FastAPI: The Modern Python Framework For Web Developers

In this blog post, we’ll take a look into FastAPI, a rapidly rising Python web framework known for its speed, developer-friendliness, and versatility. We’ll also explore its core features, use cases, and how it stacks up against other popular frameworks like Django and Flask. Keep reading to learn more.

What is a Web Development Framework?

Before starting to discuss FastAPI, let’s establish a solid understanding of what a web development framework is. To put it in simple words, it’s a developer’s toolbox.

A framework is a collection of pre-written code modules, libraries, classes, and functions that simplify web application development.

These tools handle low-level details such as protocols and thread management, and by doing so they free developers to focus on the core functionality and logic of their applications.

Read More: 7 Must-Know API Trends to Watch Out For in 2024

What is FastAPI?

FastAPI is a modern Python framework that is used for building web applications, especially APIs.

It’s known for its user-friendly approach and clear documentation.  Beyond the standard API building features, FastAPI offers advanced options such as backward WSGI integration.

This versatile framework can be used for various web development needs, from building traditional web pages with Jinja2 templates to creating dynamic applications powered by WebSockets.

What Are the Key Features of FastAPI?

Let’s explore the features that set FastAPI apart and have made it the most popular Python web framework for building modern applications.

1. Automated API Documentation

FastAPI integrates seamlessly with OpenAPI, Swagger UI, and ReDoc. These tools are automatically included, allowing you to generate comprehensive API documentation effortlessly.

This frees you to focus on writing clean code instead of wrangling documentation tools.

2. Rapid Development

FastAPI isn’t just about raw speed. It’s also about streamlining development. The framework comes equipped with a wealth of production-ready components.

This pre-built functionality can significantly accelerate development time, with estimates suggesting a 200-300% improvement.

Moreover, FastAPI integrates seamlessly with data validation and serialization tools that further simplify the API development process.

3. Security Built-In

Security is paramount in any API.  FastAPI recognizes this and incorporates several security features.

It readily supports HTTP Basic authentication, OAuth2 tokens (including JWT tokens), and header API keys that allow you to implement robust access control mechanisms.

4. Minimal Bugs

FastAPI has an auto-completion functionality to suggest and insert code snippets that minimize the chances of typos and other coding mistakes.

All parts of the framework are indeed built with autocompletion in mind which will enable you to write code faster and with fewer errors.

5. Asynchronous Development

FastAPI offers asynchronous endpoints by default. This enables developers to write cleaner and more efficient code, particularly when dealing with non-blocking operations.

The asynchronous nature of FastAPI makes it a perfect choice for modern web applications that demand high responsiveness and scalability.

Read more: What is an API Development? The Things You Should Know

What is FastAPI Used For?

FastAPI’s reputation as a top web framework stems from its extensive use cases and the value it brings to various projects.  Below we’ll explore several use cases of FastAPI.

1. Building Modern, High-Performance APIs

FastAPI was built with APIs in mind.  It offers a powerful and modern alternative to traditional frameworks that allow developers to create robust and high-quality APIs across diverse domains.

Whether it’s crafting microservices or large-scale applications, FastAPI provides a comprehensive toolkit.

FastAPI’s asynchronous nature makes it a standout choice for high-concurrency scenarios. This translates to faster development and applications that can handle multiple requests simultaneously.

2. Developing Microservices

Microservices architectures are a popular choice for building modern applications, and FastAPI is perfectly suited for developing them.

In a microservices approach, applications are broken down into small, independent services. This modularity makes them easier to develop, maintain, and scale.

FastAPI simplifies microservices development in several ways, including:

• Asynchronous Programming: Enables efficient handling of non-blocking operations which is a common scenario in microservices.
• Automatic OpenAPI Documentation: Saves time and effort by automatically generating documentation for each microservice.
• Built For Concurrency: FastAPI’s architecture excels at handling concurrent requests which is essential for distributed microservices.
• Speed and Developer Friendliness: FastAPI allows development teams to build and scale microservices rapidly due to their speed and intuitive nature.

These features altogether make FastAPI a compelling choice for projects that use a microservices architecture.

3. Real-Time Applications

FastAPI’s robust WebSocket support makes it a powerful tool for crafting real-time applications. This capability is particularly valuable in industries like eSports, healthcare, and hospitality where real-time updates and interactions are crucial.

The framework’s asynchronous nature, coupled with WebSockets, allows it to handle numerous concurrent connections efficiently, making FastAPI ideal for applications demanding instant communication.

By seamlessly integrating WebSockets, FastAPI goes beyond traditional REST APIs and enables developers to create dynamic and interactive real-time experiences for various web applications.

4. Machine Learning

FastAPI’s capabilities extend beyond user interfaces. Its seamless integration with powerful machine learning libraries enables developers to create data-driven applications.

This is particularly advantageous because many machine learning tasks inherently involve concurrency, which perfectly aligns with FastAPI’s asynchronous programming nature.

As a result, FastAPI is a great choice for building robust applications that use machine learning models.

5. IoT (Internet of Things) Applications

FastAPI is a great choice for building applications that interact with the Internet of Things (IoT). It allows you to create APIs that can both control IoT devices and collect data from them.

One of FastAPI’s strengths is its ability to handle the continuous flow of information generated by IoT devices efficiently.

This is thanks to its support for asynchronous programming, which allows it to manage multiple requests simultaneously without compromising performance.

6. Custom APIs

Many businesses take advantage of FastAPI’s flexibility to build custom APIs that perfectly align with their unique requirements.

These APIs can serve various purposes, from streamlining internal workflows to enabling seamless integrations with third-party applications.  What’s more, FastAPI even enables businesses to offer custom API services to their customers.

Read more: What is API Modernization? Benefits and Phases

FastAPI: Pros and Cons

FastAPI has rapidly gained popularity as a Python web framework, and for good reason. It offers a wealth of features for developers to build modern and efficient applications. Let’s delve into the key advantages and limitations when working with FastAPI.

Pros

• Data Validation: FastAPI allows you to validate the data type of the developer, even when working with complex nested JSON queries.
• Development Speed: The autocompletion feature in FastAPI streamlines the coding process. By suggesting code snippets as you type, it helps you build applications faster and with less effort.
• JSON Handling: FastAPI seamlessly integrates with OpenAPI and JSON Schema vocabulary. This compatibility enables you to validate and annotate JSON documents.
• GraphQL Support: Building a GraphQL API is a breeze with FastAPI. It can use the graphene-python library to create robust and efficient GraphQL APIs, catering to specific data fetching needs of your front-end applications.
• Robust Authentication: FastAPI offers built-in support for OAuth 2.0 authentication, a widely used industry standard. In addition, it integrates with external authentication providers.

Cons

• Limited Learning Resources: As a relatively new framework, FastAPI’s community and learning resources are still under development.
  Compared to more established frameworks, there might be fewer books, courses, or tutorials readily available.
• Potential For Code Complexity: FastAPI encourages assembling various components to create your application.
  While powerful, this approach can lead to a cluttered main file if not carefully managed. Breaking down your code into smaller, modular files can help address this potential drawback.

FastAPI vs. Other Python Web Frameworks

As the next part of this blog post, we’re going to see how it compares to other popular Python web frameworks including Flask and Django. This comparison will help you understand how FastAPI positions itself within the Python web development landscape.

How FastAPI Compares to Flask?

What is Flask?

Flask is a popular Python framework for building web applications. It falls under the category of microframeworks, meaning it keeps things simple and focused.

Unlike bulkier frameworks, Flask doesn’t force you to use specific tools or libraries.  Instead, it provides a core set of essential components for development such as routing and request handling.

While lightweight, Flask is versatile and can be used to create both basic and complex applications. Common use cases include websites, e-commerce stores (often in conjunction with additional libraries), and even deploying machine learning models.

FastAPI vs. Flask

Now let’s break down the differences between these two web development frameworks:

Focus and Complexity

• Flask: As a lightweight microframework, Flask provides a core set of building blocks (routing, request handling) and allows developers to choose additional libraries as needed.
• FastAPI: It is a full-featured framework that offers everything you need to build an API. It’s more opinionated in its approach, with built-in features for data validation, security, and asynchronous programming.

Performance

• Flask: Relies on the standard WSGI interface, which can be less performant for highly concurrent applications.
• FastAPI: Uses the ASGI specification and the asyncio library that enables efficient handling of multiple requests simultaneously. This makes FastAPI a strong choice for high-performance APIs and real-time applications.

Data Validation

• Flask: Lacks built-in data validation. Developers need to manually implement checks to ensure data integrity, which can be error-prone and time-consuming.
• FastAPI: Simplifies development by offering data validation as a core feature. Developers can define validation rules for parameters to make sure that the API receives the expected data format.

Documentation

• Flask: Documentation needs to be written manually.
• FastAPI: Offers automatic documentation generation.  As you develop your API, FastAPI creates a user-friendly interface with live testing capabilities without the need for separate documentation efforts.

Community Support

• Flask: Being a more established framework, Flask has a larger and more active community.
• FastAPI:  A younger but rapidly growing framework. While its community is smaller, it’s steadily gaining momentum, and resources are becoming more abundant.

Fast API vs. Flask: Which One You Should Pick?

If raw speed and performance are your top priorities, FastAPI must be your ultimate choice. Building a high-traffic Content Delivery Network (CDN)? FastAPI’s cutting-edge technology and pre-built project templates will have you up and running quickly.

It excels at handling APIs, particularly within a microservices architecture. The only reason to consider Flask for APIs might be if your existing infrastructure heavily relies on Flask tooling.

On the other hand, for simple microservices with a handful of endpoints, Flask is a good option.  It’s also a great fit for data science projects, including building machine learning models and web application prototypes.

Furthermore, Flask is ideal for projects that might start small but have the potential for rapid, unforeseen growth. Its simplicity and minimal dependencies make it easy to scale up while maintaining smooth operation.

How FastAPI Compares to Django?

What is Django?

Django is a free and open-source web framework built entirely on Python. It is a powerful foundation for developing dynamic websites.

This framework simplifies web development by handling many common tasks behind the scenes, allowing developers to focus on core functionality without getting bogged down in low-level details.

FastAPI vs. Django

Here’s a comparison of the main strengths of Django and FastAPI:

Philosophy

• Django: Django is a full-fledged framework that offers a comprehensive set of tools for building complex web applications.
• FastAPI: In contrast, FastAPI is a minimalist framework focused on speed and asynchronous programming that is ideal for building high-performance APIs and real-time applications.

Maturity

• Django: Django has a longer history (established in 2005) and a larger, more established support community. This translates to readily available resources like courses, tutorials, and forums if you encounter challenges.
• FastAPI: Being a newer framework (2018), FastAPI has a smaller community, but its rapid growth is attracting more resources.

Performance

• FastAPI: FastAPI’s minimalist design makes it lightweight and exceptionally performant.
• Django: Django, while powerful, might not match FastAPI’s raw speed, particularly for applications requiring lightning-fast responsiveness.

Learning Curve

• FastAPI: With its streamlined approach, FastAPI is considered easier to learn, especially for beginners in web development.
• Django: However, Django’s extensive documentation and learning resources can ease the learning curve for those willing to invest the time.

Flexibility

• FastAPI: FastAPI offers greater flexibility in terms of code structure that allows developers more freedom in their coding style.
• Django: Django, on the other hand, enforces a more structured approach and ensures code consistency and maintainability within larger projects.

Fast API vs. Django: Which One You Should Pick?

Django and FastAPI are both popular and reliable Python frameworks trusted by developers worldwide, each with its own strengths. The best choice comes down to your project’s needs and your experience level.

Django excels at building data-driven applications with intricate functionalities. Its built-in Object Relational Mapper (ORM) simplifies database interactions, and its extensive feature set caters to demanding projects.

If building a robust and feature-rich application is your priority, Django is a strong contender.

FastAPI, on the other hand, prioritizes speed and ease of use. Its streamlined design and focus on APIs make it ideal for rapid development, especially when building APIs.

If your project is less complex and getting a working application out quickly is crucial, FastAPI will be a better choice.

Unleash the Power of APIs with BSUPERIOR

As you’ve explored the potential of FastAPI for building modern APIs, you might be considering the next steps to take advantage of this powerful framework.

Look no further than BSUPERIOR, a leading Canadian API development company.  We specialize in developing custom, cutting-edge API solutions that enable businesses to thrive in the digital age.

Our team of API experts understands the unique challenges and opportunities faced by businesses today.  We partner with you to design and develop secure, robust APIs that streamline operations, ignite innovation, and elevate customer engagement.

Whether you’re a large enterprise, a small business, or a budding startup, BSUPERIOR can be your trusted partner in unlocking the transformative power of APIs. So, contact BSUPERIOR today and partner with us to experience the power of next-level API development.