Tag Archives: APIs

The Value of Your Own Web Development Project

When I was in the midst of my Full Stack Bootcamp, I was involved in a project where one of the requirements was to access an API. The instructor came by to the evaluate the proposal, and questioned the value of the project. He said why would anyone use the project when one could look up the same information on Google?

I didn’t have an answer then; I do now.

Back when I was taking the Front End Engineering Bootcamp, I made my own Astronomy Picture of the Day (this is encouraged by NASA, using their API). The images on this page show my version and NASA’s version of the APOD. In my opinion, my version is cleaner, less cluttered, and shows only the information that I’m personally interested in.

My APOD

NASAs APOD

Similarly, yes, I can find out the local weather through any number of local weather apps. But I created my own through the Open Weather API, and it delivers a personal weather report giving all the information I want (and no excess information that I don’t need to see). I also coded a 7-day-weather forecast for an input city, and coded a current weather display for an input city. I use those to check out the weather where the Twins or Vikings are playing. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s accessible to me.

My movie search through the OMDB, is, I feel, much less cluttered than a Google search of a particular movie, and is also quick, easy, and accessible.

In summary, go ahead and make your own apps, even if you can get the same information elsewhere!

API Examples

An API is a database kept by an entity which allows developers (programmers) to access its data through a particular protocol. Programmers can get a key that allows them entry into the API; they can then gather the data and display it.

Here are 3 APIs that I found:

1. The NASA API at https://api.nasa.gov/

The NASA API gives access to items such as the Astronomy Picture of the Day, Mars, and Earth pictures. There’s an API access endpoint, documentation, and a getting started guide. There’s an hourly limit of 1000 requests per hour. An API key is recommended but not required (no authentication needed). GitHub has 169 results on a NASA API search.

2. The Goodreads API at: http://www.goodreads.com/api

This API grants access to a lot of information about authors, book reviews, etc. There seems to be less information about single titles, but one can get lists of books as well as entire virtual bookshelf. One can acquire a developer key and there are instructions as to how to how to use the API. The site also has links to a developer’s forum. GitHub shows 95 results for the Goodreads API.

3. The United States Census Bureau API: http://www.census.gov/data/developers/data-sets.html

This site lists about a dozen categories of survey data. In each category, there’s a summary file and data file with sample calls. Users can get an API key. There’s an API forum and technical documentation. GitHub shows 125 results for the census API.

For more APIs, there’s a directory at: http://www.programmableweb.com/apis/directory