FastAPI Getting Started: Fundamentals of a Web Framework Every Python Developer Should Learn
A Web framework is a tool for rapidly building web applications, encapsulating details such as HTTP handling to allow developers to focus on business logic. FastAPI is a modern Python web framework built on Starlette and Pydantic, characterized by high performance, automatic API documentation generation (Swagger UI/ReDoc), asynchronous support, and data validation. Installation requires `pip install fastapi uvicorn`, and running it uses `uvicorn main:app --reload`. A basic example returns `{"message": "Hello, FastAPI!"}`. It supports path parameters (e.g., `/users/{user_id}`) and query parameters, with Pydantic models for data validation. It handles GET (retrieving data) and POST (submitting data) requests, with form data processed using `Form`. API documentation is auto-generated, accessible via `/docs` or `/redoc` for interactive testing. It supports asynchronous interfaces (`async def`) to handle high concurrency. Ideal for quickly developing RESTful APIs, it is recommended to start with basic examples and gradually learn advanced content such as middleware and dependency injection.
Read MoreFlask API Development: JSON Data Return and Status Code Setting
This article introduces the basic points of returning JSON and setting HTTP status codes when developing APIs with Flask. To return JSON, use the `jsonify` function instead of directly returning a Python dictionary (though this is technically possible, it is not recommended because `jsonify` is more explicit and supports complex data types). `jsonify` automatically sets the `Content-Type: application/json` header. HTTP status codes are used to indicate the result of a request. Common codes include 200 (success), 201 (resource created successfully), 400 (bad request/parameter error), 404 (resource not found), and 500 (server error). Status codes can be set by returning a tuple (`(jsonify(data), status_code)`) or by constructing a response object using `make_response`. Examples cover common scenarios: returning 200 for successful GET requests, 201 for resource creation via POST, 400 for parameter errors, 404 for non-existent resources, and 500 for server errors. Mastering these basics will help standardize Flask API development and enable smooth front-end and back-end data interaction.
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