Preface

From the time I started working with REST APIs at Socialtext in 2005, I’ve been fascinated by web services platforms. At Socialtext, we created a solid, consistent REST API, but it was only truly usable by our own team because the developer experience was immature. The documentation didn’t have great tutorials, and our outreach was limited. I learned to love the idea of a platform built on a solid protocol like HTTP and the extensibility of REST APIs.

Ever since getting struck by the bug, I’ve been an enthusiastic advocate for the design and usability of web APIs. I’ve spent many a weekend creating mashups with Twitter, Facebook, Freebase (RIP), LinkedIn, Netflix, and tens of other web services. As I used these APIs, I started to develop an overall definition for platforms with irresistible APIs—platforms that offered amazing developer experiences. I came to realize that an irresistible API needs more than excellent, consistent interfaces. It’s hard to succeed without great documentation, fantastic sample code, and an enthusiastic support structure.

As I worked in the industry, I was repeatedly employed in great positions to support developers and understand their needs. I came to realize that great developers who are trying to implement integrations with APIs don’t automatically understand web services, so I integrated this information into my ideas about irresistible APIs: don’t make assumptions about what your developers know. I started speaking at conferences and writing articles to help client developers understand and create amazing applications using web APIs.

I realized that educating the API creators was a more efficient way to improve the industry, and I began by speaking at the API Strategy and Practice conferences about developer experience to the companies developing and providing APIs. I started meeting and brainstorming with individuals in the API industry about best practices for web APIs. Over time I worked on ideas around creating APIs: treating your API as a first-class product, rather than shunting it off to the side of your main application. Despite the importance and visibility of web services, many companies hadn’t given any thought to designing for use cases and business value.

After integrating the lessons I’d learned, I started proposing a talk on “Irresistible APIs,” covering the entire spectrum of what I’d learned on the topic. Manning approached me to write a book with the information, and I jumped at the chance to share my ideas with people and companies across the globe. We are now on the cusp of a new stage of maturity for web services, and I hope my book can help move the industry in the right direction so that the use and integration of APIs will be easy for developers and profitable for companies.

I chose Node.js for this book because it’s the most straightforward language for creating web platforms. I have also created a GitHub repository with multiple language examples, listed in the “About the code” section.

I hope you enjoy reading the book as much as I did writing it. Go forth and be excellent to your developers!