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

Aug 14, 2024 • 6 minute read

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

Introduction

LearnDash is a powerful LMS plugin for WordPress, and its API opens up a world of possibilities for customization and integration. In this guide, we'll walk through building a Ruby integration that'll make your LearnDash data sing!

Prerequisites

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

Ruby 2.7+ installed
Bundler gem
Your LearnDash API credentials (you'll need these to party with the API)

Setting up the project

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

mkdir learndash_api_integration
cd learndash_api_integration
bundle init

Now, let's add some gems to our Gemfile:

source 'https://rubygems.org'

gem 'httparty'
gem 'dotenv'

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

Authentication

First things first, let's handle authentication. Create a .env file in your project root:

LEARNDASH_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Now, let's create our base API client:

require 'httparty'
require 'dotenv/load'

class LearnDashAPI
  include HTTParty
  base_uri 'https://your-wordpress-site.com/wp-json/ldlms/v2'

  def initialize
    @options = { headers: { 'Authorization' => "Bearer #{ENV['LEARNDASH_API_KEY']}" } }
  end

  # We'll add more methods here soon!
end

Making API requests

Let's add some methods to interact with the API:

class LearnDashAPI
  # ... previous code ...

  def get_courses
    self.class.get('/courses', @options)
  end

  def get_lessons(course_id)
    self.class.get("/courses/#{course_id}/lessons", @options)
  end

  def get_user_progress(user_id)
    self.class.get("/users/#{user_id}/course-progress", @options)
  end
end

Error handling and logging

Let's add some basic error handling:

class LearnDashAPIError < StandardError; end

class LearnDashAPI
  # ... previous code ...

  private

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

Data parsing and transformation

Now, let's parse that JSON:

require 'json'

class LearnDashAPI
  # ... previous code ...

  def get_courses
    response = self.class.get('/courses', @options)
    handle_response(response)
    JSON.parse(response.body)
  end

  # Apply similar changes to other methods
end

Caching and rate limiting

To be a good API citizen, let's implement some basic caching:

require 'redis'

class LearnDashAPI
  # ... previous code ...

  def initialize
    # ... previous code ...
    @redis = Redis.new
  end

  def get_courses
    cached = @redis.get('courses')
    return JSON.parse(cached) if cached

    response = self.class.get('/courses', @options)
    handle_response(response)
    courses = JSON.parse(response.body)
    
    @redis.setex('courses', 3600, courses.to_json) # Cache for 1 hour
    courses
  end
end

Testing the integration

Here's a quick test to get you started:

require 'minitest/autorun'
require_relative 'learndash_api'

class TestLearnDashAPI < Minitest::Test
  def setup
    @api = LearnDashAPI.new
  end

  def test_get_courses
    courses = @api.get_courses
    assert_kind_of Array, courses
    refute_empty courses
  end
end

Example use cases

Want to get all courses and their lessons? Easy peasy:

api = LearnDashAPI.new
courses = api.get_courses

courses.each do |course|
  puts "Course: #{course['title']}"
  lessons = api.get_lessons(course['id'])
  lessons.each { |lesson| puts "  - #{lesson['title']}" }
end

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a solid foundation for a LearnDash API integration in Ruby. From here, sky's the limit! You could expand this to create reports, automate user management, or even build your own front-end for LearnDash courses.

Remember, always keep an eye on those API rate limits, and cache when you can. Happy coding, and may your integration be ever bug-free!

Resources

Now go forth and integrate with confidence!