Traditionally, stock market trading was seen as a risky venture meant only for experts. However, the last few years have seen a change in this trend with millions of investors across the globe indulging in trading. One reason for this radical shift is the internet boom. Not only has the internet provided every internet user with the ability to participate in online trading, but there are a lot of online resources available that educate users and equip them with the right tools to partake in online trading. The increase in the number of users participating in trading activities has resulted in the need for information related to trading. Thus, a number of REST APIs that provide this data have emerged. One such API is the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API. In this article, we will be learning about this API and its features.
What is Stock and Options Trading?
Before we dive into the API and its features, let us quickly understand some basics about stock and options trading. Stock and options trading is a type of financial trading. Stock trading refers to the buying and selling of company stocks while options trading refers to buying and selling of option contracts. In addition to stock and options trading, financial trading also includes other types of trading like commodity, metal, forex, and cryptocurrency trading.
Stock trading is quite straightforward, company stocks are listed at a price. Investors try to buy a company stock at a lower price and sell it at a higher price and thus make a profit. An option, on the other hand, is a contract that gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell the underlying asset at a specific price on or before a certain date. Options are of two types, call and put. Call options give the holder a right to buy the underlying stock while a put option gives the holder the right to sell the underlying stock. All option contracts have an expiration date, that is the date by when the contract needs to be exercised. Finally, the price of the underlying stock in a call or put option is known as the strike price.
What is the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API?
As the name indicates, the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API is an API that provides data about stocks and options. For a given stock symbol, it provides information about the stock company (like company name, address, number of employees, etc.), as well as details relevant for stock trading (like the opening stock price, day’s high, day’s low, etc.). Not only that, but it also provides the option information (like calls and puts along with their strike prices, volume, etc.) for the specified stock. The options data is grouped by the expiration date of the option.
Who can use the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API?
The Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API is a REST API and can be used by developers to build different types of REST applications.
First of all, with the increase in the number of individuals jumping the online trading bandwagon, retail investors/stockbrokers are constantly in need of the latest stock/options information. Thus, application developers can use the API to build mobile/web applications targeted at providing such data to their end-users.
Secondly, financial analysts’ study and analyze stock data to identify trends and accordingly make predictions or offer recommendations. Thus, the API can be used to build applications that provide the necessary information to such users.
Finally, there are always new users looking to learn about online trading. The API can be used to build applications aimed to provide such users with the information required for them to gain a better understanding of stock/option trading.
How does the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API work?
The Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API is a REST API. In simple terms, a REST API exposes data in the form of HTTP URLs (also known as REST endpoints). An application (known as a REST client or client application) can query the REST API to obtain the data. In order to query the API, a client application needs to provide the endpoint URL, request parameters (data required by the endpoint to process the request if any), and authentication information (API key). The endpoint first authenticates the client and if valid, processes the request and returns the data corresponding to the request. The data is typically sent in JSON format.
The Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API works on the same principles. It exposes some REST endpoints that provide stock and options data. A client application needs to invoke the appropriate endpoint with the endpoint URL, request parameters, and an API key (which is provided by RapidAPI). The API then returns the corresponding data.
How to use the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API?
You can use RapidAPI to connect to the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API. RapidAPI lists all the API endpoints, provides code snippets in several programming languages for executing the endpoints, and even allows executing an endpoint from the browser itself!
To use RapidAPI to connect to the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API, you need to follow the steps given below.
Step 1 – Signing Up
The first step is to create a RapidAPI account as described below.
a. Enter the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API URL (https://rapidapi.com/mpeng/api/stock-and-options-trading-data-provider/) in a browser. Click on the Log In/Sign Up button in the top right corner. This redirects to the following authentication page:
b. Authenticate yourself using any of the methods shown on the page like Github, Google, Facebook, or via email. Upon successful authentication, the following page is displayed:
Step 2 – Subscribing to the API
In order to use the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API, you need to subscribe to it. The Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API is a freemium API and offers both free as well as paid plans. You can subscribe to a plan that is appropriate for your requirements.
To subscribe to the API, you need to do the following:
a. Click on the Pricing Tab. This displays all the available plans:
b. Select a plan that is appropriate for you and click Subscribe. I have selected the Basic (Free) plan which allows 5 requests per day. This displays the following screen:
Step 3 – Executing an endpoint
As mentioned earlier, RapidAPI allows executing an endpoint from the browser itself. This feature is very useful as it allows developers to test and view and endpoint responses in real-time without having to write any code.
To execute an endpoint, you need to do the following:
a. Click on the EndPoints tab. All the available endpoints are displayed on the left:
b. Click the endpoint that you would like to execute. I have selected the Straddle endpoint. Enter an appropriate value for the ticker parameter. Click the Test Endpoint button:
c. View the Response in the Results tab:
Step 4 – Obtaining a code snippet
Finally, RapidAPI provides code snippets in most of the popular programming languages. For each programming language, it provides code in multiple HTTP clients supported by the language (Since a REST API exposes its endpoints as HTTP URLs, a programming language specific HTTP client needs to be used to invoke an API endpoint.). Thus, developers can obtain code for their desired programming language and desired HTTP client from RapidAPI without having to write code from scratch.
For example, to obtain a code snippet in C# using the RestSharp HTTP library for the Straddle endpoint, you need to do the following:
a. Select the Straddle endpoint from the Endpoints list on the left. Click on C# -> RestSharp in the Code Snippets tab:
b. Copy the C# code shown and use it as desired:
Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API Endpoints
Let us now take a detailed look at the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API endpoints.
Options
The Options endpoint returns the stock and options data for the specified stock. It accepts a parameter called ticker. This is a mandatory parameter of type String. It corresponds to the ticker symbol of the stock whose data is required. It then returns the company data for the specified ticker (like the company name, address, the number of employees, etc.) as well as stock market-related data (like recommendations on this stock (buy or sell), current price, target low price, target high price, day’s high, day’s low, fifty-two weeks high, fifty-two weeks low, and much more). Further, it returns the options data for the specified stock. The options data consists of the call and put options with various expiration dates. Each call and put option includes the call/put symbol, strike price, open interest, volume, and other data.
Straddle
The Straddle endpoint is quite similar to the Options endpoint. It also accepts a mandatory parameter called ticker corresponding to the ticker symbol of the stock whose data is required. It then returns the stock and options data for the specified ticker. The only difference is that this endpoint returns the options data in straddle format.
How to use the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API with various programming languages
As explained earlier, RapidAPI provides code snippets to invoke the API endpoints in various programming languages. Let us now take a look at some code samples.
Using the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API with Java
In order to use the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API with Java, click the desired API endpoint on the left. In the code snippets tab, select Java and the desired HTTP client. Copy the code snippet and use it as required.
For example, RapidAPI provides the following Java code for the Straddle endpoint using the OKHttp client:
OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient();
Request request = new Request.Builder()
.url("https://stock-and-options-trading-data-provider.p.rapidapi.com/straddle/intc")
.get()
.addHeader("x-rapidapi-key", "<your key here>")
.addHeader("x-rapidapi-host", "<your host here>")
.build();
Response response = client.newCall(request).execute();Using the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API with Python
In order to use the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API with Python, click the desired API endpoint on the left. In the code snippets tab, select Python and the desired HTTP client. Copy the code snippet and use it as required.
For example, RapidAPI provides the following Python code for the Straddle endpoint using the Requests client:
import requests
url = "https://stock-and-options-trading-data-provider.p.rapidapi.com/straddle/intc"
headers = {
'x-rapidapi-key': "<your key here>",
'x-rapidapi-host': "<your host here>"
}
response = requests.request("GET", url, headers=headers)
print(response.text)
Using the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API with PHP
In order to use the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API with PHP, click the desired API endpoint on the left. In the code snippets tab, select PHP and the desired HTTP client. Copy the code snippet and use it as required.
For example, RapidAPI provides the following PHP code for the Straddle endpoint using the HTTP v1 client:
<?php
$request = new HttpRequest();
$request->setUrl('https://stock-and-options-trading-data-provider.p.rapidapi.com/straddle/intc');
$request->setMethod(HTTP_METH_GET);
$request->setHeaders([
'x-rapidapi-key' => '<your key here>',
'x-rapidapi-host' => '<your host here>'
]);
try {
$response = $request->send();
echo $response->getBody();
} catch (HttpException $ex) {
echo $ex;
}Using the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API with Ruby
In order to use the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API with Ruby, click the desired API endpoint on the left. In the code snippets tab, select Ruby and the desired HTTP client. Copy the code snippet and use it as required.
For example, RapidAPI provides the following Ruby code for the Straddle endpoint using the net:http client:
require 'uri'
require 'net/http'
require 'openssl'
url = URI("https://stock-and-options-trading-data-provider.p.rapidapi.com/straddle/intc")
http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true
http.verify_mode = OpenSSL::SSL::VERIFY_NONE
request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(url)
request["x-rapidapi-key"] = '<your key here>'
request["x-rapidapi-host"] = '<your host here>'
response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_bodyUsing the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API with Javascript
In order to use the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API with Javascript, click the desired API endpoint on the left. In the code snippets tab, select Javascript and the desired HTTP client. Copy the code snippet and use it as required.
For example, RapidAPI provides the following Javascript code for the Straddle endpoint using the fetch client:
fetch("https://stock-and-options-trading-data-provider.p.rapidapi.com/straddle/intc", {
"method": "GET",
"headers": {
"x-rapidapi-key": "<your key here>",
"x-rapidapi-host": "<your host here>"
}
})
.then(response => {
console.log(response);
})
.catch(err => {
console.error(err);
});In addition to the code snippets listed above, you can use RapidAPI to obtain a code snippet in several other programming languages like Node.js, C, Kotlin, Swift, etc.
What are the benefits of the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API?
Economical – One of the main benefits of the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API is that it is economical. There is a free plan which allows 5 requests per day. In addition, the Ultra plan costs only $20 per month and offers 1000 requests per day. Thus, it is an excellent choice for developers or organizations looking for a cost-effective stock market API.
Provides Options Data – The Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API is one of the few APIs in the Finance API arena that provides options data along with stock data. Thus, any developer looking for options-related information can use this API to fulfill their requirements.
Minimalistic and Easy to Use – The Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API is minimalistic and easy to use. It exposes only two API endpoints. Both the endpoints accept only a single parameter. Thus, this makes the API very easy to use for developers.
Other Finance APIs
Just like the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API, there are many other Finance related APIs available on RapidAPI. Let’s take a look at some of these APIs
- Yahoo Finance API – The Yahoo Finance API is a comprehensive finance API. It provides information about stocks, quotes, market summary, etc. as on the official Yahoo Finance website.
- Seeking Alpha API – The Seeking Alpha API is another finance API. It not only provides stock market data, but also the latest finance news, articles, etc.
- Currency Converter API – The Currency Converter API provides exchange rates for currencies based on official Bank Data.
- Alpha Vantage API – The Alpha Vantage API is another elaborate Finance API. In addition to stock data, it provides ETF, forex, technical indicators, and cryptocurrency data.
- Twelve Data API – The Twelve Data API is an API for Twelve Data which is a company that provides financial data and financial tools. It provides real-time and historical data of stocks, forex, crypto, ETFs, indices, etc.
- Live Metal Prices API – The Live Metal Prices API is an API that provides live prices for gold, platinum, silver, and palladium in 160+ currencies.
Summary
So, to summarize, the Stock and Options Trading Data Provider API is an API that provides stock and options data. In this article, we learned about all the endpoints that this API provides, the benefits of this API, and other alternate APIs in the Finance arena. We also learned how we can use RapidAPI to connect to the API, execute the API endpoints and also obtain code snippets in different programming languages.
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