Search parameter in Rest API - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to add a search parameter to the API endpoint URL.

Rest API

url = "https://api.example.com/items?[1]=book"

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aquery

Bfilter

Csort

Dsearch

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'filter' or 'query' which may not be recognized by this API.

The correct search parameter key is search to filter items by keyword.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to extract the search parameter value from the URL query string.

Rest API

search_term = request.args.get('[1]')

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Asearch

Bfilter

Cquery

Dterm

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using a different parameter name that does not match the URL.

The parameter name to get the search term is search.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the code to correctly check if the search parameter exists.

Rest API

if '[1]' in request.args:

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aquery

Bterm

Csearch

Dfilter

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Checking for wrong parameter names like 'term' or 'filter'.

The correct key to check in request.args is search.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to build a URL with search and sort parameters.

Rest API

url = f"https://api.example.com/items?[1]=phone&[2]=asc"

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Asearch

Bfilter

Csort

Dorder

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'filter' instead of 'search' or 'order' instead of 'sort'.

The first parameter is search for the keyword, and the second is sort for sorting order.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a dictionary comprehension filtering items by search term length and sorting by price.

Rest API

filtered = {item['name']: item['price'] for item in items if len(item['name']) [1] [2] and item['price'] [3] 100}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A>

B3

C<=

D5

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using wrong comparison operators or values that don't filter correctly.

The comprehension filters items with names longer than 3 characters and prices less than or equal to 100.

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