FastAPI for REST APIs

Overview

• Fast Development: FastAPI uses Python type hints to auto-generate API endpoints and validate request/response data, speeding up development and minimizing errors.
• Automatic Documentation: With OpenAPI and JSON Schema, FastAPI auto-generates interactive API documentation through tools like Swagger UI and ReDoc.
• Asynchronous Support: Built with async and await, FastAPI handles high-performance asynchronous endpoints, ideal for high concurrency.
• Data Validation: Utilizes Pydantic to enforce data validation automatically, based on endpoint function types for strict, reliable data integrity.
• Security: Provides built-in support for OAuth2, JWTs, and other security protocols, simplifying secure authentication and authorization.
• WebSockets and Background Tasks: Supports WebSockets for real-time communication and background tasks, offloading intensive processes from the main request cycle.

Example Code Structure

from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException
from pydantic import BaseModel
from typing import Optional

# Define the application
app = FastAPI()

# Define a request model with Pydantic
class Item(BaseModel):
    name: str
    description: Optional[str] = None
    price: float
    tax: Optional[float] = None

# Define a simple POST endpoint
@app.post("/items/")
async def create_item(item: Item):
    return {"name": item.name, "price_with_tax": item.price + (item.tax or 0)}

Explanation of Example

• Item Model: Defined using Pydantic, ensuring each field is automatically validated.
• Endpoint: The /items/ POST endpoint accepts Item data, validates it, and calculates the price_with_tax.

FastAPI combines simplicity and power, making it a strong choice for modern REST API development.

© Kevin Luzbetak