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<!---
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Questions? Comments?
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1. Log an issue to this repo to alert me of a problem.
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2. Suggest an edit yourself by forking this repo, making edits, and submitting a pull request with your changes back to our master branch.
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3. Hit me up on Slack at @Kevin.Coyle.
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--->
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#  APIs and Requests in Flask
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## Overview
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This is a lesson on creating an API in Flask. It starts by recapping web terms like HTTP, then has students create a JSON list in their Flask app. They `GET` the list with one route, then `POST` to it with another.
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## Important Notes or Prerequisites
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There are a few notes on calling the OMDb API, but it's agnostic enough that it can be spun as an example, if you're teaching standalone.
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## Learning Objectives
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In this lesson, students will:
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- Create an API that makes a `GET` request with Flask.
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- Create an API that makes a `POST` request with Flask.
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---
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## Duration
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30 minutes
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---
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## Suggested Agenda
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| Time | Activity | Purpose |
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| --- | --- | --- |
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| 0:00 - 0:02 | [Welcome](#activity-welcome-2-min) | Introduce the lesson’s objectives and agenda.|
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| 0:02 - 0:10 | [APIs and HTTP](#activity-apis-and-http-8-min) | Recap the main terminology involved in APIs. |
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| 0:10 - 0:19 | [Creating a GET Request](#activity-creating-a-get-request-9-min)| Create an API that makes a `GET` request with Flask. |
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| 0:19 - 0:27 | [Creating a POST Request](#activity-creating-a-post-request-8-min)| Create an API that makes a `POST` request with Flask. |
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| 0:27 - 0:30 | [Summary](#activity-summary-3-min) | Wrap up the learning and share next steps. |
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---
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## Differentiation and Extensions
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- More advanced students may work on adding authentication into their Flask app.
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- Struggling students should review the lesson on APIs from Unit 5.
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- Students may also wish to explore their `POST`/`GET` requests in the Chrome extension Postman.
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- This is a GUI-friendly version of the command line version taught in the lesson.
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---
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---
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## Lesson Procedure
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<!--- This section outlines the lesson plan with relevant sections and subsections, providing both the total time required as well as suggestions for timing in each subsection. --->
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---
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### Activity: Welcome (2 min)
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> Introduce the lesson objectives and agenda.
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---
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### Activity: APIs and HTTP (8 min)
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> Recap the main terminology involved in APIs.
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> **Teaching Tips:**
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> - APIs are the vehicle that drive most of the modern web.
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> - Knowing how to create and consume APIs is important for a variety of coding tasks, regardless of job title.
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> - Flask provides an incredibly lightweight module for our purposes.
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> **Talking Points:**
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> - Ask students if they have any familiarity interacting with APIs outside of the last unit's materials.
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> - It's **important** to explain to students that in Unit 5 we *called* an API. Today we are *creating* an API.
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> - This can be explained with an example like, "In Unit 5 we were reading a book, and today, we're writing a book that others can read."
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> - Calling an API allows you to retrieve data, while creating an API makes some data that you want to publish accessible.
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---
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### Activity: Creating a `GET` Request (9 min)
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> Create an API that makes a `GET` request with Flask.
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> **Teaching Tips:**
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- Explain how this differs from just returning a variable. What makes this an API?
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- This is a code-along/We Do. Have students open code editors and terminal, then follow along.
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- We are actually doing two things at once here: We're creating data, and then we're creating an API where one could obtain that data. We're focusing more on the latter task, so as to emphasize creating the API.
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---
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### Activity: Creating a `POST` Request (8 min)
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> Create an API that makes a `POST` request with Flask.
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> **Teaching Tips:**
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> - This is a code-along/We Do. Students will extend the app they have been creating since the `hello_world` app.
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> - Similar to the `GET` activity, we're creating the data that we will append to the list with a `POST` request.
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> **Talking Points:**
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> - This `POST` request is using a simple example.
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> - Explain why we would do this! The example is very simple. This can extend to Create/Update data into a number of other applications: search bars, adding data into databases, and so on.
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---
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### Activity: Summary (3 min)
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> Wrap up the learning and share next steps.
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