What we’ll be building: As a sequel to the last article, we will be building a machine learning API that will predict whether a candidate will or will not be hired based on his or her credentials. This is part two out of a three-part series we will be developing. This part is only concerned with developing the machine learning API. If you haven't read of this article you should do so before this one. part one Introduction Building a machine learning model with no deployment mechanism could be frustrating unless you just want to learn. But where is the beauty in that if you can't deploy it for the whole world to see and use? For your machine learning model to be useful you need to integrate it with an API. You don't know how to build a machine learning API? Don't worry, in this tutorial you will learn step-by-step how to develop a predictive machine learning API. We will utilize the machine learning model developed in the of this series. part one Prerequisite To flow along in this tutorial, a good understanding of the following tools is required. Python Fast API of this tutorial Part One What is a Machine Learning API? We will answer this question by defining the terminologies used here and also doing a brief coverage of the advantages associated with machine learning APIs. What is an API API stands for an pplication programming nterface. To simply state, it is a piece of backend service that allows two or more computers to have communications. a i Why combine machine learning with an API: It gives your model the platform to be accessed and used by millions of people all over the globe, else it will just be a piece of code sitting on your computer. Take this analogy to understand why you must combine a machine learning model with an API. An airplane needs an airport, this is where it will operate from and also be accessed by millions of passengers that frequent the airport. Without the airport, the airplane cannot serve the passengers. This is how important an API is to a machine learning model, without an API a machine learning model cannot be used online. What are the advantages of an API: The benefits are almost unlimited, the following are some advantages of combining a machine learning model with an API. It helps people to access your model online. It helps other applications to utilize your model. It brings you profits by offering it as a service. It helps your model to gather more data from your users. It helps your model to collect more diversified inputs from people online. These and more are some advantages of integrating a machine learning model with an API. What technologies can achieve a machine learning API There are a few programming languages and frameworks that can help you put together a machine learning model with an API. This also depends on your choice of programming language and framework. The most popular frameworks that can help you achieve a hybrid of a machine learning model and API are django, Flask, and FastAPI. All these frameworks are built upon the Python programming language. For the sake of this tutorial, we will be using the FastAPI framework, which is fast, lightweight, and simple to use. Building a Predictive Machine Learning API This is the meat of this tutorial, you will be guided by the hand so ensure that you don't skip any step. Below are the procedures you need to follow to build a machine learning API. Choosing a Development Environment This step is important, the tools that you use will either help you accomplish your task on time or frustrates you with difficulties. For this tutorial, we will be using VScode for all the coding. This is because all the necessary toolings needed to both develop and test our API are all in one place. Below are some of the reasons we are choosing VScode for this work. Support for Python IntelliSense, Code Format tools, and Code Highlights. Support for Thunder Client Extention for testing our API. Support for an integrated terminal with splitting functionality. Support for integrated version control and more. Installing Development Dependencies As earlier stated, we will be using the FastAPI framework which is built upon the Python programming language to code up our API. The following are the tools and libraries we will install for our development. Python 3.9.7 Fastapi 0.68.1 Uvicorn 0.15.0 Scikit-learn 1.0 Thunder Client Next, follow the below instruction to have them all installed on your computer. Head to the VScode and download the appropriate version for your OS. site Install the downloaded package on your computer. Head to the Python and download or later. website Python version 3.9.7 Install the Python package and add the path to your . system variables Goto the directory from part one of this tutorial where you have your . model folder Create a new directory called with the model folder, It should look like this. api side-by-side Open the in VSCode and install the following libraries using the terminal. api folder pip install fastapi
pip install uvicorn[standard]
pip install scikit-learn On VScode click on extensions and install . Thunder Client Congratulations, that is all that you will need for now, here is how your VScode should look, minus the theming. Please make sure you are on the working directory, else just change the directory into it. api Importing Libraries Within the , create a new file named , this is where all the programming logic will reside. Once you have created this file, paste the following code snippets inside it. api folder " " main.py # Importing necessary libraries
import uvicorn
import pickle
from pydantic import BaseModel
from fastapi import FastAPI
from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware The library is used to create a server having a host and port of your preference for communicating with our API via requests and responses. uvicorn HTTP We use the library to load up our trained model from part one of this series. pickle The **class from the library is used for defining our API request parameters. This is important for ensuring that we are sending the right data types to our trained machine learning model. BaseModel pydantic The library helps us define the routes and the functions a route will run when accessed by a client. It also helps us define the responses we give for a request. FastAPI Lastly, the CORSMiddleware helps us define the domains that will get resources from our API. This is a very important configuration in a FastAPI project. Initializing the fast API The following code block initializes the fastAPI, whitelist the domains origins that can access our API endpoints, and configures it as a middleware. # Initializing the fast API server
app = FastAPI()
origins = [
    "http://localhost.tiangolo.com",
    "https://localhost.tiangolo.com",
    "http://localhost",
    "http://localhost:8080",
    "http://localhost:3000",
]
app.add_middleware(
    CORSMiddleware,
    allow_origins=origins,
    allow_credentials=True,
    allow_methods=["*"],
    allow_headers=["*"],
) Terrific job, now let’s advance to loading up our trained machine learning model from part one of this tutorial. Loading up the Trained Model Copy and paste the following codes on your VScode file. main.py # Loading up the trained model
model = pickle.load(open('../model/hireable.pkl', 'rb')) Using the pickle library, we are loading the trained model in combination with the Python . Take note of the path to the trained pickle model, we are accessing it from the . open function model folder Although, you can access your trained model from any directory provided that you specify it in the Python open function. However, for the sake of this tutorial, we should all follow the same style guide. Defining the model input types Again, copy and paste the codes below into your code editor. # Defining the model input types
class Candidate(BaseModel):
    gender: int
    bsc: float
    workex: int
    etest_p: float
    msc: float Base on the BaseModel class, we are defining a class called . By doing this we are instructing our model prediction route to only accept the data types that conform to the specifications in the Candidate class. This immensely helps us collect the right data types for our trained machine learning model and reduce errors. “Candidate” Setting up the Home Route This is a route that specifies what we respond to our users when they visit the home route. For this project, we will just give them a welcome message. Paste the following codes to your code editor. # Setting up the home route
@app.get("/")
def read_root():
    return {"data": "Welcome to online employee hireability prediction model"} Setting up the Prediction Route Now let's stitch all these codes together. Paste the following code on your editor and let me explain. # Setting up the prediction route
@app.post("/prediction/")
async def get_predict(data: Candidate):
    sample = [[
        data.gender,
        data.bsc,
        data.workex,
        data.etest_p,
        data.msc
    ]]
    hired = model.predict(sample).tolist()[0]
    return {
        "data": {
            'prediction': hired,
            'interpretation': 'Candidate can be hired.' if hired == 1 else 'Candidate can not be hired.'
        }
    } Firstly, when a user sends a post data to our prediction route, we use the Candidate class to bind it to the request body and extract the essential data we specified into a multi-dimensional array called . “sample” Secondly, we give this array to our model for prediction and save the result in another variable called . Lastly, we send a response back to the client with either or base on the prediction of our model. “hired” “Candidate can be hired” “Candidate can not be hired” Configuring the Server Host and Port Finally, we do a quick server configuration instructing the uvicorn library to start up our server on the specified host and port number whenever the file is executed. See the codes below. main.py # Configuring the server host and port
if __name__ == '__main__':
    uvicorn.run(app, port=8080, host='0.0.0.0') Congratulations, you have just built a machine learning API. Now let’s do quick testing to see if it's all good. Testing the API Endpoints Adhere to the following instructions to test the API endpoints. On the VScode interface, click on the Thunder Client. Create a new request. Select the post option. Enter " " on the address bar. http://localhost:8080/prediction Goto the body tab and supply the parameters below. Finally, click on send. You will have something like this if you had done the above steps correctly. You can also send another request to the home route but use the GET method instead. You should get something like this. Hurray, you have just completed two out of the three-part series on how to build a predictive machine learning model. In the third and last article for this series, you will learn how to consume this API using ReactJs. You can see the full source code on my . Git Repo Conclusion In conclusion, preparing a deployable machine learning model in the past has been a pain on the neck but not anymore. You have seen how easy it is to do so with the FastAPI framework built upon the Python programming language. I believe that FastAPI is the first simple solution for developers to bridge the gap between machine learning and web development. In our next tutorial, we will see this in action by hooking it up with ReactJs. About Author Gospel Darlington is a remote web developer, prolific with technologies such as , , , and . He takes a huge interest in the development of high-grade and responsive web applications. Fullstack VueJs Angular ReactJs API development Gospel Darlington currently works as a that teach other developers how to integrate software products into their projects. freelancer developing apps and writing tutorials He spends his free time on how to be successful in life. His hobbies include inventing new recipes, book writing, songwriting, and singing. You can reach me on , , , , or for any discussion. coaching young people Website LinkedIn Twitter Facebook GitHub Also published here.

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