MainHub	Lessons	Game Overview
Let’s Go!	Let’s Go!	Let’s Go!

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🌐 API Integration

Implementing a Leaderboard API (POST/GET scores)

What Is API Integration?

An API (Application Programming Interface) allows your game to communicate with a server.
For a leaderboard, this means your game can:

• Send a player’s score (POST)
• Retrieve the leaderboard (GET)

This lets you store scores online instead of only locally.

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Why Use a Leaderboard API?

A leaderboard API allows:

• Global high scores
• Competition between players
• Persistent score storage
• Cross‑device syncing
• Server‑side validation

It’s a common feature in modern games.

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GET Request

A GET request retrieves data from the server — in this case, the leaderboard.

Example:

async function getLeaderboard() {
    const response = await fetch("https://example.com/api/leaderboard");
    const data = await response.json();
    return data;
}

What this does:

• Contacts the server
• Downloads the leaderboard
• Converts it from JSON into usable JavaScript data

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POST Request

A POST request sends data to the server — usually the player’s name and score.

Example:

async function submitScore(name, score) {
    await fetch("https://example.com/api/leaderboard", {
        method: "POST",
        headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
        body: JSON.stringify({ name, score })
    });
}

What this does:

• Sends a JSON object to the server
• Stores the score in the leaderboard database

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Example: Integrating Into a Game

class Game {
    constructor() {
        this.playerName = "Ironhook";
        this.score = 0;
    }

    async endGame() {
        await submitScore(this.playerName, this.score);
        const leaderboard = await getLeaderboard();
        console.log("Leaderboard:", leaderboard);
    }
}

This demonstrates:

• Submitting the score when the game ends
• Fetching the updated leaderboard
• Displaying it in the console

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JSON Format

Most leaderboard APIs use JSON.

Example request body:

{
    "name": "Ironhook",
    "score": 1200
}

Example response:

[
    { "name": "Ironhook", "score": 1200 },
    { "name": "Silentscar", "score": 950 }
]

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Why Teachers Assign This

API integration shows that you understand:

• How to communicate with servers
• How to use fetch() for GET and POST
• How to send and receive JSON
• How to store and retrieve game data online
• How to integrate backend services into a game

This is a key skill for modern web‑based games and applications.

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Asynchronous I/O

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