Chapter 4: Query a Web Resource — Computational Thinking and Problem Solving

Now that we know the basics about functions and modules, we can use them as our ticket into the worldwide community of software developers. While we might begin by building our own reusable components (i.e., functions) and sharing them with the Python community, in this chapter we’ll learn how to write a script using functions others have built and shared. In particular, we’ll use their functions to access information available on the Internet. It’s time to use what we know to interact with the world! Learning Outcomes In this chapter, you will learn how to query networked resources through their application programming interface and the use libraries built by others. The scripts we’ll write will give us access to the collective knowledge of the world. In particular, by the end of the chapter, you will be able to: Find and use powerful Python packages and libraries [design]; Describe the purpose and importance of an application programming interface (API) and know where to go to find p

Now that we know the basics about functions and modules, we can use them as our ticket into the worldwide community of software developers. While we might begin by building our own reusable components (i.e., functions) and sharing them with the Python community, in this chapter we’ll learn how to write a script using functions others have built and shared. In particular, we’ll use their functions to access information available on the Internet. It’s time to use what we know to interact with the world! Learning Outcomes In this chapter, you will learn how to query networked resources through th