Preparations

Why and when use APIs?

Be brave!

You’ll encounter terminology and abbreviations that make no sense, and that’s ok!

Terminology

Summary

Why & when APIs?

URL

The address. You have a home address. The API has its home address on the internet.
Just like websites. Example: https://api.46elks.com/a1/SMS

Request

  • GET Ask for data.
  • POST Send in data. Trigger an event.

help!?

  • Contact those providing the API!
  • Stackoverflow to the rescue!
  • People! Go to meetups, hackathons, explore forums... when you have friends you can help them out, and they can help you out!
  • You can also search for API reference manual, API documentation, API docs or API manual to find more information as well.

Status codes

  • 200 All is well.
  • 404 Can't find what you're looking for!
  • 20x OK!
  • 30x Somewhere else!
  • 40x You're not doing it right.
    Check the documentation/manual/instruction. Ask for help!
    Example: https://46elks.com/thispagedoesnotexist - 404.
  • 50x We made a mistake! Perhaps you might want to let us know! Or try again later!
  • http cat is a good place to find your current status code

Authentication

  • Credentials
  • API key
  • Basic auth

Format

json


        

        

        

          

        

        
XML

        

          

        

 
  
        

          
Send SMS with PHP

          
Log in to the server

          
    
            
  • Log on to the live server by opening a Command line window. Switch out username for the username you got in your SMS
    • 
            
    
              
    
            
    
            
  • Log in with the password you got in your SMS
    •  
            
  • To start the server you run this but switch out 500 to the port you have been assigned in your SMS
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  • Now you can reach the server on this URL:en http://64.225.108.133:5000 
    Switch out 500 to your own port
    •  
            
  • When you want to switch off the server you simply run ctrl + C
    • 
          

          
Write the code

          
    
            
  • Create a new file by running vim send-sms.php
    • 
            
  • Press I for Insert mode which allows you to write in Vim
    • 
            
  • Now for the code itself, copy and paste this in your file
    • 
            
    
              
    
            
    
            
  • Change the username and password to your API credentials, you find them here
    • 
            
  • Change the from, to and message parameters to your own
    • 
            
  • To save the file press ESC + :wq
    • 
            
  • Start the server and access the url http://64.225.108.133:5000/send-sms.php
    • 
          

        

  
        
Want to try more languages?

        
You can find more examples in many different programming languages available on GitHub or our tutorials here