Star Wars API cli search tool

This is a cli tool to search for Star Wars characters to find information about their height, mass and also about their homeworld details using the SWAPI (star wars API).

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Features

1. Character Search

• Gets and print information about a Star Wars character the user searched.
• It has attributes such as height, mass, and birth year of the character.

2. Homeworld Details

• Prints the character's homeworld name, population, and orbital - rotation.
• Calculates the time on the homeworld's character relates to Earth years and days and prints an ratio.

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Prerequisites

Install the requirements.txt at my git repository :)

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How to Run

Clone the repository and follow the commands to run the script :)

###for the character search###
python main.py search 'luke sky'

###for the homeworld details search of that character###
python main.py search'luke sky' --world

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Sample Outputs

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Code Overview

1. def get_all_chars():

   Gets all the characters from the SWAPI. Converts the data response into JSON and extract all the info.

2. def get_char_details(char_url):

   Gets the properties of a character or a planet from the URL.

3. def search_char_name(results, name):

   Searches for a specific character by name from the list of fetched characters.

4. Main

   Uses argparse to handle CLI commands and flags. Prints character and homeworld information based on the user's input.

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Next Golang Objectives (Future Improvements)

As part of expanding this project and improving my backend development skills, I plan to reimplement and enhance this CLI tool using Golang.

The objectives are:

1. Build a CLI Tool in Go

• Recreate the current Python CLI functionality using Go.
• Use packages like flag or cobra for command-line argument parsing.
• Maintain similar commands:
  • Character search
  • Homeworld details (--world flag equivalent)

2. Work with HTTP Requests

• Use Go’s net/http package to fetch data from the SWAPI.
• Handle API responses efficiently and explore concurrency where useful.

3. JSON Parsing and Structs

• Define Go structs for:
  • Characters
  • Planets (homeworld data)
• Practice unmarshalling JSON responses into typed structs.

4. Improve Performance

• Optimize API calls (e.g., caching results or reducing redundant requests).
• Use goroutines to fetch character and homeworld data in parallel.

5. Error Handling

• Implement robust error handling using Go’s explicit error system.
• Handle edge cases such as:
  • Character not found
  • API errors or downtime
  • Invalid input

6. Modular Code Design

• Organize the project into packages (e.g., api, models, cli).
• Improve code readability and maintainability.

7. Cross-Platform CLI Distribution

• Compile the Go program into a standalone binary.
• Allow users to run the tool without installing dependencies.

8. Testing

• Write unit tests for:
  • API calls
  • Search functionality
• Use Go’s built-in testing package.