Summary
Our goal for this chapter was to learn how the external API works and what it is capable of. We started exploring it using a simple Python XML-RPC client, but the external API can be used from any programming language. In fact, the official documentation provides code examples for Java, PHP, and Ruby.
There are a number of libraries to handle XML-RPC or JSON-RPC, some generic and some specific for use with Odoo. We showcased two particular libraries that can be helpful: ERPpeek and OdooRPC. These can not only act as client libraries, but can also be invaluable tools for remote server management and inspection.
With this, we finish the chapters dedicated to the programming API and business logic. Now it's time to enter into the views and user interface. In the next chapter, we will see in more detail the backend views and user experience that can be provided out of the box by the web client.