Step by Step Guide to Building a SamCart API Integration in C#

Hey there, fellow code wrangler! Ready to dive into the world of e-commerce integration? Let's roll up our sleeves and build a robust SamCart API integration using C#. This guide assumes you're already a seasoned dev, so we'll skip the fluff and get right to the good stuff.

Introduction

SamCart's API is your ticket to programmatically managing products, orders, and customers. We're going to harness this power and create a sleek integration that'll make your e-commerce operations smoother than a freshly waxed surfboard.

Prerequisites

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

• Your favorite C# IDE (Visual Studio, Rider, whatever floats your boat)
• .NET Core 3.1 or later
• SamCart API credentials (if you don't have these, go bug your friendly neighborhood SamCart rep)

Setting up the project

Fire up your IDE and create a new C# project. We're going to need a few NuGet packages to make our lives easier:

dotnet add package Newtonsoft.Json
dotnet add package RestSharp

Authentication

SamCart uses API key authentication. Let's create a base HTTP client that we'll use for all our requests:

using RestSharp;
using RestSharp.Authenticators;

public class SamCartClient
{
    private readonly RestClient _client;

    public SamCartClient(string apiKey)
    {
        _client = new RestClient("https://api.samcart.com/v1");
        _client.Authenticator = new JwtAuthenticator(apiKey);
    }

    // We'll add more methods here later
}

Core API Functionality

Now for the fun part! Let's implement some core functionality:

Products

public async Task<List<Product>> GetProductsAsync()
{
    var request = new RestRequest("products", Method.GET);
    var response = await _client.ExecuteAsync<List<Product>>(request);
    return response.Data;
}

public async Task<Product> CreateProductAsync(Product product)
{
    var request = new RestRequest("products", Method.POST);
    request.AddJsonBody(product);
    var response = await _client.ExecuteAsync<Product>(request);
    return response.Data;
}

Orders

public async Task<Order> GetOrderAsync(string orderId)
{
    var request = new RestRequest($"orders/{orderId}", Method.GET);
    var response = await _client.ExecuteAsync<Order>(request);
    return response.Data;
}

public async Task<Order> CreateOrderAsync(Order order)
{
    var request = new RestRequest("orders", Method.POST);
    request.AddJsonBody(order);
    var response = await _client.ExecuteAsync<Order>(request);
    return response.Data;
}

Error Handling and Rate Limiting

Don't be that dev who ignores errors. Let's add some retry logic and respect those rate limits:

public async Task<T> ExecuteWithRetryAsync<T>(RestRequest request, int maxAttempts = 3)
{
    for (int i = 0; i < maxAttempts; i++)
    {
        var response = await _client.ExecuteAsync<T>(request);
        if (response.IsSuccessful)
            return response.Data;

        if (response.StatusCode == System.Net.HttpStatusCode.TooManyRequests)
        {
            await Task.Delay(1000 * (i + 1)); // Exponential backoff
            continue;
        }

        throw new Exception($"API request failed: {response.ErrorMessage}");
    }

    throw new Exception("Max retry attempts reached");
}

Asynchronous Operations

You'll notice we're using async/await throughout. This is crucial for keeping your application responsive, especially when dealing with network operations.

Serialization and Deserialization

RestSharp handles most of the JSON heavy lifting, but you'll need to create model classes that match the SamCart API responses. For example:

public class Product
{
    public string Id { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public decimal Price { get; set; }
    // Add other properties as needed
}

Testing the Integration

Don't skip this part! Here's a quick example of how you might unit test your integration:

[Fact]
public async Task GetProductsAsync_ReturnsProducts()
{
    var client = new SamCartClient("your_api_key");
    var products = await client.GetProductsAsync();
    Assert.NotEmpty(products);
}

Best Practices and Optimization

• Cache frequently accessed data to reduce API calls
• Use a logging framework (like Serilog) to track API interactions
• Consider implementing a circuit breaker pattern for more robust error handling

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a solid foundation for a SamCart API integration in C#. Remember, this is just the beginning. There's a whole world of e-commerce automation waiting for you to explore.

Now go forth and code, you magnificent developer, you!