This Library Carpentry lesson introduces library staff to fetching data from APIs. At the conclusion of the lesson you will understand web data formats like JSON, how APIs function, and how to query APIs using OpenRefine and the Command Line.
Prerequisites
To complete this lesson you will need Chrome web browser and OpenRefine. If not already installed, you will need to install OpenRefine. Windows users will need to install Git for Windows
| Setup | Download files required for the lesson | |
| 00:00 | 1. Introduction to APIs | What are APIs? What can they do? |
| 00:25 | 2. Data on the Web | How do I read data types like JSON & XML? |
| 00:40 | 3. Creating URL Queries |
What are URL query strings?
How can you make API requests? How do you interperet API documentation? |
| 01:20 | 4. API Queries in Shell |
How do I fetch data from API’s using the Unix shell?
How do I process API responses to get plain text, usable by standard Unix shell tools? |
| 02:30 | 5. API Queries in OpenRefine | How do I fetch data from an Application Programming Interface (API) to be used in OpenRefine? |
| 03:25 | 6. Synchronous Exercises | How can you apply the skills you have learned to explore new APIs? |
| 03:25 | 7. Exercise: OCLC WorldCat Search API |
What are the different OCLC APIs and how are they different?
What can you query using the WorldCat Search API |
| 03:50 | 8. Exercise: NCBI E-utilities | How can we use the Entrez Programming Utilities (E-utilities) to search across the Entrez Molecular Sequence Database System? |
| 03:50 | 9. More APIs Queries in OpenRefine |
How do I reconcile my data by comparing it to authoritative datasets
How do I install extensions for OpenRefine |
| 04:20 | Finish |
The actual schedule may vary slightly depending on the topics and exercises chosen by the instructor.