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Working with APIs in Python

Learn how to connect to online services and fetch live data using Python APIs. Perfect for beginners!

What is an API?

An API (Application Programming Interface) lets different programs talk to each other. Think of it like a waiter taking your order to the kitchen and bringing back your food.

Making Your First API Request

Let's get weather data using Python:

import requests

# Get weather data (free API)
response = requests.get('https://api.weatherapi.com/v1/current.json?key=YOUR_KEY&q=London')

data = response.json()
print(f"Temperature: {data['current']['temp_c']}°C")
print(f"Condition: {data['current']['condition']['text']}")

Popular Free APIs to Try

OpenWeatherMap: Get weather data for any city
REST Countries: Information about any country
JSONPlaceholder: Fake data for testing
NASA API: Space photos and data

Handling JSON Data

Most APIs return data in JSON format. Here's how to work with it:

import requests

response = requests.get('https://api.github.com/users/octocat')
user_data = response.json()

print(f"Username: {user_data['login']}")
print(f"Bio: {user_data['bio']}")
print(f"Public Repos: {user_data['public_repos']}")

💡 Pro Tip: Always check if the API request was successful using response.status_code before processing data!

Sending Data to APIs

You can also send data to APIs (POST requests):

import requests

data = {
    'title': 'My Post',
    'body': 'This is my first API post!',
    'userId': 1
}

response = requests.post('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts', json=data)
print(response.json())

Best Practices

Store API keys securely (never share them!)
Check API rate limits to avoid being blocked
Handle errors gracefully
Cache data when possible to reduce API calls

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