Inventory Management API Documentation:

This API provides functionalities to manage an inventory system for electronic parts. It allows users to add, retrieve, update, and delete parts. Users can also check quantities and search for parts based on specific characteristics.

Please download the requirements in requirements.txt before running main.py and test.py

1. Adding a Part Method: PUT

Endpoint: /part/

Request Parameters:

sku (int, required): Stock Keeping Unit, the part's unique id

class_name (str, required): Class of part. Valid values are 'resistor', 'solder', 'wire', 'display_cable', and 'ethernet_cable'.

quantity (int, required): Quantity of the part.

Additional parameters depend on the type of part being added.

Examples:

Adding a resistor

import requests url = 'http://127.0.0.1:5000/part/' # 'http://127.0.0.1:5000' can be replaced by your specific API's url data = { "sku": 12345, "class_name": "resistor", "quantity": 100, "resistance": 100, # Specific to resistors "tolerance": 5 # Specific to resistors } response = requests.put(url, json=data) print(response.status_code) # Expected: 201

Adding a solder

data = { "sku": 54321, "class_name": "solder", "quantity": 50, "solder_type": "lead", # Specific to solders "solder_length": 1.5 # Specific to solders } response = requests.put(url, json=data) print(response.status_code) # Expected: 201

2. Getting a Part Method: GET

Endpoint: /part/int:sku

Path Parameter:

sku (int, required): Stock Keeping Unit of the part.

Example:

import requests url = 'http://127.0.0.1:5000/part/12345' response = requests.get(url) print(response.status_code) # Expected: 200 print(response.json()) # Returns details of the part with SKU 12345

3. Deleting a Part Method: DELETE

Endpoint: /part/int:sku

Path Parameter:

sku (int, required): Stock Keeping Unit of the part to be deleted.

Example:

import requests url = 'http://127.0.0.1:5000/part/12345' response = requests.delete(url) print(response.status_code) # Expected: 204 (No Content)

4. Getting Quantity of a Part Method: GET

Endpoint: /quantity/int:sku

Path Parameter:

sku (int, required): Stock Keeping Unit of the part.

Example:

import requests url = 'http://127.0.0.1:5000/quantity/12345' response = requests.get(url) print(response.status_code) # Expected: 200 print(response.json()) # Returns {"sku": 12345, "quantity": }

5. Updating Quantity of a Part Method: PATCH

Endpoint: /inventory/

Request Parameters:

sku (int, required): Stock Keeping Unit of the part. quantity (int, required): New quantity of the part.

Example:

import requests url = 'http://127.0.0.1:5000/inventory/' data = { "sku": 12345, "quantity": 150 # New quantity } response = requests.patch(url, json=data) print(response.status_code) # Expected: 200

6. Getting Inventory Method: GET

Endpoint: /inventory/

Example:

import requests url = 'http://127.0.0.1:5000/inventory/' response = requests.get(url) print(response.status_code) # Expected: 200 print(response.json()) # Returns details of all parts in inventory

7. Searching for Parts Method: GET

Endpoint: /search/

Request Parameters:

Parameters depend on the type of part being searched for.

Example:

import requests url = 'http://127.0.0.1:5000/search/' params = { "class_name": "resistor", "resistance": 100, # Specific to resistor "tolerance": 5 # Specific to resistor } response = requests.get(url, params=params) print(response.status_code) # Expected: 200 print(response.json()) # Returns list of resistors with resistance 100 and tolerance 5

Overall Design:

This API is a REST API designed using Flask and Flask-RESTful for creating RESTful endpoints. I chose to create a REST API because REST APIs are quite lightweight and commonly used, so there is lots of documentation on how to create one.

Regarding the tools and libraries used to create this API, Flask-RESTful allows for easy error handling through the use of its abort statement. SQLAlchemy is used for database management. Each type of part is modeled as a subclass of a common PartModel, enabling polymorphic behavior and efficient querying. Request parsing is done using reqparse to ensure valid input data. Responses are formatted using fields and marshal to maintain consistency. The API has a modular design with separate resources for different operations. This makes the code simpler to read, thus making it more maintainable.