REST API Notes, 2018/05/24
A couple of work trips to Richmond and San Francisco have meant that I'm behind in my conference coverage. Next week, we'll walk through the highlights from the API the Docs, Paris event. There's also a collection of great resources from April's RESTfest Midwest that I keep meaning to spelunk. However, this week is a different collection of stories.
ELIMINATING API FRICTION
In my experience, especially for internally used (or "private") APIs, producers don't spend nearly enough time thinking about the integration developer experience. Kristof van Tomme has shared a great piece entitled "Eliminating API Friction along Downstream Developer Journey". In it he describes what the "downstream developer journey" is and the six stages that should be addressed along the way.
SCALING MICROSERVICE INTERACTIONS
The summary of this Mark Burgess video on microservice scalability, doesn't mince words:
"Everything that was once believed about software performance may need rethinking"
The video starts with some very high level discussion of how the interactions between things - be they atoms or bytes - are scale dependent; an atom of water has different observable interaction pattern than something the size of a glacier. It then proceeds into promise theory, which is subsequently used to dissect both monoliths and microservices.
It is a great review of common system principles. If you're interested in a different perspective when thinking about where software boundaries are drawn, I highly recommend this video.
DESIGNING MESSAGES
If you want some great advice in designing messages, Richard Wellum's recent talk is available in both YouTube video and slide form.
Whether talking about event-driven architectures, or the communication flows between microservices, message design is increasingly important. It is incredibly tempting to produce an expression of the internal data store. "You want some data? Here's what I got stored." Regardless of the protocol, that innocent sounding decision just created a shared-dependency.
Whoops!
A regular reflection on basic programming tenets is always a worthwhile use of time. Check this one out.
MILESTONES
- Another week, another addition to the OpenAPI initiative. Stoplight.io has joined the OpenAPI initiative.
- Strava, apparently, angered a number of their clients earlier this year by releasing a number of breaking changes with a minimum amount of communication. Phil Sturgeon not only spotted the discord, but - as I mentioned last time - has a fantasticpiece on properly handling API evolution.
- Twitter has postponed changes to its API, giving developers of popular clients until August 16th to update. While more time is welcome, I can understand why developers remain concerned about the new tiered pricing model.
WRAPPING UP
I'm overdue to add the latest meetups to webapi.events. Do you have an in-person event? I'm always happy to include community building activities, regardless of whey they may be in the world. Either respond to this note directly or send me an email at 'hello@matthewreinbold.com'.
Til next time,
Matthew