Design API-first, to get ahead

Think first, to get a head!

Design first

API first involves establishing a contract. /Swagger.io

Every one involved with creating, improving, testing, consuming, supporting and maintaining an API benefit of a design-first process in API-first development.

Creating

Well-defined and stable API contracts enables parallel development across different teams, reduces the risk of misunderstandings and design flaws early in the process, and ensures consistency and easier integration among different micro-services. /Gimini

Improving

By maintaining a well-defined and stable API contract, you can implement internal changes within a micro-service without breaking existing integrations, which streamlines maintenance, versioning, and future expansion. /Gimini

Testing

With a clear API specification available from the outset, test cases and automated tests can be developed in parallel with the implementation, ensuring higher quality and quicker identification of defects. /Gimini

Consuming

Developers of clients consuming the API:s gain from early access to clear and stable API specifications, enabling parallel development and reducing the risk of breaking changes, which results in a smoother integration process and more robust applications. /Gimini

Supporting

Thanks to well-defined and documented API contracts, it becomes easier to troubleshoot, identify issues, and communicate changes, leading to faster problem resolution and more efficient support. /Gimini

Maintaining

By having a stable and well-documented API contract, you can make internal changes to the underlying implementation without affecting consumers, leading to reduced risk during updates and a more long-lived API. /Gimini

Open API

It is a specification language for HTTP APIs that defines structure and syntax in a way that is not wedded to the programming language the API is created in.

Useful tools to skip the boring and build faster.

Use the tools that exist to make life and work easier for yourself and allow you to work faster and to be more accurate.

Automation significantly speeds up the development of APIs and applications.
/Swagger.io

Swagger Editor

One of the nice tools to help you create open API specifications is the Swagger Editor.

Design, describe, and document your API on the first open source editor supporting multiple API specifications and serialization formats. The Swagger Editor offers an easy way to get started with the OpenAPI Specification.

Mockoon

Fake it till you make it!

Import the Open API specification and you will have a good foundation for a API mocking server.

Bruno

Test it

Import the Open API specification and you will have a good foundation for ready to run tests to build upon.

Swagger Editor

Create and dominate

The Swagger Editor can create foundations for back-ends and clients in several different programing languages and frameworks based of the Open API specifications.

AI

Even AI tools can help you speed up your API creation process.

https://djangoandy.com/2023/03/18/how-i-am-using-chatgpt-increase-my-productivity-coding-django/

Podman

Run it locally to test it before you deploy to production.

Google Kubernetes Engine

Use the cloud to easily scale when your API:s gets famous.