Data formats and patterns in APIs

Data available through APIs might be different from what you expected or might not fit the plan exactly – in the Benefits of web APIs section, we covered a few of the ways the data might be different (limitation, irrelevance, and more).

Acquiring data from APIs is a straightforward process with or without API authorization. Content received via an API may appear in many formats, such as key names, nested lists and dictionaries, named or numerical indexing blocks, and many more. We generally find API content in JSON format, comprising Python lists and dictionaries.

Before moving on to the data formats, patterns, and results of APIs or API content, it is important to demonstrate how APIs are called or used. Most of the time, API service providers keep an updated version of their APIs in their documentation. Listed here are a few examples that web users normally use to access data from an API (example URL: exampledomain.com):

• http...