Conquer Large API Requests: Essential Strategies to Reduce Network Load

This blog post explores key strategies to manage large API requests efficiently and minimize network load. Techniques like pagination, compression, caching, throttling, asynchronous processing, data filtering, and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)  empower developers to optimize API performance.

When dealing with API requests that are too large for network load, consider these strategies:

Pagination

• Break large data sets into smaller "pages"
• Request and display data in chunks

Example: A social media app loads 20 posts at a time. When you scroll to the bottom, it loads the next 20 posts.

Compression

• Compress data before sending
• Decompress on the receiving end
• Reduces overall data size

Example: A weather app compresses forecast data before sending it. Your phone decompresses it to display the weather.

Caching

• Store frequently accessed data locally
• Reduces need for repeated large requests

Example: A news app stores today's headlines on your device. It only updates when new stories are available.

Throttling

• Limit the number of requests per time period https://vulehuan.com/en/blog/2024/7/managing-api-traffic-flow-a-guide-to-rate-limiting-strategies-668bd7b3f0915ca45912b942.html
• Prevents overloading the server

Example: A stock market app limits you to 100 price checks per minute to prevent overload.

Asynchronous Processing

• Send request
• Receive notification when data is ready
• Retrieve data in smaller parts

Example: You request a large report from a school database. It notifies you when it's ready, then you download it in sections.

Data Filtering

• Request only necessary data
• Use query parameters to specify exact needs

Example: Instead of getting all student data, you request only names and grades for a specific class.

Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)

• Distribute data across multiple servers
• Users access nearest server for faster loading

Example: A video streaming service stores popular movies on servers worldwide. You connect to the nearest one for faster streaming.

By implementing these techniques, you can manage large API requests more efficiently and reduce network load.