Simple RESTful API With Python and Django
by desaisam7 in Circuits > Software
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Simple RESTful API With Python and Django
In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a simple RESTful API using Python and the Django framework. A REST API allows different systems to communicate using HTTP(S) requests. We will use Django Rest Framework to simplify the process and create a quick but effective CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) API. The end point we create in this guide will simply append text to the text sent in our post request.
Supplies
Prerequisite Knowledge
- Basic Programming Experience
- Basic Terminal/CMD use
- Understanding Client/Server relations
Environment Setup
- Python 3.X.X Installed (Python Installation Guide)
- Pip Installed (Pip Installation Guide)
- VS Code or equivalent IDE
Warnings
- Don't hard close the server - use CTRL + C to close the server. If the terminal is forced closed, this can allow background processes to continue running.
- Require Authentication - in a production environment, endpoints should not be exposed to the internet without some form of authentication. This guide does not cover adding security to endpoints.
Setting Up Your Django Project
Initialize the Django project using these terminal commands
Create the project: django-admin startproject myproject
***If this returns an error try python -m django startproject myproject
Enter the project directory: cd myproject
Start the server: python manage.py runserver
At this point, you should see a message saying the development server is starting.
Set Up Django REST Framework
At this point, its assumed that the Django Rest Framework is installed. If not, install it using pip install djangorestframework.
Now that the library is installed, to use it, navigate to myproject/settings.py and add 'rest_framework' to the INSTALLED_APPS section. See the code snippet below.
Create Models
Models dictate what types of parameters are going to be passed into an endpoint. One model can be applied to many endpoints, or each endpoint could have its own model depending on the use case.
First, we are going to need to create a new directory called 'myapp'. This folder should be on the same level as the 'manage.py' file. See the above image. This directory will also need to be added to the 'INSTALLED_APPS' in settings.py similar to how we added rest_framework.
To create the model, we want to create a file called 'testmodel.py' in the 'myapp' directory. The contents of this file can be seen below. For this example, we are going to create one model that takes in a simple parameter called 'text'.
Creating a Serializer
Similar to models, each endpoint needs to be assigned a serializer. A serializer converts data into a format that can be easily sent over the web. In the 'myapp' directory create a file called serializers.py. Lastly, create a serializer for the TestModel model.
Creating Views
Views are where the function to be called at each endpoint is written. Create a file called views.py in the 'myapp' directory. A basic blank endpoint with no functionality can be seen below.
Of course, we want to actually do something when an endpoint is called. For example, if we wanted our endpoint to take in the text from earlier and add data to it we could do the following.
Set Up URLS
Now we need to link the API views to URLs. In myapp/urls.py, set up the routing.
Also, don’t forget to include myapp's URLs in the project’s myproject/urls.py.
Migrate the Database
Since Django has some built-in web-app tools, it also keeps a database. While we aren't directly accessing them in this guide, we still need to run database migrations before starting the server.
python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate
Test the API
To start the server: python manage.py runserver
Then, to test the API, use a tool such as Postman to send a request to http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/test. You should get a response back with the text we appended in views.py.
Conclusion
You've successsfuly created a REST API using Django and Python. While this was an arbitrary example, this setup makes it quite easy to expand upon. For example, adding authentication, providing database access to a frontend server, and much more.