Create a JSON RESTfull API using Slim framework
Using Slim you can create easy RESTfull websites and API's in seconds, using the simplest and fastest PHP framework.
If you want to create a JSON API in seconds, I've create a Slim extension to handdle json output.
https://github.com/entomb/slim-json-api
1) set up a composer.json file
{
"require": {
"slim/slim": "2.*",
"entomb/slim-json-api": "dev-master"
}
}
2) use $ composer install
to fetch all the code. if you need help check this site: http://getcomposer.org/
3) create a index.php file loading and setting up Slim
require 'vendor/autoload.php';
$app = new \Slim\Slim();
$app->view(new \JsonApiView());
$app->add(new \JsonApiMiddleware());
4) start codding your API using $app->render(CODE, $DATA) to output information.
$app->get('/', function() use ($app) {
$app->render(200,array(
'msg' => 'Welcome to my json API!',
));
});
Result:
GET /
{
"msg":"Welcome to my json API!",
"error":false,
"status":200
}
Written by Jonathan Tavares
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5 Responses
With slim there are ways of creating optional parameters, that example would result in a route like this: /items(/:idParam)(/count)
I realy find Slim the most elegant PHP "router" (wouldn't really call it a framework).
Cheers!,
Slim is a really cool router for PHP - but PHP is not a really cool and fast programming language, especially not for APIs because they need to be fast.
I prefer Node.js with the Express framework, which is providing the same functionality in mostly the same syntax but in really fast.
A few comments. We have created lots of API's both with Node.js and Express, but also in PHP with Slim.
Slim is nice for building RESTful JSON API's. I find Slim paired with an ORM makes for an awesome tool kit for coding API's quickly. Also I would take out the "status":200 and use HTTP Headers to make it true REST.
Great tip though, more people should check out Slim.
You should say about this line also:
$app->run();
As a beginner it wasted my 2hours.
Try to make your REST API jsonapi.org compliant