Prerequisites
- Ensure you have an Azure account and have created the necessary Azure Cognitive Services resources (e.g., Text Analytics, Vision, etc.).
- Familiarity with CircleCI, including having a CircleCI account and a basic configuration file for your project.
- Basic understanding of REST APIs and ability to write scripts or code interfacing with HTTP endpoints.
Setting Up Azure Cognitive Services
- Log into the Azure portal and navigate to Azure Cognitive Services.
- Create a new resource or use an existing service. Note down the Endpoint URL and the API Key provided for accessing the service.
Configuring Environment Variables in CircleCI
- Access your CircleCI dashboard and find the project you are working on.
- Navigate to the "Project Settings" and select "Environment Variables".
- Add new variables for your Azure service, such as `AZURE_ENDPOINT_URL` and `AZURE_API_KEY`, using the details noted earlier.
Writing a Script to Use Azure APIs
- Create a new script (e.g., `use_azure_services.sh`) that uses `curl` or a preferred HTTP client to interact with Azure Cognitive Services.
```shell
#!/bin/bash
Define variables
AZURE_ENDPOINT=$AZURE_ENDPOINT_URL
API_KEY=$AZURE_API_KEY
INPUT="Hello, Azure!"
Make POST request to Azure Cognitive Services
curl -X POST "${AZURE_ENDPOINT}/text/analytics/v3.0/languages" \
-H "Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key: ${API_KEY}" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data-ascii "{"documents":[{"id":"1","text":"${INPUT}"}]}"
```
Integrating the Script with CircleCI
Notes & Best Practices
- Keep your API keys secure and never hardcode them in your scripts. Always use environment variables or secret management services.
- Take advantage of Azure's usage metrics and logging to monitor API calls and usage.
- Consider adding error handling in your scripts to robustly manage API failures or connection issues.