Random Exercise API

About

A REST API that returns a JSON containing an exercise randomly chosen from exercises.json. For example:

{"name": "deadlift"}

UML sequence diagram showing how requesting and receiving data work

Instructions

Note: In all examples, assume the Flask server is running on http://127.0.0.1:5000.

One-time set-up

1. Clone the Github repository to your local environment.

   1. In a terminal, navigate to the directory that contains random_exercise_api.py.

2. Create a Python virtual environment. In the examples below, we set up a virtual environment called .venv

    python3 -m venv .venv
   

3. Activate the Python virtual environment.

    source .venv/bin/activate
   

4. Use pip to install the dependencies.

    pip install -r requirements.txt
   

Request data

Start the Flask API server.

1. In a terminal, navigate to the directory that contains random_exercise_api.py.

2. Activate the Python virtual environment from the One-time Set-Up section.

3. In the virtual environment, run the following command to start the server.

   flask --app random_exercise_api.py run

   Note: Optional Flag(s)

   - To change the port where the server is running, use the command below:

    ```sh
    flask --app random_exercise_api.py run -p ${PORT_NUMBER}
    ```
   
    For example, to run the service on Port 3000:
   
    ```sh
    flask --app random_exercise_api.py run -p 3000
    ```
   

4. In the output of the command, you'll find a link to where the server is running. Example:

   Running on http://127.0.0.1:5000

   Visit the link to confirm that the server is working. You should see JSON similar to the output below:

   {"name": "bicep curls"}

Receive data

The server will return JSON containing the exercise. For example,

{"name": "deadlift"}

Note: In the examples listed, assume the Flask server is running on http://127.0.0.1:5000.

Method 1: curl

From a terminal run this command:

curl http://127.0.0.1:5000

Method 2: Python

In a Python virtual environment, use the requests module. Example:

import requests

def call_random_exercise_api(api_url):
    """An example demonstrating how to call the random_exercise_api.py and get a random exercise"

    Args:
        api_url (string): API endpoint for the random_exercise_generator

    Returns:
        json: a key of "name" and a value of the exercise name as a string
    """
    response = requests.get(api_url, timeout=10)
    return response.json()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    # update flask_server_url with site and port where Flask server is running
    FLASK_SERVER_URL = 'http://127.0.0.1:5000'
    API_ENDPOINT = FLASK_SERVER_URL + '/'
    print(call_random_exercise_api(API_ENDPOINT))

This will return output similar to

{"name": "deadlift"}

To get only the value of the JSON (a.k.a the name of the exercise as a string), replace response.json() with response.json()["name"]

This will return output similar to

deadlift

Additional API functionalities

Instructions

Get all exercises

Method 1: Using the browser

http://localhost:5000/exercises

Method 2: curl

curl http://localhost:5000/exercises

Get an exercise by ID

Replace ${EXERCISE_ID} with the ID of the exercise. Ex: 1.

Method 1: Using the browser

http://localhost:5000/exercise/${EXERCISE_ID}

Example:

http://localhost:5000/exercise/1

Method 2: curl

curl http://localhost:5000/exercise/${EXERCISE_ID}

Example:

curl http://localhost:5000/exercise/1

Create and add an exercise to the JSON configuration

Method 1 (recommended): curl

1. Ensure the Flask server is running.

2. Open a new terminal. Replace ${NEW_EXERCISE_NAME} with the name of your new exercise and run the following command:

   curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"exercise":"${NEW_EXERCISE_NAME}"}' http://localhost:5000/exercises

   Example where we add an exercise called "bench press":

   curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"exercise":"bench press"}' http://localhost:5000/exercises

   This will return:

   {
       "name": "bench press"
   }

Method 2: Manual exercises.json file update

1. Navigate to exercises.json.

2. At the end of the file, add a key of the next numerical index and a value of "name": "name_of_exercise". For example:

   "100": {
       "name": "upright_row"
   }

Important: Ensure there are no duplicate keys

Update an exercise

Method 1 (recommended): curl

1. Ensure the Flask server is running.

2. Open a new terminal. Replace ${EXERCISE_ID} with the ID of the exercise you'd like to update and ${UPDATED_EXERCISE_NAME} with the updated exercise name and run the following command:

   curl -X PUT -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"exercise":"${UPDATED_EXERCISE_NAME}"}' http://localhost:5000/exercise/${EXERCISE_ID}

   Example where we update an exercise of ID 0 with a name called "split squat":

   curl -X PUT -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"exercise":"split squat"}' http://localhost:5000/exercise/0

   This will return:

   {
       "name": "split squat"
   }

Method 2: Manual exercises.json file update

1. Navigate to exercises.json.
2. Identify and update the relevant exercise.

Delete an exercise

Method 1 (recommended): curl

1. Ensure the Flask server is running.

2. Open a new terminal. Replace ${EXERCISE_ID} with the ID of the exercise you'd like to delete.

   curl http://localhost:5000/exercise/${EXERCISE_ID} -X DELETE -v

   Example where we update an exercise of ID 8:

   curl http://localhost:5000/exercise/8 -X DELETE -v

Method 2: Manual exercises.json file update

1. Navigate to exercises.json.
2. Identify and update the relevant exercise.