REFLECTIONS ON REST Last week, Roy T. Fielding, originator of the Representational State Transfer style (REST), co-published a major recap of his work. Entitled "Reflections on the REST Architectural Style and 'Principled Design of the Modern Web Architecture'", it is available for download via Google Research.

Hopefully separating the vim from the vinegar that GraphQL represents doesn't become an annual September tradition. Last year, about this time, I recapped the 2016's tempest in a teapot. Fast-forward a year and, other than the barbs being sharper and a couple of notable releases, little

STRIPE AND VERSIONING A few issues ago I discussed Google's approach to API versioning. It was a practical approach to dealing with what any API developer confronts: change in production. Stripe recently published its own thoughts on the topic. Rather than the usual URL-verses-header debate, author Brandur Leach

MICROSERVICES: TAKING STOCK Early in July, Sam Newman had a very interesting post entitled "Microservice Insecurity". Sam explains the challenges with successful microservice adoption, concluding that there actually very valid reasons not to introduce microservices to a project. It might be a surprise coming from the author of

Last week I was in Chicago teaching API design. The weather couldn't have been more perfect; even the night-time lightning show that rolled off the plains and onto my hotel window was reminiscent of childhood summers. Before packing up and flying back to the increasing boil of DC,

This newsletter has a couple of clusters; it is as if folks were conspiring together for great sets of complementary material. We'll start with RESTful API design basics and then do a deeper dive into microservice implementation. REST API BASICS For someone creating an API for the first

Late spring is the high point of conference season; the volume of thought-provoking pieces recently made available proves it. This edition of the REST API notes is all about media - the presentations, the streaming video, and the podcasts. Find a comfy seat, grab that set of headphones, and let&

HEARD IT ALL BEFORE Despite my better judgement, I'm a habitual Twitter user. I'm 90% certain that at least some of my graying hair can be attributed to it. But occasionally there are times, like last week, where I'm reminded of the wonderful conversation

Howdy! It has been a while. What began as a brief and unstated hiatus turned into several months in a blink of an eye. During that time I was on the road organizing, training, and attending API events of all stripes. Airport productivity has never been my strength, and a

In Northern Virginia, we've started that weird part of the year where winter and spring begin their tug of war. That usually means gray, overcast days that occasionally belch out a traffic-crippling blizzard. Thankfully, there's plenty of great reading to be done inside. TRADEOFFS BETWEEN SERVICE