Building a Real-Time Tire Search with the Tire Size API

Introduction

Real-time tire search functionality can significantly improve your customers' shopping experience. This guide walks you through implementing a search feature using our Tire Size API.

Prerequisites/

• Basic knowledge of JavaScript/TypeScript
• API key from your Tire Size API dashboard
• Node.js installed on your system

Step 1: Setting Up Your Project

First, create a new project and install the required dependencies:

npm init -y
npm install axios @types/node dotenv


Step 2: API Authentication

Create a .env file and add your API key:

TIRE_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Step 3: Creating the Search Function

Here's a basic implementation of the search function:

async function searchTires(size: string) {
 try {
   const response = await axios.get('https://api.tiresize.com/v1/search', {
     params: { size },
     headers: {
       'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.TIRE_API_KEY}`
     }
   });
   return response.data;
 } catch (error) {
   console.error('Error searching tires:', error);
   throw error;
 }
}


Step 4: Implementing Real-Time Search

Add debouncing to prevent too many API calls:

function debounce(func: Function, wait: number) {
 let timeout: NodeJS.Timeout;
 return function executedFunction(...args: any[]) {
   const later = () => {
     clearTimeout(timeout);
     func(...args);
   };
   clearTimeout(timeout);
   timeout = setTimeout(later, wait);
 };
}


Error Handling

Implement proper error handling for common scenarios:

function handleApiError(error: any) {
 if (error.response) {
   switch (error.response.status) {
     case 401:
       return 'Invalid API key';
     case 404:
       return 'No tires found';
     default:
       return 'An error occurred';
   }
 }
 return 'Network error';
}


Next Steps

To enhance your implementation, consider:

• Adding caching for frequent searches
• Implementing filters for brands and price ranges
• Adding pagination for large result sets
• Implementing analytics to track popular searches