Step by Step Guide to Building a Jotform API Integration in Go

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to dive into the world of Jotform API integration using Go? You're in for a treat. We'll be building a sleek, efficient integration that'll have you pulling and pushing data like a pro. Let's get cracking!

Prerequisites

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

• Go installed (I know, obvious, right?)
• A Jotform API key (grab one from your Jotform account)
• Your favorite code editor

Setting up the project

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

mkdir jotform-integration
cd jotform-integration
go mod init github.com/yourusername/jotform-integration

Now, let's grab the packages we need:

go get github.com/go-resty/resty/v2

Authentication

Alright, time to get that API key working for us. Create a new file called main.go and let's start cooking:

package main

import (
    "github.com/go-resty/resty/v2"
)

const apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
const baseURL = "https://api.jotform.com/v1"

func main() {
    client := resty.New().
        SetBaseURL(baseURL).
        SetHeader("APIKEY", apiKey)

    // We'll use this client for all our requests
}

Basic API requests

Now that we're all set up, let's make some requests! We'll start with a GET to fetch our forms:

resp, err := client.R().
    SetResult([]map[string]interface{}{}).
    Get("/user/forms")

if err != nil {
    panic(err)
}

forms := resp.Result().(*[]map[string]interface{})
for _, form := range *forms {
    fmt.Printf("Form ID: %s, Title: %s\n", form["id"], form["title"])
}

Want to submit some data? Here's a POST request:

submission := map[string]interface{}{
    "submission[3]": "John Doe",
    "submission[4]": "[email protected]",
}

resp, err := client.R().
    SetBody(submission).
    Post("/form/FORM_ID/submissions")

if err != nil {
    panic(err)
}

fmt.Println("Submission successful:", resp.StatusCode() == 200)

Handling responses

Go makes it easy to handle JSON responses. Let's create a struct for our form data:

type Form struct {
    ID    string `json:"id"`
    Title string `json:"title"`
}

type FormsResponse struct {
    ResponseCode int    `json:"responseCode"`
    Message      string `json:"message"`
    Content      []Form `json:"content"`
}

// Now, let's use it in our GET request
resp, err := client.R().
    SetResult(&FormsResponse{}).
    Get("/user/forms")

if err != nil {
    panic(err)
}

formsResp := resp.Result().(*FormsResponse)
for _, form := range formsResp.Content {
    fmt.Printf("Form ID: %s, Title: %s\n", form.ID, form.Title)
}

Advanced features

Want to paginate through results? Easy peasy:

offset := 0
limit := 20

for {
    resp, err := client.R().
        SetQueryParams(map[string]string{
            "offset": strconv.Itoa(offset),
            "limit":  strconv.Itoa(limit),
        }).
        SetResult(&FormsResponse{}).
        Get("/user/forms")

    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    formsResp := resp.Result().(*FormsResponse)
    if len(formsResp.Content) == 0 {
        break
    }

    // Process forms...

    offset += limit
}

Building a simple CLI tool

Let's wrap this up in a neat CLI package:

package main

import (
    "flag"
    "fmt"
    "os"

    "github.com/go-resty/resty/v2"
)

func main() {
    apiKey := flag.String("apikey", "", "Jotform API Key")
    action := flag.String("action", "list", "Action to perform (list, submit)")
    flag.Parse()

    if *apiKey == "" {
        fmt.Println("API key is required")
        os.Exit(1)
    }

    client := resty.New().
        SetBaseURL("https://api.jotform.com/v1").
        SetHeader("APIKEY", *apiKey)

    switch *action {
    case "list":
        listForms(client)
    case "submit":
        submitForm(client)
    default:
        fmt.Println("Unknown action")
        os.Exit(1)
    }
}

func listForms(client *resty.Client) {
    // Implementation here
}

func submitForm(client *resty.Client) {
    // Implementation here
}

Testing

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

func TestListForms(t *testing.T) {
    // Mock the API response
    httpmock.Activate()
    defer httpmock.DeactivateAndReset()

    httpmock.RegisterResponder("GET", "https://api.jotform.com/v1/user/forms",
        httpmock.NewStringResponder(200, `{"responseCode":200,"content":[{"id":"1","title":"Test Form"}]}`))

    client := resty.New().SetBaseURL("https://api.jotform.com/v1")

    forms, err := listForms(client)
    assert.NoError(t, err)
    assert.Len(t, forms, 1)
    assert.Equal(t, "Test Form", forms[0].Title)
}

Best practices

Remember to:

• Implement rate limiting to avoid hitting API limits
• Cache responses when appropriate to reduce API calls
• Log errors and monitor your application's performance

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a robust Jotform API integration in Go. From authentication to advanced features, you're now equipped to harness the full power of Jotform in your Go applications. Keep exploring, keep coding, and most importantly, have fun with it!

For more details, check out the Jotform API documentation and keep pushing the boundaries of what you can create. Happy coding!