Alen Pokos
API Design - Getting Started
#1about 6 minutes
Defining the goals and purpose of API design
A good API design process starts by aligning on business goals, as disagreements often stem from mismatched objectives rather than technical choices.
#2about 5 minutes
Decoupling the client, API, and backend pillars
A solution's architecture should treat the client, API, and backend as independent pillars to avoid fragility and tight coupling during development.
#3about 4 minutes
Using JSON:API to focus on data, not format
The JSON:API specification provides a standard for structure, relationships, and operations, allowing developers to focus on business data instead of reinventing formats.
#4about 4 minutes
Use case: Designing a user registration flow
A multi-step registration process should be handled by the client, while the API provides distinct endpoints for validation and final resource creation.
#5about 6 minutes
Use case: Evolving a classifieds listing resource
An example of iteratively designing a listing resource by adding seller relationships and handling user-specific data requests through filtering.
#6about 4 minutes
Use case: Modeling conversations and messages
Designing a messaging system involves modeling conversations and messages while consolidating redundant resource types like 'seller' and 'buyer' into a single 'user' type.
#7about 2 minutes
Use case: Designing a unified search endpoint
A single search endpoint can return different resource types by using a generic 'search_result' resource with polymorphic relationships.
#8about 2 minutes
Key takeaways and further API design topics
A summary of core principles like focusing on content and naming, plus a look at other critical topics like documentation, security, and versioning.
#9about 12 minutes
Audience Q&A on tools, errors, and GraphQL
The speaker answers audience questions on topics including documentation tools like Postman, error handling strategies, and comparing JSON:API with GraphQL.
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