About this Book

Irresistible APIs provides all the information needed to plan and manage creation of a REST API. The book starts out with basic information about the technologies involved in web APIs—specifically REST APIs—to help make sure that readers have a great basic understanding of API functionality. Industry best practices are covered, informing the reader about how to think about creating a new platform. The book then describes a comprehensive process for planning, designing, and managing development of web APIs, from business value through developer support.

Who should read this book

This book is intended to be accessible to anyone interested on the topic of creating APIs—spanning from an individual developer or technical lead, through product and project managers, and up to executives directing engineering organizations. With that in mind, here are some thoughts on qualifications: the reader should understand, at least at a rudimentary level, the processes surrounding software development—planning, development, testing, and releasing. The reader should be able to follow somewhat technical discussions about software process, including the associated vocabulary. There are chapters that are introductions to specific topics and technologies. Where this occurs, there will be links out to the best supplemental material.

How this book is organized

The first part of the book covers the technologies and best practices for API creation and design. Topics include a discussion of the overall goals and ideals for an excellent API program and the notion of developer experience, the main focus for any web platform that is successful and engaging. A high-level description of the technologies and techniques used for web APIs is presented, as well as best practices for excellent APIs.

Part 2 features an overall strategy for API design and creation. Topics include the steps you need to follow before starting API creation. This covers determining business value, creating powerful metrics, and understanding use cases. Once these details are covered, the book moves on to techniques for designing, developing and supporting your web services to ensure they begin and remain as A-list destinations for your customers.

About the code

Code samples are provided in Node.js, and a Docker image is additionally provided for working with the API code directly. Examples of JSON and HTTP are provided to help understand these fundamental concepts. Developer-level understanding of code is not needed in order to understand the concepts in the book.

The code repository is at https://github.com/synedra/irresistible.

Author Online

Purchase of Irresistible APIs includes free access to a private web forum run by Manning Publications, where you can make comments about the book, ask technical questions, and receive help from the author and from other users. To access the forum and subscribe to it, point your web browser at www.manning.com/books/irresistible-apis. This page provides information on how to get on the forum once you are registered, what kind of help is available, and the rules of conduct on the forum.

Manning’s commitment to our readers is to provide a venue where a meaningful dialogue between individual readers and between readers and the author can take place. It is not a commitment to any specific amount of participation on the part of the author, whose contribution to the Author Online remains voluntary (and unpaid). We suggest you try asking the author some challenging questions, lest her interest stray! The Author Online forum and the archives of previous discussions will be accessible from the publisher’s website as long as the book is in print.

About the author

Kirsten Hunter is a passionate advocate for the development community. Her technical interests range from graph databases to cloud services, and her 10 years of experience using, supporting, and evangelizing REST APIs have given her a unique perspective on developer success. In her copious free time she’s a gamer, fantasy reader, and all around rabble-rouser. Code samples, recipes, and philosophical musings can be found on her website at www.princesspolymath.com.