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

• Edit your CircleCI configuration file (e.g., `.circleci/config.yml`) to include steps for running the script.

   

  ```yaml
  version: 2.1

  jobs:
  build:
  docker:
  - image: circleci/python:3.8
  steps:
  - checkout
  - run:
  name: Install Dependencies
  command: |
  sudo apt-get update
  sudo apt-get install -y curl # Install curl
  - run:
  name: Use Azure Cognitive Services
  command: |
  chmod +x ./use_azure_services.sh
  ./use_azure_services.sh
  ```
  

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.