Establishing an API First Approach

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An API First Approach implies that the API is a first class citizen. The API is developed with the goal of API consumption in mind. The API is our point of differentiation.

Companies have normally focused on building the application or website first and then worrying about the API later or making changes later if the company decides to make it public.

Examples of creating an API first approach include:

  • Creating the API before the website
  • Creating the API before the app
  • Creating the API before syncing with the database

Why API First?

API first is a popular strategy because it’s essential to get it right for digital transformation. Properly constructed and optimized APIs allow other applications to be easily integrated which helps reduce the amount of duplicate data entry being done.

API First Development Considerations

When we build an API we need to really understand the requirements whether they be business requirements, nonfunctional requirements or technical considerations. We also need to think about the following questions.

  • What are our minimum requirements?
  • How will the API scale?
  • How will the API connect to other systems or services?
  • What caching is required?

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Brian is a software architect and technology leader living in Niagara Falls with 13+ years of development experience. He is passionate about automation, business process re-engineering, and building a better tomorrow.

Brian is a proud father of four: two boys, and two girls and has been happily married to Crystal for more than ten years. From time to time, Brian may post about his faith, his family, and definitely about technology.