If deployed, the app is live on the internet and anyone can use its features. To reiterate, the app can still be built and tested locally without deploying in case you did not want to set up a Netlify account. “…everything you need to build fast, modern websites: continuous deployment, serverless functions, and so much more.” This key is not safe on the front-end, but we will add it later to our Netlify account after deployment. We will only need to write two functions to achieve our end goal.įurthermore, we want to use a serverless function because we will have a RapidAPI key that needs to be kept secret. I chose to use jQuery (instead of ReactJS) to show how little needs to be done to get a useful app up and running on the internet with this API. The app will combine some old school Javascript - libraries like jQuery and Bootstrap - with some of the new school serverless function options. Build and Deploy a JavaScript Dictionary App We will use the API as a one-off word search, but it could also be used as an embedded tool inside another word processing application. You can also check out some of the other dictionary APIs that appear when searching on RapidAPI to see how they compare. The average latency, as of the time of writing, is 134ms and which is low. The monthly plan is only $10 and kicks the quota up to 25,000 per day. The basic plan for WordsAPI covers 2500 requests a day, then $0.004 per request after that. The pricing hints at perceived use cases. Member of (family name if the biological taxonomic rank is relevant).Has parts (“house” may return a list with ‘roofing’, ‘masonry’, ‘plumbing’, etc.).The more interesting endpoints explore how a word relates to other words in the real world. When a single word is retrieved it may contain information including: The WordsAPI allows programs to retrieve varied, and sometimes extensive, information on English words. I will describe the API briefly, however, you can also view the first part of this great post that explains the API and has a few more images. If this is your first time using APIs, or want some more background, you can check out this article before we dig any deeper. Targeting the right audience with an app - perhaps by exploring the API yourself - can open up the possibility of creating a dictionary application that someone had only dreamed could exist.Ī great example of a dictionary API that provides some of the uncommon information, as well as all the basic word information, is the WordsAPI. Different dictionary and word APIs can have their own special niche of information that they provide. However, what can separate a normal app from a great dictionary app can depend on the completeness of the information it provides.Ī single definition can be misleading and, without context, unhelpful. There are many easy ways to look up words these days.