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APIs & Configurations

· 3 min read
Keith Tan
Keith Tan
Web Dev · System Admin

Hello there! Let's explore the difference between APIs and configurations and how they can streamline your projects. Whether you're new to development or experienced, understanding these concepts can help you enhance your project's functionality and customization options.

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Understanding APIs:​

Let's start with APIs. An API, or Application Programming Interface, acts as a bridge between different software applications, allowing them to communicate. In simple terms, APIs enable your project to interact with external services or data sources. For example, you might use an API to retrieve weather forecasts or integrate with social media platforms.

Example API​

OpenAI API
Python

import os
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    api_key=os.environ.get("OPENAI_API_KEY"),
)

GPT_MODEL = "gpt-3.5-turbo-1106"

completion = client.chat.completions.create(
    model = GPT_MODEL,
    response_format={"type": "text"},
    messages=[
        {"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant, skilled in explaining complex programming concepts in simple terms."},
        {"role": "user", "content": "Explain the difference of class and function based views in python."}
    ]
)

print(completion.choices[0].message.content)

Understanding Configurations​

Now, let's talk about configurations. Configurations, or configs, are settings that define how your project behaves and looks. They let you customize aspects like colors, layouts, and domain names without diving into complex code. Configurations make it easy to tailor your project to your preferences and needs.

Example Configuration​

Docusaurus Configuration
docusaurus.config.js

module.exports = {
  title: 'My Docusaurus Site',
  tagline: 'A website for showcasing my projects',

  url: 'https://example.com',
  baseUrl: '/',

  projectName: 'my-docusaurus-site',
  organizationName: 'my-org',

  themeConfig: {
    navbar: {
      title: 'My Site',
      logo: {
        alt: 'My Site Logo',
        src: 'img/logo.svg',
      },
      items: [
        {
          href: 'https://github.com/facebook/docusaurus',
          label: 'GitHub',
          position: 'right',
        },
      ],
    },
    footer: {
      style: 'dark',
      links: [
        {
          title: 'Docs',
          items: [
            {
              label: 'Getting Started',
              to: '/docs/intro',
            },
            {
              label: 'Guides',
              to: '/docs/installation',
            },
          ],
        },
        {
          title: 'Community',
          items: [
            {
              label: 'Stack Overflow',
              href: 'https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/docusaurus',
            },
            {
              label: 'Discord',
              href: 'https://discordapp.com/invite/docusaurus',
            },
          ],
        },
        {
          title: 'More',
          items: [
            {
              label: 'GitHub',
              href: 'https://github.com/facebook/docusaurus',
            },
          ],
        },
      ],
    },
  },
};

Conclusion​

These examples demonstrate how to integrate the OpenAI API into a Python script to generate text and how to configure a Docusaurus project using its configuration file (docusaurus.config.js). You can adapt and use these examples in your own projects as needed.

Thank you

— K