An API, or application programming interface, is a way for different software components to communicate with each other.
It is used to exchange data and functionality between different applications and build complex and powerful applications.
APIs are a powerful way to connect your Flutter app to the backend. It allows you to fetch data, send requests, and update information from your app.
Why use API in Flutter?
There are many benefits to using an API in Flutter. APIs allow you to:
- Access data and functionality from other applications
- Build complex and powerful applications without having to develop all of the functionality yourself
- Make your apps more scalable and flexible
Also Read: Flutter App Permissions: A Complete Guide To Handle Permissions
Types of API Requests
There are four main types of API requests:
1. GET Requests
GET requests can be used to retrieve data from a server. You can use a GET request to fetch a list of users from a database or to retrieve the details of a specific user.
For example, the following GET request would retrieve a list of all users from the server:
GET /users
In addition, GET requests can be repeated without changing the state of the server. This makes them ideal for use in caching.
2. POST Requests
POST requests are used to create new data on the server. The data that is created is specified in the request body.
For example, the following POST request would create a new user on the server:
POST /users
{
"name": “Test”,
"email": "info@codetrade.io"
}
It typically takes body parameters, which are the data that is being created. For example, you could use body parameters to specify the user's name, email address, and password when creating a new user account.
3. PUT Requests
PUT requests are used to update existing data on the server. The data that is updated is specified in the request body. For example, the following PUT request would update the name of the user with the ID of 1:
PUT /users/1
{
"name": "Test"
}
4. DELETE Requests
DELETE requests are used to delete a resource from the server. The resource that is deleted is specified in the request URL. For example, the following DELETE request would delete the user with the ID of 1:
DELETE /users/1
5. PATCH Requests
The HTTP PATCH request method is used to apply partial modifications to a resource. Similarly to POST requests, PATCH requests can potentially impact other resources.
To determine whether a server supports PATCH requests, the server can include it in the list of supported methods in the Allow or Access-Control-Allow-Methods response headers (for CORS).
PATCH /test.txt HTTP/1.1
Host: www.codetrade.io
Content-Type: application/example
If-Match: "e0023aa4e"
Content-Length: 100
[description of changes]
An additional (implicit) indication that PATCH requests are supported is the presence of the Accept-Patch header, which informs clients about the patch document formats that the server can process.
Explore More: How To Implement API In Flutter
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