PostgreSQL API: What it is and How to Create One

PostgreSQL APIs let applications interact with Postgres databases, perform CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations, and manage database schemas. Keep reading to learn more about how APIs help you maximize your databases. 

Understanding PostgreSQL APIs 

The term’ PostgreSQL API’ can refer to different means of interacting programmatically with a PostgreSQL database, such as: 

• Libraries: Programming languages feature their own libraries that offer functions to execute SQL queries and manage the database. Examples include pyscopg2 for Python and pg-promise for Node.js. 

• Drivers: You can connect a Java application to a PostgreSQL database using the PostgreSQL JDBC (Java Database Connectivity) driver. Postgres also supports ODBC (Open Database Connectivity), another standardized API, with the official psqlODBC driver. 

• Object-Relational Mappers (ORMs): Tools such as SQLAlchemy (Python) and Sequelize (Node.js) abstract the application-database interaction by mapping database tables as objects in the application code. 

• Embedded Functions: PostgreSQL supports server-side programming, so you can write complex logic directly in your database using a language like pgSQL. 

What is a PostgreSQL REST API? 

A PostgreSQL REST API is a web service that uses HTTP requests to enable an application to interact with a PostgreSQL database. It uses standard HTTP methods such as GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE instead of traditional database querying languages such as SQL. 

The term is often used interchangeably with ‘PostgreSQL APIs’. However, the major difference is that PostgreSQL REST APIs specifically involve a web-based interface, REST principles, and HTTP methods.

REST APIs generally return data in the JSON format. You can secure these APIs using OAuth, API keys, and JSON Web Tokens (JWT), limiting data access and manipulation rights to authorized users. 

Here’s a quick look at the primary API concepts:

A software architectural style built as a reference for the World Wide Web’s architecture. REST (or RESTful) APIs follow its principles, including: 

• Statelessness: Each request has all the information needed to complete it, so the server doesn’t need to store any information, completing each request independently from all other requests. 

• Uniform Interface: All information is transferred in a standardized format. 

• Cacheability: Each response must include whether it is cacheable and for how long the client can cache it. For subsequent requests, the client can return data from its cache instead of sending requests to the server, improving the API’s response time and performance.

HTTP Methods 

REST APIs use HTTP methods to perform CRUD database operations. These methods include:

The Need for a PostgreSQL REST API 

The need for a PostgreSQL REST API is driven mainly by modern application development and evolution. Applications today prioritize scalability, integration, ease of use, and security. REST APIs are a flexible way of exposing PostgreSQL databases to many different clients and services.

PostgreSQL REST APIs are essential for 5 primary reasons:  

1. Universal Accessibility 

REST APIs’ platform agnosticism ensures they’re accessible from virtually any environment, with HTTP support being the only caveat. This allows REST APIs to be used by various mediums, including mobile devices, web browsers, and IoT (Internet of Things) devices.  

2. Easy Integration 

Modern applications depend heavily on third-party integration to access critical data and offer value-added services. Examples of integration platforms include payment gateways for e-commerce, social media platforms for sharing and networking, and cloud services for data storage.

A REST API conveniently connects PostgreSQL databases with these services to facilitate data exchange. 

3. Faster Development 

Tight timelines can require accelerated development efforts. REST APIs enable demarcation between the front end (the user interface) and the back end (the database and server-side logic). Such decoupling allows developers to work independently on the front and back end, enabling faster development. 

4. Performance Improvements 

REST APIs are useful in high-traffic environments where load management and performance optimizations are significant concerns.

These APIs allow concurrent handling of requests by deploying multiple instances of an API service. Additionally, caching mechanisms ease the load on Postgres databases by providing cached responses to frequent requests. All these measures improve performance. 

5. Expansion and Revenue Generation 

Exposing your data and services through a REST API can reward your business with a broader reach and increased revenue. Such exposure enables your partners and third-party developers to leverage your platform and build new applications and services, increasing your impact.

You can also benefit from a growing API economy and monetize your APIs by implementing one of many available payment models. You can choose from pay-per-use, pay-per-transaction, subscription, freemium, or revenue-sharing plans and turn your APIs into a viable revenue stream.

PostgreSQL API Use Cases

According to Statista, PostgreSQL is among the most heavily used databases globally. Its widespread usage and versatility make PostgreSQL APIs the right choice in numerous scenarios with wide-ranging use cases.

Web and Mobile Applications

Dynamic mobile and web applications extensively use real-time data to deliver updated content to users. Real-time data retrieval drives social media usage, but it’s also necessary for e-banking and online shopping platforms. These applications use APIs to retrieve data from the appropriate databases.

PostgreSQL APIs help with user management in these apps, handling functions such as signup, authentication, authorization, and subsequent changes in user information. 

Lastly, these APIs facilitate data synchronization across multiple channels. Consider a clothing store that wants to keep inventory data consistent across its apps, website, physical stores, and warehouses or a bank that wants to sync transaction data across virtual and physical channels. PostgreSQL APIs can update inventory and transaction data (stored in Postgres databases) in real-time.

Data Integration

PostgreSQL APIs can readily integrate enterprise data with ERP systems CRMs to ensure data consistency across the board.

These APIs can also be employed in ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes. They can collect data from different sources, apply the required transformations, and load it into Postgres databases.

API-driven automated ETL processes help you maintain an updated data repository (whether lake or warehouse) for BI (Business Intelligence) applications with less effort.

Healthcare Applications

Postgres APIs are used in the healthcare sector primarily to streamline administrative workloads, but they also facilitate treatment and improve patient experience.

These APIs can ensure that healthcare professionals can access the most updated patient information and modify it when required. This creates an accurate medical history, a critical factor in inappropriate treatment and care.

Lastly, APIs can also impact medical research by enabling researchers to access and analyze clinical data stored in PostgreSQL databases. In doing so, APIs can accelerate medical innovation.

Analytics and Reporting

PostgreSQL APIs let BI tools directly query Postgres databases through endpoints for accessing analytical data. This accelerates dashboarding and reporting. It also gets relevant insights to stakeholders on time so they can make informed decisions.

You can create custom reports simply by querying the API for specific datasets. This feature is useful when different departments use the same data source to obtain specific insights. For example, consider a centralized Postgres database of sales data for a national retail chain:

• Marketing teams can use customer information for targeted advertising. 

• Inventory management personnel can monitor inventory levels to minimize over- or understocking. 

• The customer service department can analyze customer reviews and feedback to identify improvement opportunities.

• Human Resources can monitor sales staff performance. 

• Finance can assess the revenue each store is generating. 

IoT Applications 

Postgres APIs can link IoT devices and PostgreSQL databases for consistent telemetry data transfer. This is necessary for many IoT applications — such as industrial automation solutions and smart home systems — where real-time monitoring is vital for safety and functionality.

APIs enable remote management and configuration of IoT devices and trigger certain events based on the data generated by them.

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How to Create a PostgreSQL REST API

Depending on your use case, you can create a PostgreSQL REST API in three different ways.

Manual Development 

Conventional API development with manual coding involves using frameworks such as Django or Flask (for Python) and Express (for Node.js).

This method offers customization options and control over the API since you’re building it from scratch. However, it’s time and labor-intensive and requires substantial proficiency in coding and your programming language and framework of choice.

PostgREST 

PostgREST is a standalone web server that can directly turn a PostgreSQL database into a RESTful API.

It helps meet rapid prototyping requirements or applications where the API’s structure is directly influenced by the database schema (i.e., an API’s endpoints, parameters, and responses are built based on a database’s tables, columns, and relationships).

API Management Platforms 

API Management tools provide various features that extend beyond API design and development. These platforms allow you to monitor, secure, and manage the complete API lifecycle, and expose RESTful endpoints through Postgres integration. 

The Pros and Cons of PostgREST

There are both pros and cons to implementing PostgREST APIs. Understanding them helps you make the most of these APIs. Here’s an overview:

Pros: 

• Automatic API generation minimizes the coding effort so that developers can focus on application logic instead. 

• Since PostgREST uses the database schema to generate endpoints, the API will immediately reflect any changes in the database. 

• The tool is optimized for performance, so it efficiently handles database connections and query generation. 

• It offers various security measures, such as role-based access control and permissions for database operations and integrates with JWT for secure data transfer. 

Cons: 

• PostgREST is highly effective for basic CRUD operations, but working with more complex business logic can be difficult and require external custom development. 

• Developing custom workflows or integrating PostgREST with third-party systems requires additional tools or manual coding. 

• Fully leveraging PostgREST requires understanding its more advanced features, such as foreign keys, transactions, inheritance, and window functions.

How to Create a PostgreSQL without Code

The following example shows how to create PostgreSQL APIs without writing a single line of code. The example uses Astera API Management to create CRUD APIs on a database table (Orders) stored in a PostgreSQL database.

• You’ll start by setting up a PostgreSQL connection in the Data Source Browser and entering credentials in the highlighted fields. 

• All databases available in the PostgreSQL account will appear in the browser. Choose the option to Generate CRUD Flows from the context menu of one of the databases. 

• Choose the tables for which you want to generate APIs and the CRUD operations you want to expose via APIs. All CRUD operations for the database table Orders are selected in this example.

• Make any necessary customizations and click Generate. CRUD API flows are automatically generated and appear in the Project Explorer. The following image shows auto-generated GET All Orders API. Similarly, API flows are automatically created for all operations. 

• You can deploy the folder to create an API product.

• After deployment, all the endpoints in this API product will appear in the Server Browser.

• You can generate Test Flows for deployed APIs to test the response. 

• Here’s a response to a request to the GET All Orders API endpoint. 

Summing It Up 

The interplay between PostgreSQL databases and Postgres APIs enables you to build high-performance applications. The former provides reliable data management capabilities, while the latter has the tools to facilitate effective interactions.

By leveraging them both, you can enjoy simplified development, cross-language and platform support, faster performance, better security, and increased scalability.

Astera API Management: A No-Code All-in-One API Solution 

Ready to start benefiting from PostgreSQL APIs? Looking for a tool that gives you all the customization and control of manual development — without the code? 

Enter Astera API Management. 

Astera API Management is your all-in-one solution for creating and managing APIs. With a host of built-in features and an intuitive interface, Astera APIM simplifies API consumption, design, testing, security, publishing, and monitoring to cover you at every step of the API lifecycle.

Start your trial today, or contact our team for more information.