API Reference

API Best Practices

🌟 Idempotency, Logging, Retry Policies, and User-Agent

Welcome to the guide on best practices for working with the API! This document provides insights into ensuring smooth and reliable interactions with the API through idempotency, response logging, retry policies, and the User-Agent header.

πŸ”„ Idempotency: Ensuring Safe Repeated Requests

When interacting with the API, it's important to design your requests with idempotency in mind. An idempotent operation ensures that repeating the same request multiple times has the same effect as executing it once.

To achieve this:

Include Idempotency Keys: Attach a unique idempotency key within the request body. This key should remain the same for identical requests. If you receive an identical idempotency key in a subsequent request, you can safely ignore it.

πŸ“ Logging API Responses: A Debugging Lifesaver

Effective logging of API responses can significantly reduce debugging time and improve error resolution. Follow these logging recommendations:

  1. Log Response Details: Capture the entire response body, status code, headers, and any relevant metadata in your logs.

  2. Differentiate Success and Error Responses: Clearly distinguish between successful responses (2xx) and error responses (4xx and 5xx) in your logs. Include contextual information for better understanding.

πŸ” Retry Policies: Weathering Temporary Glitches

API interactions may occasionally face transient issues. Implementing a retry policy can help navigate these challenges:

  1. Exponential Backoff: In the event of a failed request, implement an exponential backoff strategy. Increase the delay between each retry to avoid overwhelming the API with repeated requests.

  2. Retry Libraries: Leverage retry policy libraries available for different languages and frameworks to simplify retry logic implementation.

    • Python: tenacity 🐍 (GitHub: tenacity)
    • JavaScript (Node.js): async-retry 🌐 (GitHub: async-retry)
    • Java: resilience4j β˜• (GitHub: resilience4j)
    • Ruby: retryable πŸ’Ž (GitHub: retryable)
    • .NET (C#): Polly 🎯 (GitHub: Polly)
    • Go (Golang): retry 🐹 (GitHub: retry)

πŸ“’ User-Agent Header: Your Calling Card

Including a User-Agent header in your API requests is not only a good practice but also a requirement for proper identification:

  1. Format: The User-Agent header should follow the format: "Your-App-Name/Your-App-Version".

  2. Identification: This header helps Payze identify the source of requests, enabling better support and troubleshooting if needed.

By following these best practices, you'll ensure a seamless experience when integrating with the API. Remember that idempotency ensures safe repeated requests, logging responses aids in debugging, retry policies handle transient glitches, and the User-Agent header is your calling card for identification.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, don't hesitate to reach out to our support team. Happy API interactions! πŸš€