A Practical Approach to API Design
A Practical Approach to API Design
From Principles to Practice
About the Book
If you read the tech press, everyone knows they need an API but most aren't really sure what it is. They treat it as another checkbox like "Web 2.0" was a few years ago or a mobile app was most recently. In fact, there's an entire "API-first" movement in development circles that most people don't understand or even realize why. In this book, we'll start by discussing the what an API is, why you might need one, and follow up with the how to build one.
With addition of our Appendix on API Design Patterns and numerous other design tips, this book is complete. Regardless, we're always open to additional sections, concepts, and questions so don't hesitate to drop us a note. Further, when you find something interesting, let us know. If you think we’re wrong, say so. If you think we’re right, tell your friends. If you want us to teach your team more and deeper concepts, please let us know.
About the Authors
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Table of Contents
- Welcome
- Changelog
-
Chapter 1 - APIs: An Introduction
- What is an API
- Why you should have an API
-
Chapter 2 - Principles of Pragmatic API Design
- API or SOA?
- API and SOA: Extend and Accelerate
- REST vs. SOAP
- APIs for Existing Applications
-
Chapter 3 - Beyond CRUD
- Building APIs for Business Workflows
- Affordances
- Why you should trust others’ APIs
-
Chapter 4 - The API Modeling Process
- Summary of the Steps
- Step 1: Identify the Participants
- Step 2: Identify the Activities
- Step 3: Break Each Activity Into Steps
- Step 4: Create and Group API Methods
- Step 5: Validate the API By Testing
- Common Questions About API Modeling
- Next Step: Design
-
Chapter 5 - The Principles of HTTP and REST
- HTTP Core Concepts
- Web APIs and the Richardson Maturity Model
- Back to Basics: The 6 REST Constraints
- The Next Steps
-
Chapter 6 - From Modeling to RESTful Design
- Building Your Resource Taxonomy
- Defining Resource Lifecycles
- Mapping Response Codes For Success and Failure
- Expanding Resources Through Hypermedia Linking
- Common Questions About API Design
- Next steps
-
Chapter 7 - Message Formats
- Hypermedia Specifications
- Selecting a Data Storage Strategy
-
Chapter 8 - Documenting Your API
- The Hidden Value of API Documentation
- API Definition Formats
- Beyond API Reference Documentation
-
Chapter 9 - Prototyping Your API
- Static Prototyping
- Building a Working Prototype
-
Chapter 10 - API Product Management
- The API-First Organization
- Front-End, Back-End, and Full Stack Developers
- Partitioning API Teams
- Accelerating API Integration
-
Chapter 11 - Authentication & Authorization
- Authentication
- Authorization
-
Appendix A - API Design Patterns
- Adjectives
- API Security
- Bulk and Batch
- Caching
- Deleting Resources
- Error Handling
- Extended Resource Lifecycle
- Functional Endpoints
- Idempotency
- Pagination
- Sitemap
- Singleton Resources
- Transactional Resources
- Versioning
- Zoom/Embed
-
Appendix B - Additional Resources
- Books
- News & Information
- White Papers & Industry Reports
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