Unified API Error Handling

In a headless and composable architecture, Unified API Error Handling is essential for ensuring a seamless user experience across various services. This lesson will cover key concepts, processes, best practices, and code examples related to effective error handling when integrating APIs in a JAMstack environment.

• **Unified API**: A single API that aggregates multiple services, simplifying the integration process.
• **Error Handling**: The process of managing errors that occur during API requests, including client-side, server-side, and network errors.
• **Graceful Degradation**: Ensuring the application continues to function even if some services are unavailable, presenting fallback data or user-friendly messages.

The error handling process can be structured in the following steps:

graph TD;
            A[Start] --> B{API Call};
            B -->|Success| C[Process Data];
            B -->|Client Error| D[Log Error];
            B -->|Server Error| E[Notify User];
            B -->|Network Error| F[Retry Call];
            D --> G[Show Error Message];
            E --> H[Show User-Friendly Message];
            F --> B;
        

• Implement centralized error handling logic.
• Use proper HTTP status codes to indicate error types.
• Log errors for monitoring and debugging.
• Provide meaningful error messages to users.
• Implement retry mechanisms for transient errors.

Here’s an example of how to handle API errors in a JavaScript application:

async function fetchData(url) {
                try {
                    const response = await fetch(url);
                    if (!response.ok) {
                        throw new Error(`HTTP error! status: ${response.status}`);
                    }
                    const data = await response.json();
                    return data;
                } catch (error) {
                    console.error('Fetch Error:', error);
                    alert('An error occurred while fetching data. Please try again later.');
                }
            }