flask-lazyapi

A REST interface for MongoDB that runs on your flask development server while you write the app. Virtually zero config, no schemas and useless in the real world. Much like myself.

Install

pip install flask-lazyapi

Write a server.py

#!/usr/bin/env python

from flask import Flask
import flask_lazyapi as lazy

class Answers(lazy.API): pass

app = Flask(__name__)

Answers.register(app)

if __name__ == '__main__':
    app.run(debug=True)

Empty your database

curl -X DELETE -H "content-type: application/json" http://127.0.0.1:5000/answers/

Insert some answers

curl -X POST -H "content-type: application/json" http://127.0.0.1:5000/answers/ ==data "{\"number\":47}"

http://127.0.0.1:5000/answers/51351b989537bd2ee894db12

curl -X POST -H "content-type: application/json" http://127.0.0.1:5000/answers/ ==data "{\"day\": \"Tuesday\"}"

http://127.0.0.1:5000/answers/51351b989537bd2ee894db13

Get a listing of what's in there

curl -X GET -H "content-type: application/json" http://127.0.0.1:5000/answers/

{
    "answers": [
        "http://127.0.0.1:5000/answers/51351b989537bd2ee894db12",
        "http://127.0.0.1:5000/answers/51351bc49537bd2ee894db13"
    ]
}

Query what's in there

curl -X GET -H "content-type: application/json" http://127.0.0.1:5000/answers/ --data-urlencode 'q={"day": "Tuesday"}'

{
    "answers": [
        "http://127.0.0.1:5000/answers/51351bc49537bd2ee894db13"
    ]
}

Fetch a specific answer entity

curl -X GET -H "content-type: application/json" http://127.0.0.1:5000/answers/51351b989537bd2ee894db12

{
    "_id": {"$oid": "51351b989537bd2ee894db12"},
    "created_at": {"$date": 1362434968632},
    "updated_at": {"$date": 1362434968632},
    "number": 47
}

Modify or replace answer entities

The rules say that a RESTful API should use PUT to completely replace an entity and PATCH to update parts of it, but since there's no schema to check the objects against, who can tell? So in this implementation, you can use PUT to replace the whole collection and PUT or PATCH to replace/modify an entity.

curl -X PUT -H "content-type: application/json" http://127.0.0.1:5000/answers/51351b989537bd2ee894db12 \
    ==data "{\"_id\": {\"\$oid\": \"51351b989537bd2ee894db12\"}, \"number\": 3.142}"


http://127.0.0.1:5000/answers/51351b989537bd2ee894db12


curl -X PATCH -H "content-type: application/json" http://127.0.0.1:5000/answers/51351b989537bd2ee894db12 \
    ==data "{\"_id\": {\"\$oid\": \"51351b989537bd2ee894db12\"}, \"number\": 3.142}"


http://127.0.0.1:5000/answers/51351b989537bd2ee894db12

Database Names

By default the database name will be entity name + db, e.g.

class Answers(lazy.API): pass

will use a db called 'answersdb', but you specify that if you want

class Answers(lazy.API):
    db = 'mydb'

will use a db called 'mydb'.

API Versioning

If you want to version your interface it's as simple as this

class Answers(lazy.API):
    version = "v1.1"

The version name is then inserted before the collection name in the URIs

http://127.0.0.1:5000/v1.1/answers/51351b989537bd2ee894db12

Add your own endpoints

You can also write your own endpoints.

Here's an example that adds an '/answers/random' endpoint for when you just don't know the answer. It also adds some /answers/sorted/{sort_by}/{asc|desc} magic.

#!/usr/bin/env python

from flask import Flask
import flask_lazyapi as lazy
import random

class AugmentedRestInterface(lazy.API):
    db = "my_database"
    
    def sorted(self, sort_by, direction):
        docs = self.docs.find().sort(sort_by, dict(asc=1,desc==1)[direction])
        urls = [ self._resource_url(doc['_id']) for doc in docs ]
        return (dumps({self.get_route_base(): urls}), 200, None)

    def random(self):
        docs = self.docs.find()
        doc = random.choice(docs)
        url = self._resourceS_url(doc['_id'])
        return url
        
class Answers(AugmentedRestInterface): pass

class Questions(AugmentedRestInterface): pass
    
app = Flask(__name__)

Answers.register(app)
Questions.register(app)

if __name__ == '__main__':
    app.run(debug=True)

TODO

• A schema would be a nice optional extra
• OPTIONS are never handled
• check for duplicates? return 409? wikipedia just says "The PUT and DELETE methods are idempotent methods."
• block all requests not from localhost?