsInstallation and SetupAdditional Resources
1. Your First Step
IntroductionUnderstanding APIRESTful APIREST Constraints/PrinciplesHTTP ProtocolHTTP Methods and CRUDThe JSON FormatHTTP Status CodesCommonly used HTTP Status CodesOpen APIThe Flask Web FrameworkBuilding a Simple Recipe Management ApplicationVirtual EnvironmentExercise 1: Building Our First Flask ApplicationExercise 2: Managing Recipes with FlaskUsing curl or httpie to Test All the EndpointsExercise 3: Testing Our API Endpoints with httpie and curlPostmanThe Postman GUISending a GET RequestSending a POST RequestSaving a RequestActivity 1: Sending Requests to Our APIs Using PostmanExercise 4: Automated Testing Using PostmanActivity 2: Implement and Test the delete_recipe FunctionSummary
2. Starting to Build Our Project
IntroductionWhat is Flask-RESTful?Using Flask-RESTful to Develop Our Recipe-Sharing Platform, "Smilecook"Virtual EnvironmentExercise 5: Creating a Development Project in PyCharmCreating a Recipe ModelExercise 6: Creating the Recipe ModelResourceful RoutingExercise 7: Defining an API Endpoint for the Recipe ModelExercise 8: Defining the Recipe ResourceExercise 9: Publishing and Unpublishing the RecipesConfiguring EndpointsExercise 10: Creating the Main Application FileMaking HTTP Requests to the Flask API using curl and httpieExercise 11: Testing the Endpoints Using curl and httpieExercise 12: Testing the Auto-Incremented Recipe IDExercise 13: Getting All the Recipes BackExercise 14: Testing the Recipe ResourcesExercise 15: Negative TestingExercise 16: Modifying the RecipesExercise 17: Getting Back Specific Recipes with a Certain IDActivity 3: Testing the APIs Using PostmanActivity 4: Implementing the Delete Recipe FunctionSummary
3. Manipulating a Database with SQLAlchemy
IntroductionDatabasesDatabase Management SystemSQLORMExercise 18: Setting Up a Smilecook DatabaseDefining Our ModelsExercise 19: Installing Packages and Defining Models Exercise 20: Using Flask-Migrate to Build a Database Upgrade ScriptExercise 21: Applying Database InsertionActivity 5: Creating a User and a RecipePassword HashingExercise 22: Implement the User Registration Feature and Hash the User's PasswordExercise 23: Testing the Application in PostmanActivity 6: Upgrading and Downgrading a DatabaseSummary
4. Authentication Services and Security with JWT
IntroductionJWTFlask-JWT-ExtendedExercise 24: Implementing a User Login FunctionExercise 25: Testing the User Login FunctionExercise 26: Creating the me EndpointDesigning the Methods in the Recipe ModelExercise 27: Implementing Access-Controlled Recipe Management FunctionsExercise 28: Testing the Recipe Management FunctionsRefresh TokensExercise 29: Adding a Refresh Token FunctionExercise 30: Obtaining a New Access Token Using a Refresh TokenThe User Logout MechanismExercise 31: Implementing the Logout FunctionExercise 32: Testing the Logout FunctionActivity 7: Implementing Access Control on the publish/unpublish Recipe FunctionSummary
5. Object Serialization with marshmallow
IntroductionSerialization versus DeserializationmarshmallowA Simple SchemaField ValidationCustomizing Deserialization MethodsUserSchema DesignExercise 33: Using marshmallow to Validate the User DataExercise 34: Testing the User Endpoint before and after AuthenticationRecipeSchema DesignExercise 35: Implementing RecipeSchemaExercise 36: Testing the Recipe APIThe PATCH MethodExercise 37: Using the PATCH Method to Update the RecipeSearching for Authors and Unpublished RecipesUsing the webargs Package to Parse the Request ArgumentsExercise 38: Implementing Access Control on RecipesExercise 39: Retrieving Recipes from a Specific AuthorActivity 8: Serializing the recipe Object Using marshmallowSummary
6. Email Confirmation
IntroductionMailgunExercise 40: Get Started with Using MailgunExercise 41: Using the Mailgun API to Send Out EmailsUser Account Activation WorkflowExercise 42: Generating the Account Activation TokenExercise 43: Sending Out the User Account Activation EmailActivity 9: Testing the Complete User Registration and Activation WorkflowSetting Up Environment VariablesExercise 44: Setting Up Environment Variables in PyCharmHTML Format EmailActivity 10: Creating the HTML Format User Account Activation EmailSummary
7. Working with Images
IntroductionBuilding the User Avatar FunctionExercise 45: Adding the avatar_image Attribute to the User ModelFlask-UploadsUpload SetsExercise 46: Implementing the User Avatar Upload FunctionExercise 47: Testing the User Avatar Upload Function Using PostmanImage Resizing and CompressionIntroduction to PillowExercise 48: Implementing Image Compression in Our Smilecook ApplicationExercise 49: Testing the Image Compression FunctionActivity 11: Implementing the Recipe Cover Image Upload FunctionActivity 12: Testing the Image Upload FunctionSummary
8. Pagination, Searching, and Ordering
IntroductionPaginationPaginated APIsExercise 50: Implementing Pagination on the Published Recipes Retrieval FunctionExercise 51: Testing the Pagination FunctionsActivity 13: Implementing Pagination on the User-Specific Recipe Retrieval APIActivity 14: Testing Pagination on the User-Specific Recipe Retrieval APIRecipe SearchingExercise 52: Implementing the Search FunctionExercise 53: Testing the Search FunctionSorting and OrderingExercise 54: Implementing Sorting and OrderingExercise 55: Testing the Sorting and Ordering FeatureActivity 15: Searching for Recipes with Specific IngredientsSummary
9. Building More Features
IntroductionCachingBenefit of CachingFlask-CachingExercise 56: Implementing Caching Functionality Using Flask-CachingExercise 57: Testing the Caching Function with PostmanClearing the Cache when Data UpdatesActivity 16: Getting Cache Data after Updating Recipe DetailsExercise 58: Implementing Cache-Clearing FunctionalityExercise 59: Verifying the Cache-Clearing FunctionAPI Rate LimitingHTTP Headers and Response CodesFlask-LimiterExercise 60: Implementing API Rate-Limiting FunctionalityExercise 61: Verifying the Rate-Limit FunctionExercise 62: Adding a WhitelistActivity 17: Adding Multiple Rate-Limit RestrictionsSummary

10. Deployment
IntroductionDeploymentComparing SaaS, PaaS, and IaaSThe Heroku PlatformConfiguration Handling in SmilecookExercise 63: Configuration Handling for the Production and Development EnvironmentsExercise 64: Adding a Staging Configuration ClassHeroku ApplicationExercise 65: Creating a New Application in HerokuHeroku Add-OnsExercise 66: Installing Heroku PostgresSetting Up Environment Variables for the Heroku AppExercise 67: Setting Up the App Environment VariablesDeployment Using Heroku GitWhat is Git?What is gitignore?What is Procfile?What is Gunicorn?Exercise 68: Setting Up the Git and the Heroku CLIExercise 69: Checking the Heroku Postgres Tables in pgAdminSetting Up Variables in PostmanExercise 70: Setting Up Variables in PostmanActivity 18: Changing access_token to a Variable in PostmanSetting up the Front-end Interface to Work with the Smilecook APISummary
Appendix
1: Your First StepActivity 1: Sending Requests to Our APIs Using PostmanActivity 2: Implement and Test the delete_recipe Function2: Starting to Build Our ProjectActivity 3: Testing the APIs Using PostmanActivity 4: Implementing the Delete Recipe Function3: Manipulating a Database with SQLAlchemyActivity 5: Creating a User and a RecipeActivity 6: Upgrading and Downgrading a Database4: Authenticated Services and Security with JWTsActivity 7: Implementing Access Control on the publish/unpublish Recipe Function5: Validating APIs Using marshmallowActivity 8: Serializing the recipe Object Using marshmallow6: Email ConfirmationsActivity 9: Testing the Complete User Registration and Activation WorkflowActivity 10: Creating the HTML Format User Account Activation Email7: Working with ImagesActivity 11: Implementing the Recipe Cover Image Upload FunctionActivity 12: Testing the Image Upload Function8: Pagination, Searching, and OrderingActivity 13: Implementing Pagination on the User-Specific Recipe Retrieval APIActivity 14: Testing Pagination on the User-Specific Recipe Retrieval APIActivity 15: Searching for Recipes with Specific Ingredients9: Building More FeaturesActivity 16: Getting Cache Data after Updating Recipe DetailsActivity 17: Adding Multiple Rate-Limit Restrictions10: DeploymentActivity 18: Changing access_token to a Variable in Postman

Overview

Python API Development Fundamentals is a comprehensive guide that takes you on a journey of building full-stack web applications using Python and Flask. This book equips you with all the tools and skills necessary to create efficient and scalable RESTful APIs, guiding you from understanding core concepts to deploying your application in a live environment.

What this Book will help me do

Master the concepts behind RESTful API design and its best practices.
Learn to construct a scalable backend system using Flask and its extensions.
Implement robust authentication and authorization mechanisms using Flask-JWT.
Enhance your API with features like email handling, image uploads, and advanced data manipulation.
Deploy your Python applications seamlessly to the cloud using Heroku.

Author(s)

The authors, None Chan, Ray Chung None, and Jack Huang None, are seasoned software developers with extensive expertise in Python and web development. With years of hands-on experience creating industry-grade APIs and applications, they share their knowledge via a clear and practical approach. Their motivation is to empower learners to build proficient and deployable web applications.

Who is it for?

This book is designed for software developers who are familiar with basic to intermediate Python programming and aim to advance their skills in web development. If you are keen on building web applications and want to explore backend development with Python and Flask, this book is perfect for you. Whether starting your journey or upgrading your toolkit, this book will guide you effectively towards your goals. Even without prior knowledge of web applications, you can follow the intuitive examples and step-by-step instructions to become proficient.

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