6 step guide to master API handling

Of course, it needs to start with the classic, old school definition of API. API stands for Application Programming Interface. It is a set of rules and protocols that allow one software application to interact with another. APIs are used to define the methods for communication between different software components.

You all know this stuff already. Now let's take things to next level.

So far!

You have been using APIs in their most basic format. You send a request to a server, and it sends back a response. But APIs can do so much more than that. They can be used to create new APIs, to modify existing APIs, and to integrate APIs with other APIs. Most of the time that you practice is just data picking from APIs or loop through the data. But APIs can do so much more than that. At a max level, you went through the basics of state management.

Beyond random user and github API

Step 1: http methods

Master the HTTP methods. You should know the difference between GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH, and OPTIONS. You should know when to use each method and what each method does. You should also know how to use these methods in your code.

Go to FreeApi Kitchen sink and learn to handle all http methods. Try them with different tools like fetch, postman, axios, etc.

Step 2: Status code and request headers

You should know what status codes are and what they mean. You should know how to handle different status codes in your code. You should also know how to set request headers. You should know what headers are and what they do. You should know how to set headers in your code. Learn things like:

• request headers

• request ip

• request user agent

• path variables

• query parameters

Step 3: Response handling

You think you know how to handle responses. But do you know how to handle different types of responses? You should know how to handle JSON, XML, and other types of responses. You should know how to handle different types of errors. You should know how to handle different types of responses in your code. Learn things like:

• response headers

• response caching

• response compression (gzip, brotli, etc.)

• response cookies

• redirect handling

• handle images (jpeg, png, webp, svg, etc.)

Step 4: Authentication

You should know how to authenticate with APIs. You should know how to use different types of authentication methods. You should know how to handle authentication in your code. Learn things like:

• Basic authentication

• Bearer token

• OAuth

• JWT

• API keys

• cookies

• session

• token

• refresh token

You also need to learn about mobile authentication and API handling in mobile as it is different from web. This is completely a bonus step. But if you are interested in mobile development, you should learn about it.

Step 5: API Rate limiting

You should know how to rate limit APIs. You should know how to handle rate limiting in your code. You should know how to handle rate limiting in your code. Learn things like:

• Rate limiting

• Throttling

• Caching

• Retry

• Circuit breaker

• Backoff

• Timeout

• Error handling

Step 6: Bonus learning

You are done by now. But if you are interested in learning more, you can learn about:

• Webhooks

• Websockets

• GraphQL

• gRPC

• REST

• SOAP

You can also use different tools to handle APIs. These tools are there to make you life easier. You can use tools like:

• Postman

• Axios

• Fetch

• React Query

Conclusion

This is a very long and complex topic. This is a long list to learn and even longer list to master. It can take months and that is okay. You can take your time and learn at your own pace. But remember, this is a very important topic and you should learn it properly. You can't just skip it. You can't just learn the basics and move on. You need to learn it properly. You need to master it. You need to be an expert in it. This is the best way to become a developer.

If you need help, I will try to start a series on my new youtube channel chai aur code. If you want to learn on your own with this guide, that's awesome too. Use freeApi to get started. It is a great place to learn and practice APIs. It's an open souce project and you can contribute to it as well..