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

Introduction

Hey there, fellow Go enthusiast! Ready to dive into the world of e-commerce integration? Today, we're going to walk through building a robust SamCart API integration using Go. SamCart's API is a powerful tool for managing your e-commerce operations programmatically, and with Go's concurrency and performance, we're set up for success.

Prerequisites

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

• Go installed (I know you probably do, but just checking!)
• SamCart API credentials (you'll need these for authentication)
• Your favorite Go IDE or text editor

We'll be using the standard library for most of this, but we'll pull in a couple of handy packages along the way.

Setting up the project

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

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

Simple, right? Now we're ready to start coding!

Authentication

SamCart uses API key authentication. Let's create a reusable client:

package samcart

import (
    "net/http"
)

type Client struct {
    BaseURL    string
    APIKey     string
    HTTPClient *http.Client
}

func NewClient(apiKey string) *Client {
    return &Client{
        BaseURL:    "https://api.samcart.com/v1",
        APIKey:     apiKey,
        HTTPClient: &http.Client{},
    }
}

Basic API Operations

Now, let's implement some basic CRUD operations. Here's a GET request to fetch products:

func (c *Client) GetProducts() ([]Product, error) {
    req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", c.BaseURL+"/products", nil)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, err
    }
    
    req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+c.APIKey)
    
    resp, err := c.HTTPClient.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, err
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()
    
    // Parse response and return products
    // ...
}

You can follow a similar pattern for POST, PUT, and DELETE operations. Remember to handle those responses properly!

Handling Responses

Speaking of responses, let's parse that JSON:

import "encoding/json"

// ...

var products []Product
err = json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&products)
if err != nil {
    return nil, err
}

Don't forget to check for HTTP status codes and handle errors gracefully.

Implementing Webhook Support

Webhooks are crucial for real-time updates. Here's a basic webhook handler:

func WebhookHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    payload, err := ioutil.ReadAll(r.Body)
    if err != nil {
        http.Error(w, "Failed to read request body", http.StatusBadRequest)
        return
    }
    
    // Verify webhook signature here
    
    // Process the webhook payload
    // ...
    
    w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
}

Don't forget to verify those webhook signatures to ensure the requests are coming from SamCart!

Rate Limiting and Pagination

SamCart has rate limits, so let's be good citizens:

import "time"

// ...

func (c *Client) RateLimitedRequest(req *http.Request) (*http.Response, error) {
    resp, err := c.HTTPClient.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, err
    }
    
    if resp.StatusCode == http.StatusTooManyRequests {
        time.Sleep(5 * time.Second)
        return c.RateLimitedRequest(req)
    }
    
    return resp, nil
}

For pagination, check the response headers and adjust your requests accordingly.

Testing

Testing is crucial, folks! Here's a quick example of a unit test:

func TestGetProducts(t *testing.T) {
    client := NewClient("test-api-key")
    products, err := client.GetProducts()
    
    if err != nil {
        t.Fatalf("Expected no error, got %v", err)
    }
    
    if len(products) == 0 {
        t.Fatal("Expected products, got none")
    }
}

Don't forget to set up integration tests with SamCart's sandbox environment!

Best Practices

A few quick tips to keep in mind:

• Log errors and important events
• Cache responses when appropriate to reduce API calls
• Never hardcode your API credentials (use environment variables)
• Use HTTPS for all requests

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've now got a solid foundation for your SamCart API integration in Go. Remember, this is just the beginning – there's always room to optimize and expand your integration.

Keep coding, keep learning, and most importantly, have fun building awesome stuff with Go!