DSW-Unit 5-Data, Part 1

Summary

JSON, JSON APIs (read only), Python requests module, access tokens, computing with JSON data

Topics

• Python requests module
• JSON syntax
• JSON modules in Python (json.loads() and json.dumps())
• Accessing JSON APIs
• Access tokens and rate limits
• Review of environment variables for storing access tokens
• Review of key/values in dictionaries
• Review of indexing into lists
• Computing functions over nested list/dictionary data structures
• Presenting JSON data in a web application via HTML tables and lists

Learning Objectives

• The student will be able to use the Python request module to write code to process simple HTTP GET and POST requests
• The student will be able to write simple encodings of data using JSON syntax
• The student will be able to locate and correct simple syntax errors in JSON syntax
• The student will be able to write code demonstrating the proper use of the Python json.loads() and json.dumps() methods
• The student will be able to correctly identify what the letters API stand for, and explain the concept
• The student will be able to explain the concept of a rate limited API
• The student will be able to write code that accesses read-only APIs via HTTP, using access tokens and respecting rate limits
• The student will be able to correctly write Python code that computes functions over the data returned by a JSON API, given that the data structure may contain nested lists and dictionaries.
• The student will be able to write Python code that presents the results of JSON queries in a way that is readable by a human end user, using HTML tables or lists, as appropriate.

UC a-g application information

Summary

In this unit, the students will learn about JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), one of the most important ways in which data is currently exchanged among web systems, and the various data sources available. Students will learn how to do the research necessary to find providers of data related to their interests, do computations over that data, and present that data to a user.

Key Assignment

A key assignment for this unit will be to write a web application that answers an interesting question by doing a computation over JSON data accesssed from some web data source's Application Programming Interface (API). The question, and data source will be one identified by the student. Examples may include using the Google Maps API for locating something on a map, an Amazon API for answering questions about available merchandise, a US Census Bureau API for identifying information about populated areas, or a US Geological Survey API for information about seismic events. The student will be responsible for identifying a question and a data source that are appropriately matched, writing test cases for the computation, implementing the computation, and making that computation available via a web application, in a way that is secure and respects any applicable terms-of-service imposed by the data provider. Students will learn how to leverage the skills gained in earlier units to explore questions that can be answered with data.

Activities