In this course, students will build upon their elementary web programming skills gained in the previous course, learning to further architect, develop and deploy more sophisticated, feature-rich and interactive web applications by learning to use online third-party developer tools called Web APIs (Application Programming Interfaces).
Most web applications are made interactive by consuming APIs over the Internet to perform read and/or write data operations - redefining the plethora of functionalities that your app can perform. Whether you are trying to include geolocation features through the Google Maps API, a live news feed through the Bloomberg API or voice-recognition through Amazon's Alexa API, being able to integrate these amazing features in your web applications relies on an understanding of Web APIs and the HTTP protocol that underlies the World-Wide Web.
APIs usefully abstract difficult yet complex processes into accessible definitions and protocols, allowing us to focus on our app's unique proposition instead of reinventing the wheel.
To understand APIs, students will explore HTTP(S) protocols and make HTTP(S) calls using Fetch APIs. Students will also learn how to debug and develop with web APIs using Insomnia - an application that provides a graphical user interface for interacting with and dissecting HTTP(S) APIs.
At the end of the course, Code Campers will be able to search for web APIs and mix and mash these features into their own code. They will also be able to manipulate any data obtained, usually in the form of JSON, for use in their own web applications, allowing for countless possibilities to enhance their own web applications, ranging from simple to-do apps to intelligent inventory monitoring systems (check out our awesome alumni works!).