Step by Step Guide to Building an Apartments.com API Integration in C#

Hey there, fellow code wranglers! Ready to dive into the world of real estate data? Let's build an Apartments.com API integration that'll make finding the perfect pad a breeze.

Introduction

Apartments.com's API is a goldmine of rental info, and we're about to tap into it. This guide will walk you through creating a slick C# integration that'll have you pulling apartment data like a pro.

Prerequisites

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

• Visual Studio or your C# IDE of choice
• .NET Core 3.1 or later
• An Apartments.com API key (snag one from their developer portal)

Setting up the project

Fire up Visual Studio and create a new C# project. We'll be using a console app for this guide, but feel free to adapt it to your needs.

Next, let's grab some NuGet packages:

Install-Package Newtonsoft.Json
Install-Package RestSharp

These will make our lives easier when dealing with JSON and HTTP requests.

Authentication

First things first, let's create a base API client class:

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

    public ApartmentsApiClient(string apiKey)
    {
        _apiKey = apiKey;
        _client = new RestClient("https://api.apartments.com/v1/");
    }

    // We'll add more methods here soon!
}

Defining API models

Time to create some models for the API responses. Keep it simple:

public class ApartmentListing
{
    public string Id { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public string Address { get; set; }
    public decimal Price { get; set; }
    // Add more properties as needed
}

Implementing API endpoints

Let's add a method to search for apartments:

public async Task<List<ApartmentListing>> SearchApartments(string location, int limit = 10)
{
    var request = new RestRequest("search", Method.GET);
    request.AddQueryParameter("location", location);
    request.AddQueryParameter("limit", limit.ToString());
    request.AddHeader("X-API-Key", _apiKey);

    var response = await _client.ExecuteAsync<List<ApartmentListing>>(request);
    return response.Data;
}

Error handling and logging

Don't forget to wrap your API calls in try-catch blocks and log any issues:

try
{
    var apartments = await apiClient.SearchApartments("New York, NY");
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Oops! Something went wrong: {ex.Message}");
    // Log the error
}

Parsing and processing API responses

RestSharp handles most of the JSON deserialization for us, but sometimes you might need to do some manual processing:

var jsonResponse = response.Content;
var apartments = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<List<ApartmentListing>>(jsonResponse);

Implementing pagination

Apartments.com uses cursor-based pagination. Here's how to handle it:

public async Task<(List<ApartmentListing> Apartments, string NextCursor)> SearchApartmentsWithPagination(string location, string cursor = null, int limit = 10)
{
    var request = new RestRequest("search", Method.GET);
    request.AddQueryParameter("location", location);
    request.AddQueryParameter("limit", limit.ToString());
    if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(cursor))
    {
        request.AddQueryParameter("cursor", cursor);
    }
    request.AddHeader("X-API-Key", _apiKey);

    var response = await _client.ExecuteAsync<ApiResponse>(request);
    return (response.Data.Apartments, response.Data.NextCursor);
}

public class ApiResponse
{
    public List<ApartmentListing> Apartments { get; set; }
    public string NextCursor { get; set; }
}

Caching and rate limiting

Respect those API limits! Implement some basic caching:

private readonly Dictionary<string, (List<ApartmentListing> Apartments, DateTime Timestamp)> _cache = new Dictionary<string, (List<ApartmentListing>, DateTime)>();

public async Task<List<ApartmentListing>> SearchApartmentsWithCache(string location, int limit = 10)
{
    var cacheKey = $"{location}_{limit}";
    if (_cache.TryGetValue(cacheKey, out var cachedResult) && (DateTime.Now - cachedResult.Timestamp).TotalMinutes < 15)
    {
        return cachedResult.Apartments;
    }

    var apartments = await SearchApartments(location, limit);
    _cache[cacheKey] = (apartments, DateTime.Now);
    return apartments;
}

Testing the integration

Don't forget to test your code! Here's a simple unit test to get you started:

[Fact]
public async Task SearchApartments_ReturnsResults()
{
    var apiClient = new ApartmentsApiClient("your-api-key");
    var results = await apiClient.SearchApartments("Seattle, WA", 5);
    Assert.NotEmpty(results);
    Assert.Equal(5, results.Count);
}

Best practices and optimization

• Use async/await for all API calls to keep your app responsive.
• Implement retry logic for failed requests.
• Consider using a library like Polly for more advanced resilience patterns.

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a solid foundation for an Apartments.com API integration. With this setup, you can easily expand to include more endpoints, implement advanced filtering, or even build a full-fledged apartment search application.

Remember, the key to a great API integration is respecting the API's limits, handling errors gracefully, and keeping your code clean and maintainable. Now go forth and find those dream apartments!

Happy coding, and may your API calls always return 200 OK! 🏠🔑