Use of R-Based APIs (Application Programming Interface) to Obtain Data

The purpose of this lesson is to demonstrate how R-Based APIs (Application Programming Interface) functions are used to obtain data so that reproducible syntax is used to acquire data and therefore avoid the cumbersome and opaque process of using graphical (e.g., GUI) point and click menus to obtain data. The use of R-based API functions, serving as data retrieval clients, is now so popular that many API functions have an added feature that data are returned in a tidy format. Much work still needs to be done to expand the number and ease of use of these data retrieval clients, but R functions that return data in tidy format are a great advantage over prior data retrieval processes. This lesson also stresses the use of the way a key (e.g., a proxy for a resource-specific password), freely and easily obtained, is used to further advance the use of R-based data retrieval functions (e.g., clients).