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RubyConf 2019 - Principles of Awesome APIs and How to Build Them by Keavy McMinn We know the theory of what makes for a good API: it should be consistent, stable, and well documented. However, when we struggle to put good principles into practice, the API becomes difficult for your teammates and frustrating for your users. So, how do we pragmatically implement APIs in line with good principles? In particular, how do we get a bundle of engineers to do this together? This is a talk for those curious about designing, building, and maintaining modern APIs. We’ll look at specific tooling and strategies to help improve and maintain the quality, consistency, and stability of your API. You’ll learn how to proactively make improvements to these areas, and how to make it easier to shepherd API development in your company. #confreaks #rubyconf2019
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In her talk titled *Principles of Awesome APIs and How to Build Them*, presented at RubyConf 2019, Keavy McMinn emphasizes the importance of creating consistent, stable, and well-documented APIs. Through an engaging narrative that parallels her experiences training for Ironman triathlons, she illustrates how embracing constraints leads to better API development. The following key points were discussed during the presentation: - **Understanding API Challenges**: Developers often face difficulties in maintaining APIs due to the nature of their use by both humans and machines, necessitating a conservative approach to changes. - **Embracing Constraints**: API developers can either fight against constraints or work with them. Accepting the reality of API constraints allows for smoother development and increased user trust. - **Consistency**: It is critical to maintain uniformity in how data is represented across different endpoints. McMinn advocates for employing tools like JSON Schema as a source of truth to validate and document API responses, ensuring consistency and preventing discrepancies. - **Stability**: Writing clear documentation and defining the purpose and structure of APIs is essential before diving into coding. Stability requires thinking about how changes affect users and minimizing negative impacts through transitions and versioning strategies. - **Documentation**: Comprehensive documentation, including a change log and deprecation policy, is vital for user confidence. Informing users about changes and providing guidelines ensures that they are prepared for any updates. - **Ownership and Governance**: Clear ownership of API components and documentation of responsibilities are necessary to maintain quality and manage changes efficiently. McMinn concludes by stressing that successful API development should not be hard; it simply needs to be consistent. Her insights focus on the philosophy that understanding and planning for constraints creates a pathway for building exceptional APIs, encouraging developers to utilize these principles practically and thoughtfully in their work.
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