Introduction:

This comprehensive hands-on course, designed by Global Horizon Training Center, equips developers and IT professionals with practical skills to design, develop, and deploy efficient APIs and microservices using Python. The workshop will guide participants through core RESTful API principles, modern Python frameworks like Flask and FastAPI, microservice architecture, containerization with Docker, and deployment strategies. By the end of the workshop, participants will have built scalable, modular, and maintainable backend systems.

Objectives:

Participants will be able to:

• Understand REST principles and the structure of HTTP APIs

• Develop APIs using Flask and FastAPI

• Implement authentication, input validation, and error handling

• Design modular microservices using Python

• Use Docker to containerize APIs for microservice deployment

• Deploy services locally and in the cloud using best practices

Target Audience:

• Backend developers and Python programmers

• DevOps engineers and solution architects

• IT professionals interested in microservices architecture

• Software engineers building scalable distributed systems

Outline

Day 1: REST API Foundations and Flask Essentials

• Introduction to APIs and REST architecture

• HTTP methods, status codes, and JSON structures

• RESTful design conventions and best practices

• Setting up a Python environment (virtualenv, pip)

• Introduction to Flask: routing, views, and request/response cycle

• Hands-on: Build a basic Flask API with GET/POST endpoints

Day 2: Flask Advanced Concepts and Modular API Development

• Flask Blueprints and project structure for scalability

• Input validation and error handling with Flask-RESTful

• Implementing CRUD operations in Flask

• Hands-on: Build a mini task/note manager API using Flask

• Optional: Intro to Postman or curl for API testing

• Recap and Q&A

Day 3: FastAPI in Action and Microservice Architecture Design

• Introduction to FastAPI and asynchronous Python

• FastAPI routing, request handling, and Pydantic models

• Built-in documentation with Swagger UI and ReDoc

• Flask vs FastAPI: performance, simplicity, community

• Microservices architecture: overview and use cases

• Hands-on: Rebuild previous API in FastAPI & benchmark

Day 4: Microservices Communication and Security

• Splitting monolithic apps into microservices (User/Auth/Task services)

• HTTP-based synchronous communication between services

• Basics of asynchronous communication (intro to message queues)

• JWT-based authentication and securing endpoints

• API security best practices (CORS, rate limiting intro)

• Hands-on: Implement service interaction and secure endpoints

Day 5: Docker, Testing, and Deployment

• Introduction to Docker: concepts, Dockerfile creation

• Using Docker Compose to manage microservices

• Testing APIs with pytest and request mocking

• Configuration via environment variables

• Deployment overview (Heroku, Render, AWS EC2, etc.)

• Final Project: Build, secure, dockerize, and simulate deployment of a mini e-commerce microservice

• Presentations, feedback, and wrap-up