A practical introduction to REST APIs and API documentation aimed at data scientists. Covers core REST concepts (resources, HTTP methods, status codes, headers), tips for writing good API documentation, and three hands-on examples: fetching country data with Python's requests library, using the Bruno API client with JokeAPI, and querying NASA's APOD API with an API key. Emphasizes why understanding APIs improves collaboration, reproducibility, and scalability in data science workflows.
Table of contents
1. Introduction2. What is API3. Components of REST API4. API Clients5. Tips on Creating Good API Documentation6. Practical Cases7. ConclusionList of References325 Impressions