Search parameter in Rest API - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Search Parameter in REST API

📖 Scenario: You are building a simple REST API for a bookstore. Customers want to search for books by their title.

🎯 Goal: Create a REST API endpoint that accepts a search parameter called title and returns books matching that title.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a list of books with exact titles and authors

Add a search parameter variable called search_title

Filter the list of books to only those whose title contains search_title

Print the filtered list of books as the output

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Searching books by title is a common feature in online bookstores and library systems.

💼 Career

Understanding how to filter data based on search parameters is essential for backend developers building APIs.

1

Create the initial data structure

Create a list called books with these exact dictionaries: {'title': 'Python Basics', 'author': 'John Doe'}, {'title': 'Advanced Python', 'author': 'Jane Smith'}, and {'title': 'Learning REST APIs', 'author': 'Alice Brown'}.

Rest API

# Create the list of books with exact titles and authors
# Your code here

Hint

Use a list of dictionaries with keys 'title' and 'author'.

2

Add the search parameter

Create a variable called search_title and set it to the string 'Python'.

Rest API

books = [
    {'title': 'Python Basics', 'author': 'John Doe'},
    {'title': 'Advanced Python', 'author': 'Jane Smith'},
    {'title': 'Learning REST APIs', 'author': 'Alice Brown'}
]
# Create the search parameter variable
# Your code here

Hint

Set search_title exactly to 'Python'.

3

Filter books by search parameter

Create a list called filtered_books that contains only the books from books where the title contains the string in search_title. Use a list comprehension with book['title'] and search_title.

Rest API

books = [
    {'title': 'Python Basics', 'author': 'John Doe'},
    {'title': 'Advanced Python', 'author': 'Jane Smith'},
    {'title': 'Learning REST APIs', 'author': 'Alice Brown'}
]
search_title = 'Python'
# Filter books where title contains search_title
# Your code here

Hint

Use a list comprehension with if search_title in book['title'].

4

Print the filtered books

Print the variable filtered_books to display the books matching the search parameter.

Rest API

books = [
    {'title': 'Python Basics', 'author': 'John Doe'},
    {'title': 'Advanced Python', 'author': 'Jane Smith'},
    {'title': 'Learning REST APIs', 'author': 'Alice Brown'}
]
search_title = 'Python'
filtered_books = [book for book in books if search_title in book['title']]
# Print the filtered_books list
# Your code here

Hint

Use print(filtered_books) to show the result.

Practice

1.

What is the main purpose of a search parameter in a REST API URL?

easy

A. To change the API server address

B. To filter the data returned by the API

C. To add security to the API

D. To format the API response as XML

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand what search parameters do

   Search parameters are added to the URL to specify what data you want from the API.

2. Step 2: Identify the purpose of filtering

   Filtering means selecting only the data that matches your criteria, which is what search parameters do.

3. Final Answer:

   To filter the data returned by the API -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Search parameter = filter data [OK]

Hint: Search parameters filter data in API URLs [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking search parameters change server address
• Confusing search parameters with security tokens
• Assuming search parameters format response

2.

Which of the following is the correct way to add a search parameter named name with value alice to a REST API URL?

https://api.example.com/users

easy

A. https://api.example.com/users#name=alice

B. https://api.example.com/users/name=alice

C. https://api.example.com/users?name=alice

D. https://api.example.com/users&name=alice

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall the syntax for search parameters

   Search parameters start with a question mark (?) after the base URL.

2. Step 2: Check the correct separator and format

   The parameter is added as ?name=alice. Using & or # or slashes is incorrect here.

3. Final Answer:

   https://api.example.com/users?name=alice -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Use ? before first parameter [OK]

Hint: First parameter starts with ? in URL [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using & instead of ? for first parameter
• Using # which is for anchors, not parameters
• Adding parameters as path segments

3.

What will be the full URL to search for users with age 30 and city as NY?

Base URL: https://api.example.com/users

medium

A. https://api.example.com/users?age=30&city=NY

B. https://api.example.com/users?age=30?city=NY

C. https://api.example.com/users&age=30&city=NY

D. https://api.example.com/users#age=30&city=NY

Solution

1. Step 1: Add first parameter with ?

   The first search parameter starts with a question mark: ?age=30.

2. Step 2: Add second parameter with &

   Additional parameters use & to separate: &city=NY.

3. Final Answer:

   https://api.example.com/users?age=30&city=NY -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   First ? then & for multiple parameters [OK]

Hint: Use ? for first, & for others in URL [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using ? for every parameter
• Using & before first parameter
• Using # which is for anchors

4.

Identify the error in this URL with search parameters:

https://api.example.com/products?category=books&price=20?sort=asc

medium

A. Using two question marks (?) for parameters

B. Missing & between parameters

C. Using = instead of : in parameters

D. Parameters should be in the URL path, not query

Solution

1. Step 1: Check parameter separators

   Only the first parameter uses ?, others must use &.

2. Step 2: Identify the error in the URL

   The URL incorrectly uses a second ? before sort=asc instead of &.

3. Final Answer:

   Using two question marks (?) for parameters -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Only one ? allowed, others use & [OK]

Hint: Only one ? in URL, then & for others [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using multiple ? instead of &
• Confusing = with : in parameters
• Thinking parameters belong in URL path

5.

You want to search a REST API for books with author as John and year greater than 2010. Which URL correctly uses search parameters to do this?

hard

A. https://api.example.com/books?author=John&year>2010

B. https://api.example.com/books?author=John&year=2010>

C. https://api.example.com/books?author=John&year=gt2010

D. https://api.example.com/books?author=John&year_gt=2010

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand how to express 'greater than' in search parameters

   REST APIs often use suffixes like _gt for 'greater than' in parameters.

2. Step 2: Check each option for correct syntax

   https://api.example.com/books?author=John&year_gt=2010 uses year_gt=2010, which is a common and correct way to express this filter.

3. Final Answer:

   https://api.example.com/books?author=John&year_gt=2010 -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Use _gt suffix for greater than filters [OK]

Hint: Use _gt suffix for 'greater than' in parameters [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using > directly in URL parameter
• Placing operators after values
• Confusing parameter syntax for filters