Step by Step Guide to Building a BoomTown API Integration in Ruby

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

Introduction

BoomTown's API is a powerful tool for real estate professionals, and we're about to harness that power with Ruby. This guide will walk you through creating a robust integration that'll make your real estate data management a breeze.

Prerequisites

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

• Ruby 2.7+ installed
• Bundler gem
• Your BoomTown API credentials (if you don't have these, reach out to the BoomTown team)

Setting up the project

Let's kick things off by setting up our project:

mkdir boomtown_integration
cd boomtown_integration
bundle init

Now, open up that Gemfile and add these gems:

gem 'httparty'
gem 'dotenv'

Run bundle install, and we're off to the races!

Authentication

BoomTown uses OAuth 2.0, so let's tackle that first:

require 'httparty'
require 'dotenv/load'

class BoomTownAuth
  include HTTParty
  base_uri 'https://auth.boomtownroi.com'

  def self.get_token
    response = post('/oauth/token', {
      body: {
        grant_type: 'client_credentials',
        client_id: ENV['BOOMTOWN_CLIENT_ID'],
        client_secret: ENV['BOOMTOWN_CLIENT_SECRET']
      }
    })
    response.parsed_response['access_token']
  end
end

Pro tip: Use a .env file to store your credentials. Never commit this to version control!

Making API requests

Now that we're authenticated, let's make some requests:

class BoomTownAPI
  include HTTParty
  base_uri 'https://api.boomtownroi.com'

  def initialize
    @token = BoomTownAuth.get_token
  end

  def get_properties
    self.class.get('/properties', headers: auth_header)
  end

  private

  def auth_header
    { 'Authorization' => "Bearer #{@token}" }
  end
end

Implementing key API endpoints

Let's add some more endpoints to our BoomTownAPI class:

def search_leads(query)
  self.class.get('/leads/search', query: { q: query }, headers: auth_header)
end

def create_task(lead_id, task_data)
  self.class.post("/leads/#{lead_id}/tasks", body: task_data.to_json, headers: auth_header.merge('Content-Type' => 'application/json'))
end

Error handling and rate limiting

Always be prepared for things to go wrong:

def handle_request
  response = yield
  case response.code
  when 200..299
    response
  when 429
    raise "Rate limit exceeded. Try again in #{response.headers['Retry-After']} seconds."
  else
    raise "API error: #{response.code} - #{response.message}"
  end
end

Wrap your API calls with this method to catch and handle errors gracefully.

Data parsing and transformation

Let's make our data more Ruby-friendly:

class Property
  attr_reader :id, :address, :price

  def initialize(data)
    @id = data['id']
    @address = data['address']
    @price = data['list_price']
  end
end

# In your BoomTownAPI class
def get_properties
  response = handle_request { self.class.get('/properties', headers: auth_header) }
  response['properties'].map { |prop_data| Property.new(prop_data) }
end

Caching and optimization

To avoid hammering the API, let's add some basic caching:

require 'redis'

class BoomTownAPI
  def initialize
    @token = BoomTownAuth.get_token
    @cache = Redis.new
  end

  def get_properties
    cached = @cache.get('properties')
    return JSON.parse(cached) if cached

    properties = handle_request { self.class.get('/properties', headers: auth_header) }
    @cache.setex('properties', 3600, properties.to_json)
    properties
  end
end

Testing the integration

Don't forget to test! Here's a quick RSpec example:

RSpec.describe BoomTownAPI do
  let(:api) { BoomTownAPI.new }

  describe '#get_properties' do
    it 'returns a list of properties' do
      VCR.use_cassette('properties') do
        properties = api.get_properties
        expect(properties).to be_an(Array)
        expect(properties.first).to be_a(Property)
      end
    end
  end
end

Deployment considerations

When deploying, remember to:

1. Set up environment variables for your API credentials
2. Implement proper logging for debugging
3. Monitor your API usage to stay within rate limits

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a solid foundation for a BoomTown API integration in Ruby. Remember, this is just the beginning - there's a whole world of possibilities with the BoomTown API. Keep exploring, keep coding, and most importantly, have fun with it!

For more details, always refer to the official BoomTown API documentation. Happy coding, and may your properties always be in high demand!