13 Practical Ways To Improve
API Performance
Practical Tips & Tools
By SHAILESH SHAKYA @BEGINNERSBLOG.ORG
1. Caching
How it Works: Stores API responses
temporarily to avoid re-fetching the same data.
Tool: Redis (in-memory data store)
Code Example (Python - Flask):
By SHAILESH SHAKYA @BEGINNERSBLOG.ORG
Client-Side (HTTP Headers)
Instruct browsers/clients to cache responses.
Example (Flask Response Header):
By SHAILESH SHAKYA @BEGINNERSBLOG.ORG
Content Delivery Networks
(CDNs):
Distribute your API globally for faster delivery.
Tools: Cloudflare, AWS CloudFront
By SHAILESH SHAKYA @BEGINNERSBLOG.ORG
2. Efficient Data Handling
Key Idea: Send only the data that's
needed.
Tool: JSON serialization libraries (Python:
json, JavaScript: JSON.stringify)
Code Example (Python - Flask):
By SHAILESH SHAKYA @BEGINNERSBLOG.ORG
3. Rate Limiting
How it Works: Restricts the number of
requests from a user in a time frame.
Tool: Flask-Limiter (Python)
Code Example (Python - Flask):
By SHAILESH SHAKYA @BEGINNERSBLOG.ORG
4. Load Balancing
How it Works: Distributes traffic across
multiple servers for better performance.
Tool: NGINX, HAProxy
By SHAILESH SHAKYA @BEGINNERSBLOG.ORG
5. Monitoring & Optimization
Tools:
New Relic (comprehensive
monitoring)
Prometheus (open-source
monitoring)
Grafana (visualization for metrics)
By SHAILESH SHAKYA @BEGINNERSBLOG.ORG
6. Database Optimization
#1. Indexing (PostgreSQL): Create an index on the
product_name column:
#2. Query Tuning (MySQL): Use EXPLAIN to
analyze queries and identify optimizations.
#3. Batching: Fetch data in batches to reduce
round trips to the database.
#4. ORM Optimization (SQLAlchemy):
By SHAILESH SHAKYA @BEGINNERSBLOG.ORG
7. Data Serialization
JSON Optimization: Use libraries like
RapidJSON or ujson (Python) for faster parsing.
Protocol Buffers: Ideal for internal
communication between services.
Tool: protoc (compiler)
By SHAILESH SHAKYA @BEGINNERSBLOG.ORG
8. Network Optimization
Compression (Flask): Enable Gzip
compression in your web server
configuration.
By SHAILESH SHAKYA @BEGINNERSBLOG.ORG
9. API Design
Pagination (Flask-SQLAlchemy):
Filtering and Sorting: Allow clients to specify
filters and sort orders to get the data they
need.
By SHAILESH SHAKYA @BEGINNERSBLOG.ORG
10. Architectural
Considerations
API Gateway (Kong): Centralized
management of authentication, rate limiting,
and routing.
By SHAILESH SHAKYA @BEGINNERSBLOG.ORG
11. Load Test Your API
Why: Find out how your API behaves under
stress.
How: Use tools like Locust or k6 to simulate
a large number of users hitting your API.
By SHAILESH SHAKYA @BEGINNERSBLOG.ORG
12. Profile Your Code
Why: Pinpoint specific lines of code that
are slowing things down.
How: Use profilers like cProfile (Python) or
the built-in Node.js profiler.
By SHAILESH SHAKYA @BEGINNERSBLOG.ORG
Additional Tips
Choose the Right Database: Consider NoSQL
databases like MongoDB for flexible schemas or
Redis for caching.
Upgrade to HTTP/2: Take advantage of features
like multiplexing and header compression.
Cache Authorization Decisions: Avoid repeating
authorization checks for the same user or token.
GraphQL: Query language for APIs, allows
clients to request only the data they need.
gRPC: High-performance RPC (Remote Procedure
Call) framework.
Serverless Architectures: Run your API code
without managing servers (e.g., AWS Lambda,
Azure Functions).
By SHAILESH SHAKYA @BEGINNERSBLOG.ORG
Created by Shailesh Shakya
@BEGINNERSBLOG.ORG
LIKE COMMENT REPOST SAVE
