Python or Postman to call APIs

[kristalklug]

Hi.

I can't seem to get a straight answer as to which is the easiest program to extract lead activity data. Here are my questions and any hep would be great.

1. Which program would be the easiest to use (with the least amount of coding) to extract lead activity data such as "name of email sent", "lead first name", "lead last name", and "created date".
2. Does Postman need Python if the data I am trying to extract is too or vice versa?
3. Can Postman merge leads?
4. Can Python export lead activity?

Thanks for your help!

[Darshil_Shah1]

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1. Which program would be the easiest to use (with the least amount of coding) to extract lead activity data such as "name of email sent", "lead first name", "lead last name", and "created date".

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Postman doesn't need any coding- you need to configure the API calls right (i.e., have the correct base URL, path, parameters, headers, and body) added to make a successful API call. Also, it just requires a desktop client/you can even use the online version too. It's a bit easier to install and get started using it than Python. For Python, you'd need to install additional packages to make API calls (e.g., requests package) in addition to installing Python itself, which isn't the case with Postman. However, Python gives you more flexibility in terms of how can you process and slice/dice the data that you've got as a response. I'd say both are good options, it just matters what's your purpose of using API.

Does Postman need Python if the data I am trying to extract is too or vice versa?

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There's no dependency b/w Python and Postman, you can use Postman w/o having Python, and vice versa. Did you miss an adjective after too?

Can Postman merge leads?

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Yes, use the Merge leads API call.

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Can Python export lead activity?

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It certainly can, and Postman can too. Just use the bulk activity extract or the regular get activities API based on your use case.

[SanfordWhiteman]

Since you’re mixing technologies together, there can’t be an “easiest”.

Postman is a compiled application/program (written, fwiw, in the JavaScript language).

Python is a language, not an app/program.

In Postman, you can connect to the Marketo API (or any HTTP API) by hand-crafting JSON payloads in accordance with the API docs. This is by far the best way to learn how APIs work. However, it’s not automated* in the  way that custom code would be. You’re making individual API calls, for example GETting an access_token in one call and then POSTing that token in an HTTP header in another call. You’ll come away with an understanding of the Marketo API that can be applied to any other environment.

In Python, you’re writing code. You might include 3rd-party libraries that have support for Marketo API methods, and which automatically get access_tokens and assemble a series of responses (for example, assembling the pages of 300 leads you get from Get Leads by Filter Type). However, those libraries will be black boxes unless you learn enough Python to what they might be missing and why they might throw errors. You also won’t learn how JSON works that way.

In my experience 3rd-party libraries aren’t 100% trustworthy, because it’s too likely that they’re not up-to-date with the quirks of the Marketo API. YMMV of course. Also, Python isn’t any better at this than another language: I use NodeJS and Java since those are my comfort zones. If you happened to be a PHP master that would work fine too.

* unless you use Postman’s advanced features, of course