Hi Tip-Sheeters,

This week brings one of the most exciting times of the year for me: the National Football League kicks off its regular season. I'm a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs, and they'll be playing their opener in São Paolo, Brazil (in Arena Corinthians if there are any serious soccer fans out there).

This also means Fantasy Football Season begins!! I'm a huge fantasy football fanatic, and I'll be managing five teams this year. What is fantasy football, you ask? Here is a succinct definition from the FantasyPros Fantasy Football 101:

Fantasy Football, APIs, and AI: A perfect team

Since I enjoy this hobby so much, it was only natural to use it for the examples in my book that came out in April: Hands-on APIs for AI and Data Science. The book's been a success, hitting Amazon #1 New Release when it launched. I've had fun this year speaking and sharing tips from the book.

So how exactly does the book use fantasy football to teach about APIs and AI? Glad you asked.

Every Imaginary Business needs a Website

Part 1 of my book walks readers through the API Product Management Lifecycle: understanding user needs and designing and building a FastAPI REST API to serve them. The business scenario is built on an imaginary website named SportsWorldCentral:

Based on this business scenario, readers design and build the SportsWorldCentral API. This contains API endpoints providing data about players, teams, and scoring:

You'll also learn to deploy the API using Docker, Render, and Amazon Web Services.

Building Data Analytics for Football

With a running API, you're ready to start using it for data science. One of the first projects is building a data app using Streamlit. You'll build a multi-page app with charts and data filters, sourced from the API you built. (Or based on one you can launch with the code repo if you're in a hurry.) Here's the team stats page you'll create:

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Developing Your Own Custom Metrics

Possibly the most fun I had in writing the book was developing a metric that had been bouncing around my head for many years: The Shark League Score. This Metric used a variety of data features to answer the question: Is my fantasy league as tough as I think? The chapter uses sub-metrics like the League Balance Score and League Juice Score to make the final product:

The Big Finish: Using Your API with Generative AI

Part Three of the book gives readers the skills to develop custom AI agents that consume APIs. You'll use products like ChatGPT, LangChain, and Anthropic APIs to chat with your data. Here is a look at the Custom GPT you will develop:

If you really want to get technical, you'll learn to build an AI Agent using LangChain. Here's the architecture you'll implement:

Are You Ready for Football, AI, and APIs?

If you haven't checked checked out the book yet, I'd be flattered if you took a look at it!

Here are two easy options:

• ​Buy it on Amazon in print or eBook
• ​Read it on the O'Reilly online platform​

Hope your fantasy football season is a good one!

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Keep coding,

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Ryan Day

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👉 https://tips.handsonapibook.com/ -- no spam, just a short email every week.

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