Net API Notes for 2019/03/21
It has been a busy week. Every six months my team gets together in one location to do a deep dive on the big issues: things like "What are upcoming technologies we should consider?", "How can we more effectively train teams?", and, the greatest, "How do we create meaningful, long-term change?"
This week we have the pleasure of noted author and conference speaker, Michael Amundsen, joining in these explorations. We're still working through the answers. But trying to coordinate the rodeo, put on a show, and keep up some semblance of regular work means there isn't a ton of time for pontificating. So - on to the notes!
Notes
Going Beyond Static Documentation
Documentation is an essential part of any API project. However, external facing APIs have an unusually high bar to clear. Adam DuVander has a welcome piece up on the Stoplight blog on how to go beyond static documentation.
Nailing the interactive portion of documentation can be tricky, especially when there is regular change. However, it can lead to a substantial difference.
Collaborating Microservices
As we've discussed several times in these notes, microservices have several advantages. However, a downside is the increased amount of complexity. Bernd Rücker has a piece on monitoring and managing microservice workflows. If you're not familiar with distributed tracing, this is a great introduction.
OpenAPI Linters
Bill Doerrfeld has a great piece on the Nordic APIs blog comparing and contrasting eight popular OpenAPI linters. Most developers are probably familiar with linters of some sort. However, with any one of these tools, there's opportunities to automate detection and notification of problematic design issues.
Milestones
- The W3C has approved WebAuthn. It is a new authentication standard that aims to replace (or supplement) logging into sites via an API. For more information, check out the developer getting started guide. (One thing I wish the documentation did was have a reference architecture diagram, similar to what AWS does for common scenarios using its services.)
- The Joint Development Foundation (JDF) is now collaborating with the GraphQL foundation. The JDF, a group that recently joined the Linux Foundation to drive adoption of open source and standards and includes companies including AWS, IBM, and PayPal, will work to advance GraphQL as an industry specification "to design more effective APIs."
- Kong has a new, free whitepaper on "Service Mesh and the Evolution of Microservices" (email addy required for PDF access). I liked the clear presentation of why distributed systems are advantageous, along with a definition of north-south verses east-west traffic.
- Tyk also has a free whitepaper available from Notes favorite, James Higginbotham, entitled "Approaching Your API Strategy". It outlines the five key disciplines, supported by 12 principles, which lead to a successful API program (reading it back, that sounds like a lot, but it makes sense in the paper).
- APIvista is now Terazo. I'm excited to see Chris and the team continue to grow.
- Want to see what API program disruption looks like? There's an interesting tweet storm from Twit Cleaner out. Does Twitter have a right to change their API? Yes. But it doesn't make this kind of stuff any easier to read.
Wrapping Up
As I mentioned last time, I'm hiring a Principle Data Analyst to join the team at Capital One. There is an "evergreen" job description available. However, I have specifics (oh, so many specifics). If you're interested, shoot me an email.
I've added a handful of meetup events through April to Webapi.events. If you have something to add, also let me know.
Finally, thanks to my Patreon sponsors. Their support of this newsletter, WebAPI.events, and more is much appreciated.
Till next time, Matthew