Building RESTful APIs with Flask

Learn how to quickly build, secure, and test a RESTful API using Python and Flask, the Python microframework.

Introduction

• RESTful APIs with Python 3 and Flask
• What you should know
• Using the exercise files
• Demo project overview

1. Getting Started

• Creating a new Flask project in PyCharm
• Making a super-simple API example
• Setting up a run configuration
• Testing with Postman
• Restarting your server

2. Perfecting the Returned Data

• Returning JSON instead of text
• HTTP status codes
• URL parameters
• URL variables and conversion filters

3. Working With Databases

• Adding an ORM (SQLAlchemy)
• Setting up SQLAlchemy
• Creating the ORM model classes
• Seeding the database with the Flask CLI
• Viewing the database in DB Browser for SQLite
• Retrieving a list of planets from the database
• Serializing SQLAlchemy results with Marshmallow

4. API Security

• JSON Web Tokens
• Registering new users
• Authenticating users and passing the token
• Setting up email
• Emailing a lost password

5. Create, Read, Update, and Delete

• Retrieving a single planet's details
• Adding planets with a POST method
• Securing the add planet endpoint
• Updating a planet using a PUT method
• Deleting a planet with DEL

Finishing Touches

• Exporting your project’s requirements file
• Conclusion