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Build Web APIs with Python and Django: Welcome to Django

Donovan Carter

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Published in Django For APIs: Build Web APIs With Python And Django (Welcome To Django 2)

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In this article, we will be learning how to build Web APIs using Python and Django. Django is a popular Python web framework that makes it easy to develop and maintain complex web applications. It provides a wide range of features, including support for RESTful APIs.

Django for APIs: Build web APIs with Python and Django (Welcome to Django 2)

Django for APIs: Build web APIs with Python and Django (Welcome to Django Book 2)

by William S Vincent

4.3 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	20202 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Print length	:	221 pages

What are Web APIs?

Web APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are a way for different software applications to communicate with each other. They provide a way for applications to access data and functionality from other applications. Web APIs are typically used to build web applications that interact with other web applications or services.

Why use Django to build Web APIs?

Django is a great choice for building Web APIs because it is:

Easy to use: Django provides a simple and consistent way to build Web APIs. It comes with a built-in set of tools that can be used to create and manage APIs.
Powerful: Django is a powerful framework that can be used to build complex Web APIs. It supports a variety of features, including authentication, authorization, and data validation.
Scalable: Django is a scalable framework that can handle a large number of requests. It is used by some of the world's most popular websites, including Instagram and Pinterest.

Getting started with Django

To get started with Django, you will need to install it on your computer. You can do this by using the following command:

mysite

This will create a new directory called myapi that contains all of the files for your Django app.

Next, you will need to create a new model for your API. A model is a class that represents a table in a database. In this case, we will create a model called Post that represents a blog post.

python from django.db import models

class Post(models.Model): title = models.CharField(max_length=200) body = models.TextField() created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True) updated_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now=True)

Once you have created a model, you will need to create a view to handle requests to your API. A view is a function that takes a request as an argument and returns a response. In this case, we will create a view called post_list that returns a list of all the posts in the database.

python from django.views.generic import ListView

class PostListView(ListView): model = Post

Finally, you will need to create a URL pattern to map requests to your views. A URL pattern is a string that defines the URL path that will trigger a particular view. In this case, we will create a URL pattern that maps the /api/posts/ URL path to the post_list view.

python from django.conf.urls import url

urlpatterns = [ url(r'^api/posts/$', PostListView.as_view()),]

That's it! You have now created a simple Web API with Django. You can now use this API to build web applications that interact with your data.

In this article, we have learned how to build Web APIs using Python and Django. We covered the basics of Web APIs, why you should use Django to build APIs, and how to create a simple API with Django.

I hope this article has been helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Django for APIs: Build web APIs with Python and Django (Welcome to Django Book 2)

by William S Vincent

4.3 out of 5