Advanced REST APIs with Flask and Python

About Course

This advanced course on REST API development focuses on in-depth exploration of the Flask ecosystem. Beginning with a foundational REST API, the course methodically introduces new features and technologies through practical integration within a fully functional application. Each feature is incrementally developed and thoroughly tested to demonstrate professional REST API construction approaches, emphasizing rapid delivery and risk mitigation.

The course presumes that participants possess substantial programming experience in Python or a comparable language, along with a foundational understanding of web technologies. Familiarity with Python package management tools such as virtualenv or Pipenv and proficiency in running Python applications is expected. While experience with PyCharm’s debugging capabilities is advantageous, the course includes instruction on debugger usage.

All source code and supplementary materials are hosted and accessible at the designated GitHub repository: https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Advanced-REST-APIs-with-Flask-and-Python.

Employ Marshmallow library for efficient data serialization and deserialization operations.
Implement email functionality and user confirmation mechanisms within API applications.
Execute image upload procedures and manage database migrations systematically.
Utilize streamlined methodologies for API documentation composition and comprehensive testing protocols.
Integrate payment processing capabilities using the Stripe payment platform.
Configure third-party authentication systems through OAuth implementation.

Course Content

Introduction

Introduction to this section 1

01:08
Our project and endpoints

05:44
Reviewing the beginner course code

09:54
Simplifying our error handling

01:48
Refactoring our resources

04:12
Should we have unique names?

04:21
Adding basic type hinting

08:33
Adding custom JSON types

06:45
Using the current class as a type hint

03:13
Using Black for code formatting

10:09
Improving errors with constants

08:02
@classmethod across the board

06:56
Testing our API with Postman

09:20

Serialization with Marshmallow

Introduction to this section 2

01:08
Serialization with Marshmallow

08:45
Deserialization with Marshmallow

06:16
Migrating from virtualenv to Pipenv

00:00
Using vanilla Marshmallow with the API

14:23
Introduction to Flask-Marshmallow

13:30
Adding items to our REST API

12:38
Adding stores to our REST API

09:27
Deduplicating error handling

04:19

E-mail confirmations

Introduction to this section 3

01:39
Introduction to e-mail confirmation

00:00
Adding an activated property

00:00
Activating users manually

00:00
Telling users, they are active

00:00
Setting up Mailgun

00:00
Sending e-mails with Mailgun (Part 1)

00:00
Sending e-mails with Mailgun (Part 2)

03:43
Creating our Mailgun library file

07:56
Using .env files in Flask

05:49
Adding more configuration to. Env

01:52
Error handling in Mailgun

09:10
Conclusion of this section

01:15

Advanced e-mail confirmation

Introduction to this section 4

01:08
Creating the Confirmation Model

00:00
Changes in our User Model

08:11
Creating our Confirmation Resource

17:24
Updating our User Resource

05:03
Adding the last confirmation to the user schema

03:27
Fixing our app.py

06:25
Cross-resource dependencies are (generally) bad

05:02
What are localisation and internationalisation?

11:40
Storing strings in config files

04:12
Creating a simple translation library

09:44
Updating our resources to use translations

10:55
Updating our resources to use translations

10:55
Adding a new language to our API

05:23
What is Flask-Babel?

05:58
Common pitfalls and advice

03:56

Postman documentation and tests

Introduction to this section 5

01:27
Collection and request descriptions

04:07
Recap of Postman environments

04:36
JavaScript tests in Postman

00:00
Running entire collections in Postman

15:34
Adding example requests and responses

08:48
Previewing our Postman documentation

00:35
Publishing our documentation page

03:47
More options for publishing documentation

06:27

Image uploads

Introduction to this section 6

00:34
Installing Flask-Uploads

01:34
Config files in Flask

00:00
What are wsgi and Werkzeug?

00:00
Creating our image helper library

16:56
Creating our image schema

06:36
Creating our image upload resource

09:10
Trying out our image upload

08:22
Retrieving and deleting images

09:59
Another example: user avatars

00:00
Adding the avatar resource

05:46

Database migrations

Introduction to this section 7

01:08
What’s in our starter code?

01:27
Connecting to our remote database

03:10
Initialising Flask-Migrate and Alembic

06:32
Creating our initial table structure

00:00
Our first database migration

03:04
Checking the Alembic script (important!)

06:21
Adding a new column with migrations

02:01
Problems that can happen while migrating

05:34
A word of caution!

01:46
Defining a SQLAlchemy naming convention

06:22
When should you read documentation?

05:06

Third party login with OAuth

Introduction to this lecture 8

00:59
Introduction to OAuth 2.0

09:57
What’s in our starter code?

03:34
Creating a GitHub OAuth App

03:56
Flask-OAuthlib

04:13
Setting up our GitHub client

07:49
Our GithubLogin resource

05:30
What is Flask’s g?

05:45
What is a tokengetter?

00:00
Finishing our GithubAuthorize resource

05:42
Adding some error handling

02:14
Setting user passwords

08:42
Using url_for with Flask-RESTful

Payments with Stripe

Introduction to this section 9

01:08
Setting up our Stripe account

06:01
What’s in our starter code?

00:00
Where do users pay?

00:00
After payment: receiving order data

00:00
Creating our OrderModel

00:00
Many-to-many relationships with SQLAlchemy

10:26
Using the Association Object in our Resource

16:36
Charging orders with Stripe

00:00
Calculating the amount and description

00:00
Testing our OrderResource

04:12
Creating a way to view existing orders

02:41
When things go wrong: error handling in Stripe

00:00
Security considerations in payments

03:11

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About Course

What Will You Learn?

Course Content

Introduction

Introduction to this section 1

Our project and endpoints

Reviewing the beginner course code

Simplifying our error handling

Refactoring our resources

Should we have unique names?

Adding basic type hinting

Adding custom JSON types

Using the current class as a type hint

Using Black for code formatting

Improving errors with constants

@classmethod across the board

Testing our API with Postman

Serialization with Marshmallow

Introduction to this section 2

Serialization with Marshmallow

Deserialization with Marshmallow

Migrating from virtualenv to Pipenv

Using vanilla Marshmallow with the API

Introduction to Flask-Marshmallow

Adding items to our REST API

Adding stores to our REST API

Deduplicating error handling

E-mail confirmations

Introduction to this section 3

Introduction to e-mail confirmation

Adding an activated property

Activating users manually

Telling users, they are active

Setting up Mailgun

Sending e-mails with Mailgun (Part 1)

Sending e-mails with Mailgun (Part 2)

Creating our Mailgun library file

Using .env files in Flask

Adding more configuration to. Env

Error handling in Mailgun

Conclusion of this section

Advanced e-mail confirmation

Introduction to this section 4

Creating the Confirmation Model

Changes in our User Model

Creating our Confirmation Resource

Updating our User Resource

Adding the last confirmation to the user schema

Fixing our app.py

Cross-resource dependencies are (generally) bad

What are localisation and internationalisation?

Storing strings in config files

Creating a simple translation library

Updating our resources to use translations

Updating our resources to use translations

Adding a new language to our API

What is Flask-Babel?

Common pitfalls and advice

Postman documentation and tests

Introduction to this section 5

Collection and request descriptions

Recap of Postman environments

JavaScript tests in Postman

Running entire collections in Postman

Adding example requests and responses

Previewing our Postman documentation

Publishing our documentation page

More options for publishing documentation

Image uploads

Introduction to this section 6

Installing Flask-Uploads

Config files in Flask

What are wsgi and Werkzeug?

Creating our image helper library

Creating our image schema

Creating our image upload resource

Trying out our image upload

Retrieving and deleting images

Another example: user avatars

Adding the avatar resource