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Coursera

APIs

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Overview

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This course explores the concepts, tools, and practices used to design, build, secure, test, and document APIs. Learners are introduced to HTTP, REST principles, API design conventions, and common API workflows before using Django and Django REST framework to build API back ends for web applications. The course also covers serialization, validation, filtering, pagination, authentication, authorization, throttling, caching, and account management. By the end of the course, learners will be able to create and work with basic APIs, build RESTful back ends in Django, apply core security and optimization techniques, and complete a final API project. By the end of this course, learners will be able to: - Explain how APIs use HTTP methods, status codes, requests, and responses to support client-server communication. - Design and build basic RESTful APIs and data back ends for web applications using Django and Django REST framework. - Apply serializers, validation, filtering, ordering, searching, pagination, authentication, authorization, and throttling to improve API functionality and security. - Test, debug, optimize, and document API endpoints using common development tools and workflows. - Create a functional API project that integrates core concepts from the course. To complete this course, you will need Django experience. Additionally, it always helps to have a can-do attitude!

Syllabus

  • REST APIs
    • In this module, learners are introduced to the foundations of API development and the REST architectural style. They explore how HTTP and HTTPS requests and responses work, including common methods and status codes, and examine how REST principles connect to CRUD operations in web applications. Learners also review route naming conventions, API request lifecycles, common development tools, output formats such as JSON and XML, and the difference between authentication and authorization. By the end of the module, learners will be able to describe the core characteristics of RESTful APIs, evaluate API route design, use essential API development tools, and create a basic API project structure in Django.
  • Django REST Framework
    • In this module, learners use Django REST framework (DRF) to build APIs more efficiently. They examine why DRF is useful compared with plain Django, install and configure DRF, and create API endpoints using function-based views, class-based views, and viewsets. The module also introduces serializers, model serializers, relationship serializers, validation, deserialization, and renderers for JSON and XML output. Learners practice converting an existing Django API project into DRF and debugging API behavior with development tools. By the end of the module, learners will be able to build a basic API in DRF, configure routing and views, serialize and validate model data, and return structured API responses in multiple formats.
  • Advanced API Development
    • In this module, learners extend and secure their APIs by implementing features that improve usability, performance, and access control. They work with filtering, searching, ordering, and pagination to help clients retrieve data efficiently, and they apply validation and sanitization to protect API inputs. The module also introduces caching to reduce infrastructure load, token-based authentication to verify users, authorization mechanisms to control access by role or privilege level, and throttling to limit request frequency. Learners also explore user registration and account management workflows using authentication libraries. By the end of the module, learners will be able to enhance a Django REST framework API with data access features, validation, security controls, and performance optimizations.
  • Final Project Assessment
    • In this module, learners consolidate the knowledge and skills developed throughout the course by completing a final API project. They review the assessment requirements, examine project structure and route design, and build an API that brings together core concepts such as endpoint creation, data handling, and API organization. Learners then reflect on their development process, the challenges they encountered, and the skills they want to continue building. By the end of the module, learners will have demonstrated their ability to create a functional API project and evaluate their own progress in API development.

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4.4 rating at Coursera based on 398 ratings

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