Step by Step Guide to Building a CompanyCam API Integration in Python

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to dive into the world of CompanyCam API integration? You're in for a treat. This guide will walk you through the process of building a robust integration using Python. CompanyCam's API is a powerful tool that allows you to programmatically interact with projects, photos, and user data. Let's get started!

Prerequisites

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

• A Python environment (3.6+ recommended)
• requests library installed (pip install requests)
• A CompanyCam API key (grab one from your account settings)

Authentication

First things first, let's set up authentication:

import requests

API_KEY = 'your_api_key_here'
BASE_URL = 'https://api.companycam.com/v2'

headers = {
    'Authorization': f'Bearer {API_KEY}',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}

def make_request(method, endpoint, data=None):
    url = f"{BASE_URL}/{endpoint}"
    response = requests.request(method, url, headers=headers, json=data)
    response.raise_for_status()
    return response.json()

This make_request function will be your best friend throughout this integration. It handles the heavy lifting of making API calls.

Basic API Requests

Let's try a couple of basic requests:

# GET request
projects = make_request('GET', 'projects')

# POST request
new_photo = make_request('POST', 'photos', {
    'project_id': 'project_id_here',
    'uri': 'https://example.com/photo.jpg'
})

Easy peasy, right? Don't forget to handle potential exceptions!

Working with CompanyCam Resources

Projects

# List projects
projects = make_request('GET', 'projects')

# Create a project
new_project = make_request('POST', 'projects', {
    'name': 'My Awesome Project',
    'address': '123 Main St, Anytown, USA'
})

# Update a project
updated_project = make_request('PATCH', f"projects/{project_id}", {
    'name': 'My Even More Awesome Project'
})

Photos

# Upload a photo
new_photo = make_request('POST', 'photos', {
    'project_id': 'project_id_here',
    'uri': 'https://example.com/photo.jpg'
})

# Get photo info
photo_info = make_request('GET', f"photos/{photo_id}")

# Delete a photo
make_request('DELETE', f"photos/{photo_id}")

Users

# Get user info
user_info = make_request('GET', 'users/me')

# Update user info
updated_user = make_request('PATCH', 'users/me', {
    'first_name': 'John',
    'last_name': 'Doe'
})

Advanced Features

Pagination

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

def get_all_projects():
    projects = []
    next_cursor = None
    while True:
        params = {'cursor': next_cursor} if next_cursor else {}
        response = make_request('GET', 'projects', params=params)
        projects.extend(response['projects'])
        next_cursor = response.get('next_cursor')
        if not next_cursor:
            break
    return projects

Webhooks

Setting up webhooks? Here's a quick Flask example:

from flask import Flask, request

app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route('/webhook', methods=['POST'])
def handle_webhook():
    data = request.json
    # Process the webhook data
    return '', 200

Best Practices

1. Respect rate limits (check headers for limit info)
2. Use error logging for better debugging
3. Never expose your API key (use environment variables)

Testing and Debugging

Always test your integration! Here's a simple unit test example:

import unittest
from your_module import make_request

class TestCompanyCamIntegration(unittest.TestCase):
    def test_get_projects(self):
        projects = make_request('GET', 'projects')
        self.assertIsInstance(projects, dict)
        self.assertIn('projects', projects)

if __name__ == '__main__':
    unittest.main()

Conclusion

And there you have it! You're now equipped to build a robust CompanyCam API integration in Python. Remember, the API documentation is your friend for more detailed information. Happy coding, and may your integration be bug-free and performant!

For full code examples, check out our GitHub repository.