Episode 90: You Wouldn't Mock a Python: Mocking Data for Vue Applicationss

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Our focus in today's episode is more on the technical side of things and we get right into the weeds on the subject of how to continue your development work when you do not have all the API information you need. We speak about a bunch of options at your disposal, some of which we have tried and some that we have merely heard of, but whichever route you choose, this is definitely something you need to be able to do! Tuning in, you will hear about some recommended resources and tools for the processes of creating mock data and fake responses, and how to approach the data structure and model for the best results. We also get into some thoughts on the responsibilities related to APIs and why considering the different kinds of brains and machines that might be interpreting the data can help us format it most effectively. To finish off, we list a few of our wins and losses in the domain, before getting into this week's fun picks, including a novel, a TV show, a Japanese word game and more!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Our past strategies to deal with an endpoint that is not yet ready to integrate with. 
• The packages, across different languages that can help in the process.  
• More online resources for finding necessary responses and elusive information.   
• The value of creating fake responses for a working API. 
• Approaches to data and making it readable for different types of people and machines.
• Data structure, sources of truth, and defining the data model. 
• Whose responsibility is it to maintain APIs? 
• Jumping off points for learning more about mocking data and playing with APIs.
• Mistakes and successes working with mock data and APIs! 
• This week's picks: books, Japanese crosswords, cookies, and Superstore!

Tweetables:

“Today, we're talking about what to do when the API endpoint that you need to integrate with isn't ready yet, but you need to still continue development.” — Ari [0:00:21]

“Sometimes you need to actually be able to figure out the integration part of the API before the API is ready.” — Ari [0:06:16]

“If you're wanting to be able to run tests quickly, having to run your tests against an actual API, that can take a while.” — Alex [0:10:07]

“I do you feel like data transformation is one of the most painful parts of dealing with APIs, especially when the API is not in place.” — Tessa [0:12:40]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

• Hypothesis
• Mockoon
• Httpbin
• Mock service worker
• RedwoodJS
• OpenAPI spec
• Swagger
• https://github.com/Surnet/swagger-jsdoc
• Cypress Intercept
• ​​Mock API Server Online Testing & API Mocking Guide, Stoplight
• ​​Setting up mock servers, Postman
• ​​Mocking by API, Postman
• API Mocking: Best Practices & Tips for Getting Started, SoapUI
• Amina’s episode

This weeks picks:

• Alex
  • The Gilded Ones, Namina Forna
• Ari
  • Superstore, NBC (television show)
• Tessa
  • J-crosswords, renshuu (Android, iOS)
  • Trader Joe’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • Review: Sweet on Trader Joe’s: Chocolate Chip Cookies, Bake at 350

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