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APIs

Posted by ilyas kerbal
ilyas kerbal
18,816 Points

How to use limited REST APIs

Hello Treehouse community,

I want to build an Android app which uses soccer data. I've found a service that provides soccer information via a REST API. The service is limited to 5,000 request/hour and I want to implement it.

I've contacted the service via email to increase the rate limit. They can increase it up to 100,000/hour for 250$/month.

I've found a way to decrease the number of requests, by using an API-caching middleware. Example:

There is also another way to get free APIs by reverse engineering other apps.

Question: What are the best practices when using limited REST APIs?

1 Answer

stjarnan
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.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree seal-36
stjarnan
Front End Web Development Techdegree Graduate 56,488 Points
stjarnan
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree seal-36
stjarnan
Front End Web Development Techdegree Graduate 56,488 Points

Hi Ilyas,

What exactly do you mean by reverse engineering other apps?

I'd say that the best practice when it comes to limited API's in this case would be to start with the free limit (5000 request/hours is a lot! ) and just track usage. If you start to come close to the limit, say you start reaching 80% of the cap, then you can always pay to lift your limit a bit higher.

I hope that helps you,

Jonas