The Exchange Rates API can be used to get real time exchange rates, past/historical rates, and perform quick currency conversion betwwen multiple currencies. It supports over 80+ currencies. In abstract-python, the ExchangeRatesAPI class is used to communicate with this API.

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API Endpoints

Real-time exchange rates

Get real time exchange rates between multiple currencies

Convert currencies

Covert one currency to another using a base amount. e.g 5 USD to GBP

Historical exchange rates

Get a detailed JSON object of past exchange rates within a specified peiod.

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Supported currency codes

AbstractAPI supports ISO 4217 currency codes which can be found here

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Get currency codes programmatically

With abstract-python you can get the supported currency codes as a Python List. See usage below:

from abstract_python import EXCHANGE_SUPPORTED_CURRENCIES

print(EXCHANGE_SUPPORTED_CURRENCIES)

Here is the result below:

>>> [
    "ARS", "AUD", "BCH", "BGN", "BNB", "BRL", "BTC", "CAD", "CHF", "CNY", 
    "CYP", "CZK", "DKK", "DOGE", "DZD", "EEK", "ETH", "EUR", "GBP", "GRD", 
    "HKD", "HRK", "HUF", "IDR", "ILS", "INR", "ISK", "JPY", "KRW", "LTC", 
    "LTL", "LVL", "MAD", "MTL", "MXN", "MYR", "NOK", "NZD", "PHP", "PLN", 
    "RON", "RUB", "SEK", "SGD", "SIT", "SKK", "THB", "TRY", "TWD", "USD", 
    "XRP", "ZAR"
    ]

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Use case

If your app receives currency codes from users, you may need to validate these inputs before querying the ExchangeRatesAPI class.

See usage below:

from abstract_python import EXCHANGE_SUPPORTED_CURRENCIES

base_currency = input("Enter a currency code")

if base_currency in EXCHANGE_SUPPORTED_CURRENCIES:
    # continue with the app logic 
else:
    print(f"{base_currency} is not a supported currency code")

The code above is a simple console-based program. This technique can also be extended to other programs such as a web app or desktop app.

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Error messages

Refer to this page for all possible error messages you may encounter while using the ExchangeRatesAPI class.

AuthenticationLive Exchange Rates.