Step by Step Guide to Building an Affinity API Integration in C#

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to dive into the world of Affinity API integration? Let's roll up our sleeves and get coding!

Introduction

Affinity's API is a powerhouse for CRM data management, and we're about to harness that power in C#. This guide will walk you through creating a robust integration that'll have you manipulating lists, persons, organizations, and opportunities like a pro.

Prerequisites

Before we jump in, make sure you've got:

• Visual Studio or your favorite C# IDE
• .NET Core 3.1 or later
• An Affinity account with API credentials

Got all that? Great! Let's get this show on the road.

Setting up the project

Fire up your IDE and create a new C# project. We'll need a few NuGet packages to make our lives easier:

Install-Package Newtonsoft.Json
Install-Package RestSharp

These will handle our JSON serialization and HTTP requests, respectively.

Authentication

Affinity uses API key authentication. Let's set that up:

public class AffinityClient
{
    private readonly string _apiKey;
    private readonly RestClient _client;

    public AffinityClient(string apiKey)
    {
        _apiKey = apiKey;
        _client = new RestClient("https://api.affinity.co");
    }

    // More methods to come...
}

Making API requests

Now, let's create a method to make our API calls:

private async Task<T> MakeRequest<T>(RestRequest request)
{
    request.AddHeader("Authorization", $"Bearer {_apiKey}");
    var response = await _client.ExecuteAsync<T>(request);
    
    if (!response.IsSuccessful)
    {
        throw new Exception($"API request failed: {response.ErrorMessage}");
    }

    return response.Data;
}

Implementing core Affinity API endpoints

Let's implement methods for the main Affinity objects. Here's an example for lists:

public async Task<List<AffinityList>> GetLists()
{
    var request = new RestRequest("lists", Method.GET);
    return await MakeRequest<List<AffinityList>>(request);
}

Repeat this pattern for persons, organizations, and opportunities.

Error handling and rate limiting

Affinity has rate limits, so let's add some retry logic:

private async Task<T> MakeRequestWithRetry<T>(RestRequest request, int maxRetries = 3)
{
    for (int i = 0; i < maxRetries; i++)
    {
        try
        {
            return await MakeRequest<T>(request);
        }
        catch (Exception ex) when (ex.Message.Contains("429"))
        {
            if (i == maxRetries - 1) throw;
            await Task.Delay(1000 * (i + 1));
        }
    }
    throw new Exception("Max retries reached");
}

Data mapping and serialization

Create classes for Affinity objects:

public class AffinityList
{
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }
    // Add other properties as needed
}

Building helper methods

Let's add a method for pagination:

public async Task<List<T>> GetAllPages<T>(string endpoint)
{
    var allItems = new List<T>();
    int page = 1;
    const int pageSize = 100;

    while (true)
    {
        var request = new RestRequest(endpoint, Method.GET);
        request.AddQueryParameter("page", page.ToString());
        request.AddQueryParameter("page_size", pageSize.ToString());

        var items = await MakeRequestWithRetry<List<T>>(request);
        allItems.AddRange(items);

        if (items.Count < pageSize) break;
        page++;
    }

    return allItems;
}

Testing the integration

Don't forget to test! Here's a simple unit test example:

[Fact]
public async Task GetLists_ReturnsLists()
{
    var client = new AffinityClient("your-api-key");
    var lists = await client.GetLists();
    Assert.NotEmpty(lists);
}

Best practices and optimization

Consider implementing caching for frequently accessed data and use asynchronous operations throughout your integration for better performance.

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a solid foundation for your Affinity API integration. From here, you can expand on this base, adding more specific functionality as needed.

Remember, the key to a great integration is understanding the API documentation and writing clean, maintainable code. Keep iterating, keep improving, and most importantly, keep coding!

Happy integrating, and may your API calls always return 200 OK! 🚀