FastAPI Video Series - Lesson 1

What is FastAPI? Why Use It?

Welcome to the first lesson of our FastAPI series!

In this lesson, you’re introduced to the fundamental concepts of FastAPI—a modern, high-performance web framework for building APIs with Python.

Overview

FastAPI is designed to be fast, efficient, and easy to use.

It leverages modern Python features like type hints to create code that is not only more reliable but also self-documenting.

In this lesson, you'll learn how FastAPI distinguishes itself from traditional frameworks such as Flask and Django and why it is becoming the go-to tool for API development.

What You Will Learn

FastAPI’s Purpose and Benefits

• Modern & High-Performance: Built for speed, leveraging asynchronous programming to handle multiple requests concurrently.
• Type Safety: Utilizes Python type hints to enforce data types, reducing bugs and improving code clarity.
• Automatic Documentation: It generates interactive API documentation with minimal configuration, making your API easy to use and understand.

Installing FastAPI and Uvicorn

• FastAPI Installation: Learn how to install FastAPI using pip, the package installer for Python.
• Uvicorn – The ASGI Server: Understand the role of Uvicorn in running your FastAPI application quickly and efficiently.

Running Your First FastAPI App ("Hello, World!")

• Creating a Minimal App: Follow along as you create a simple FastAPI application.
• Setting Up a Route: Define your first route and see how easily FastAPI handles it.
• Instant Feedback: Watch your app respond with a JSON message and explore the automatically generated documentation provided at /docs.

Key Takeaways

By the end of Lesson 1, you should understand:

• FastAPI’s Role: Why FastAPI stands out among Python web frameworks.
• Environment Setup: How to install the necessary packages to get started.
• Practical Application: How to create and run a minimal “Hello, World!” FastAPI application.

Ready to dive in?

Grab your favorite code editor, install FastAPI, and start experimenting with your first app.

If you have any questions or encounter any challenges, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments for support.

Happy coding!

GitHub repository: https://github.com/nunombispo/FastAPI-Series---Lesson-1

What's Next?

In Lesson 2, we’ll step up by building your first API endpoints, exploring GET and POST routes, and handling dynamic requests with path and query parameters.