Session 2 · Week 2

Real Data & The Wider Internet

This is the session where your app starts talking to the rest of the world. We'll connect a real movie database so you can search any film or show ever made, set up email so your app can reach actual humans, and learn how all the pieces fit together.

What we'll cover

  • What an API is, and why every modern app uses them
  • Connecting to TMDB — The Movie Database — to search films and TV
  • Saving items to your watchlist with posters, ratings, release year, and more
  • Setting up Resend so your app can send emails
  • Sharing a film recommendation with a friend by email
  • Tags and filters — organising your watchlist your way

What you'll achieve

By the end of this session:

  • You can search any film or TV show and see real posters and details
  • You can save items to your personal watchlist with status (want / watching / watched)
  • You can tag items with anything — "date night", "mind-blown", "with mum"
  • You can filter your list by status and tag
  • You can share a film recommendation by email
  • You understand how apps talk to each other

New concepts

  • API — a "menu" that lets one app order things from another
  • API key — your personal pass for using a service
  • HTTP verbs — GET (give me something), POST (here's something new), DELETE (remove this)
  • Row Level Security — how the database makes sure each user only sees their own stuff

Before next session

  • Add a handful of films and shows you've actually watched
  • Tag them however makes sense to you
  • Send a recommendation to a friend or family member — see the email arrive
  • Try filtering by tag and by status