If I had to start over, I would create an API.
Coding exercises can help you practice algorithms and syntax, but they are far from a real software development job.
7 steps to build your first API:
- Select a Use Case:
It could be anything from weather data retrieval to managing to-do lists.
To impress, build simple products, customers, and orders API.
- Design the API:
Plan the structure and endpoints of your API.
Decide on the data format (often JSON) and the HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) that your API will support.
- Choose a Technology Stack:
Select a programming language and framework for building your API.
- .NET Core
- Flask (Python)
- Express (Node.js)
- Implement Endpoints:
If you're building a weather API, you might have endpoints for:
- Current weather
- Forecast
- Historical data
- Data Handling:
Implement the logic to handle data requests and responses.
Retrieve, format, and transform the query result; expose just the data you need, nothing more, nothing less.
- Testing:
Write unit and integration tests to ensure your API functions correctly and handles different scenarios.
Create a Postman collection to test the endpoints.
- Deployment:
Deploy your API to a hosting platform.
- Azure
- AWS
So that it's accessible over the internet.
At the end of this project, you will get:
- Real-world software development tasks and challenges.
- Understand how software components integrate and communicate.
- A portfolio project showcasing a functional API demonstrates your abilities to potential employers.
I can't remember one time when I asked someone in an interview to show me a calculator.
Would you?