How to Make API Requests (PUT, POST, GET, DELETE) in PHP
Making HTTP requests to APIs is a common task when working with external services in PHP. You can handle different request types such as GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE using a flexible function with cURL. Below is an example that demonstrates how to create such a function for all these HTTP methods.
function callApiMethod($method, $url, $data = array()) {
$curl = curl_init($url);
switch ($method) {
case "POST":
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POST, 1);
if ($data)
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $data);
break;
case "PUT":
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST, "PUT");
if ($data)
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $data);
break;
default:
if ($data)
$url = sprintf("%s?%s", $url, http_build_query($data));
}
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, $url);
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, array('Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded'));
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_HTTPAUTH, CURLAUTH_BASIC);
$result = curl_exec($curl);
if (!$result) {
die("Connection Failure");
}
curl_close($curl);
return $result;
}
Explanation
callApiMethod()is a versatile function using cURL to handle different HTTP methods. The$methodparameter allows specifying the HTTP method, such as GET, POST, PUT, or DELETE.curl_init()initializes a new cURL session for the given URL.- For POST and PUT requests, the
CURLOPT_POSTandCURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUESToptions are used, respectively, to indicate the method being used. - If data is supplied, it is sent as the body of the request using
CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS. - The
curl_exec()function sends the request, and the response is returned. - If any errors occur during the cURL execution, the function will terminate and display an error message.
- The function returns the API response or a failure message in case of an error.
Usage Example
Here’s how to use the callApiMethod() function to make requests to an API.
// Example GET request
$response = callApiMethod('GET', 'https://api.example.com/users/123');
var_dump($response);
// Example POST request
$data = array('name' => 'John Doe', 'email' => 'john@example.com');
$headers = array('Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN');
$response = callApiMethod('POST', 'https://api.example.com/users', $data);
var_dump($response);
// Example PUT request
$data = array('email' => 'john.new@example.com');
$response = callApiMethod('PUT', 'https://api.example.com/users/123', $data);
var_dump($response);
// Example DELETE request
$response = callApiMethod('DELETE', 'https://api.example.com/users/123');
var_dump($response);
Conclusion
This function allows you to perform all essential HTTP requests to APIs using PHP’s cURL extension. Customize it further by adding headers or modifying how data is sent to suit your needs. This simple yet versatile approach ensures that you can interact with any API smoothly from your PHP applications.
For more detailed cURL options, refer to the PHP cURL Documentation.
