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Endpoint

GET /api/unidades/<categoria>
Retrieves a comma-separated list of available units for a specific conversion category. This endpoint queries the ICE server for the units it supports.

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Request

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Path Parameters

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categoria
string
required
The category for which to retrieve available units. Valid categories are:
  • temperatura - Temperature units
  • longitud - Length/distance units
  • peso - Weight/mass units
  • velocidad - Speed/velocity units
Note: The category is case-sensitive in the URL path

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Request Examples

curl http://localhost:5000/api/unidades/temperatura

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Response

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Success Response (200 OK)

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unidades
string
A comma-separated string containing all available units for the specified category.The format is: "unit1, unit2, unit3, ..."

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Examples by Category

{
  "unidades": "celsius, fahrenheit, kelvin"
}

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Error Responses

Returned when an unsupported or invalid category is requested.
{
  "error": "Categoría inválida: volumen not supported"
}
This error originates from the ICE server’s UnidadInvalidaException.
Returned when the Flask server cannot communicate with the ICE server.
{
  "error": "Servidor ICE desconectado"
}
Solution: Start the ICE server with python3 server.py
Returned when an unexpected error occurs.
{
  "error": "Error: [error details]"
}

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Frontend Usage

While the frontend currently uses hardcoded unit lists (app.js:2-7), this endpoint can be used to dynamically retrieve available units from the server: 
// Current frontend approach (hardcoded)
const units = {
    temperatura: ["celsius", "fahrenheit", "kelvin"],
    longitud: ["m", "km", "mi", "ft"],
    peso: ["kg", "lb", "g"],
    velocidad: ["kmh", "mph", "ms"],
};

// Dynamic approach using the API
async function fetchUnits(categoria) {
    const response = await fetch(`/api/unidades/${categoria}`);
    const data = await response.json();
    // Convert "unit1, unit2, unit3" to ["unit1", "unit2", "unit3"]
    return data.unidades.split(', ');
}
The API returns units as a comma-separated string. You’ll need to split it into an array for most frontend use cases.

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Unit Labels and Display Names

The API returns internal unit identifiers (e.g., kmh, mph). The frontend maintains a separate mapping for user-friendly display labels (app.js:10-15): 
const labels = {
    temperatura: { celsius: "°C", fahrenheit: "°F", kelvin: "K" },
    longitud: { m: "m", km: "km", mi: "mi", ft: "ft" },
    peso: { kg: "kg", lb: "lb", g: "g" },
    velocidad: { kmh: "km/h", mph: "mph", ms: "m/s" },
};

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Implementation Details

This endpoint calls the ICE server’s unidadesDisponibles() method (web_server.py:149), which returns the available units for the requested category.

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Use Cases

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Dynamic Unit Discovery

Use this endpoint to build dynamic user interfaces that adapt to available units: 
async function populateUnitSelector(categoria) {
    try {
        const response = await fetch(`/api/unidades/${categoria}`);
        const data = await response.json();
        const units = data.unidades.split(', ');
        
        const selectElement = document.getElementById('unit-select');
        selectElement.innerHTML = units.map(unit => 
            `<option value="${unit}">${unit}</option>`
        ).join('');
    } catch (error) {
        console.error('Failed to load units:', error);
    }
}

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Validation

Verify that user input contains valid units before submitting a conversion request: 
async function isValidUnit(categoria, unit) {
    const response = await fetch(`/api/unidades/${categoria}`);
    const data = await response.json();
    const validUnits = data.unidades.split(', ');
    return validUnits.includes(unit.toLowerCase());
}

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API Documentation Generation

Query all categories to generate comprehensive documentation: 
const categories = ['temperatura', 'longitud', 'peso', 'velocidad'];

for (const cat of categories) {
    const response = await fetch(`/api/unidades/${cat}`);
    const data = await response.json();
    console.log(`${cat}: ${data.unidades}`);
}

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Response Format Considerations

The response is a comma-separated string with spaces after commas (e.g., "celsius, fahrenheit"). When splitting, account for the space:
// Correct
data.unidades.split(', ')

// Incorrect - will leave spaces in unit names
data.unidades.split(',')

Convert Units

Use the units to perform conversions

API Overview

Learn about all available categories

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