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

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to dive into the world of Lofty API integration with Ruby? Let's get cracking!

Introduction

Lofty API is a powerful tool for real estate developers and investors. In this guide, we'll walk you through integrating it into your Ruby project. Trust me, it's easier than finding a needle in a haystack!

Prerequisites

Before we start, make sure you've got:

• Ruby (preferably 2.7+)
• Bundler gem
• Lofty API credentials (if you don't have these, go grab 'em!)

Setting up the project

First things first, let's set up our project:

mkdir lofty_integration
cd lofty_integration
bundle init

Now, open up that Gemfile and add these gems:

gem 'httparty'
gem 'dotenv'

Run bundle install and you're good to go!

Authentication

Alright, time to get those API keys working for you. Create a .env file in your project root:

LOFTY_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
LOFTY_API_SECRET=your_api_secret_here

Now, let's set up a basic client:

require 'httparty'
require 'dotenv/load'

class LoftyClient
  include HTTParty
  base_uri 'https://api.lofty.com/v1'

  def initialize
    @options = {
      headers: {
        'Authorization' => "Bearer #{ENV['LOFTY_API_KEY']}",
        'Content-Type' => 'application/json'
      }
    }
  end

  # We'll add more methods here soon!
end

Making API requests

Now for the fun part - let's start making some requests!

def get_properties
  self.class.get('/properties', @options)
end

def create_property(property_data)
  self.class.post('/properties', @options.merge(body: property_data.to_json))
end

# Add more methods for PUT and DELETE as needed

Implementing key Lofty API endpoints

Let's flesh out our client with some more endpoints:

def get_property(id)
  self.class.get("/properties/#{id}", @options)
end

def update_property(id, property_data)
  self.class.put("/properties/#{id}", @options.merge(body: property_data.to_json))
end

def delete_property(id)
  self.class.delete("/properties/#{id}", @options)
end

Parsing and handling responses

HTTParty does a lot of the heavy lifting for us, but let's add some error handling:

def handle_response(response)
  case response.code
  when 200..299
    response.parsed_response
  else
    raise "API request failed: #{response.code} - #{response.message}"
  end
end

Now, update your methods to use this:

def get_properties
  handle_response(self.class.get('/properties', @options))
end

# Do the same for other methods

Implementing pagination

Lofty API uses cursor-based pagination. Let's handle that:

def get_all_properties
  properties = []
  cursor = nil

  loop do
    response = get_properties(cursor)
    properties += response['data']
    cursor = response['meta']['next_cursor']
    break if cursor.nil?
  end

  properties
end

def get_properties(cursor = nil)
  options = @options.dup
  options[:query] = { cursor: cursor } if cursor
  handle_response(self.class.get('/properties', options))
end

Rate limiting and optimization

To respect rate limits, let's add a simple sleep:

def handle_response(response)
  sleep(1) # Simple rate limiting
  # ... rest of the method
end

For caching, consider using a gem like redis or memcached.

Error handling and logging

Let's add some logging:

require 'logger'

class LoftyClient
  # ... previous code

  def initialize
    # ... previous code
    @logger = Logger.new(STDOUT)
  end

  def handle_response(response)
    @logger.info "API request: #{response.request.last_uri}"
    @logger.debug "Response: #{response.body}"
    # ... rest of the method
  end
end

Testing the integration

Here's a simple RSpec test to get you started:

require 'rspec'
require_relative 'lofty_client'

RSpec.describe LoftyClient do
  let(:client) { LoftyClient.new }

  it 'fetches properties' do
    VCR.use_cassette('properties') do
      properties = client.get_properties
      expect(properties).to be_an(Array)
      expect(properties.first).to have_key('id')
    end
  end
end

Don't forget to set up VCR for recording API interactions!

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a solid Lofty API integration in Ruby. Remember, this is just the beginning - there's always room for improvement and optimization. Keep exploring the API docs, and happy coding!