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

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to dive into the world of Uscreen API integration? You're in for a treat. Uscreen's API is a powerful tool that lets you tap into their video-on-demand platform, giving you the ability to manage users, content, and subscriptions programmatically. In this guide, we'll walk through the process of building a solid integration using Python. Let's get cracking!

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)
• Your Uscreen API credentials (if you don't have them, grab them from your Uscreen dashboard)

Got all that? Great! Let's move on to the fun stuff.

Authentication

First things first, we need to get authenticated. Uscreen uses API keys for authentication, which makes our lives easier.

import requests

API_KEY = 'your_api_key_here'
BASE_URL = 'https://api.uscreen.io/v1'

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

Pro tip: Never hardcode your API key in production code. Use environment variables or a secure config file instead.

Basic API Requests

Now that we're authenticated, let's make some requests! Here's how you can make a GET request to fetch some data:

response = requests.get(f'{BASE_URL}/users', headers=headers)
users = response.json()

Need to create something? Here's a POST request example:

new_user = {
    'email': '[email protected]',
    'name': 'New User'
}
response = requests.post(f'{BASE_URL}/users', headers=headers, json=new_user)
created_user = response.json()

Easy peasy, right?

Core Functionalities

Let's look at some core functionalities you might want to implement:

Retrieving User Data

def get_user(user_id):
    response = requests.get(f'{BASE_URL}/users/{user_id}', headers=headers)
    return response.json()

Managing Content

def list_videos():
    response = requests.get(f'{BASE_URL}/videos', headers=headers)
    return response.json()

Handling Subscriptions

def create_subscription(user_id, plan_id):
    subscription_data = {
        'user_id': user_id,
        'plan_id': plan_id
    }
    response = requests.post(f'{BASE_URL}/subscriptions', headers=headers, json=subscription_data)
    return response.json()

Error Handling

Always expect the unexpected! Here's a simple way to handle errors:

def make_api_request(method, endpoint, data=None):
    try:
        if method == 'GET':
            response = requests.get(f'{BASE_URL}/{endpoint}', headers=headers)
        elif method == 'POST':
            response = requests.post(f'{BASE_URL}/{endpoint}', headers=headers, json=data)
        response.raise_for_status()
        return response.json()
    except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
        print(f"An error occurred: {e}")
        return None

Pagination and Rate Limiting

Uscreen uses pagination for large datasets. Here's how you can handle it:

def get_all_users():
    users = []
    page = 1
    while True:
        response = requests.get(f'{BASE_URL}/users?page={page}', headers=headers)
        data = response.json()
        users.extend(data['users'])
        if not data['has_more']:
            break
        page += 1
    return users

As for rate limiting, Uscreen is pretty generous, but it's always good to add some delay between requests if you're making a lot of them.

Testing

Don't forget to test your integration! Here's a simple unit test example:

import unittest
from unittest.mock import patch

class TestUscreenIntegration(unittest.TestCase):
    @patch('requests.get')
    def test_get_user(self, mock_get):
        mock_get.return_value.json.return_value = {'id': 1, 'name': 'Test User'}
        user = get_user(1)
        self.assertEqual(user['name'], 'Test User')

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

Best Practices

1. Cache frequently accessed data to reduce API calls.
2. Use environment variables for API keys.
3. Implement proper error logging and monitoring.
4. Keep your integration modular for easy maintenance.

Conclusion

And there you have it! You're now equipped with the knowledge to build a robust Uscreen API integration in Python. Remember, the key to a great integration is clean code, proper error handling, and thorough testing.

Happy coding, and may your streams never buffer!