Building APIs for Developers

Kirsten Jones, Technical Leader, Cisco Systems

@synedrahttp://www.princesspolymath.com

Who’s this talk for?

API Developers Application Developers Architects / Designers

Focus: Building an API Developers Love

What Attracts Developers?

Why Are you Building an API?

Design with Developers in Mind

Know Your Business Goals

Start with Understandable Use Cases

Understand API Costs

Communicate Clear Guidelines

Schemas, Query Language, and Throttling

Engage Developers

Clear Communication about API Goals

Engaging Tutorials (Firebase)

Examples of Working Applications

Task-based Documentation

Support your Developers

Understand / Prevent Common Pain Points Authentication HTTP Issues Libraries

Teach Developers to Be Successful Asking Questions Well Preventing Preventable Mistakes Debugging HTTP Traffic Tools and exploration (IODocs, Swagger)