Justin Lovell introduces API management and how various cogs of technology may be implemented such that companies are able to succeed by building a deep foundation whilst moving at the speed of Agile.
4. Web First
Mobile First
API First
API-first really resonates well with our mission to build micro-
services. It just seems natural, and you just have to ask
yourself why this is the case?
5. Our API’s are the platform and not
the product on show. We need
other developers outside of the
team to employ our platform so that
the product which the API supports
could organically grow. By itself!
Organic Growth vs. Team Delivery
6. API First in 2002
1. All teams henceforth will expose their data and functionality
through interfaces
2. Teams must communicate with each other through these
interfaces
3. There should be no other form of inter-process communications
allowed; no direct linking, no direct reads of another team’s data
store, no back-doors whatsoever. The only communication allowed
is via service interface calls over the network
4. All service interfaces, without exception, must be designed from
the ground up to be externalized. That is to say the team must
plan and design to expose the interface to developers to the
outside world. No exceptions
7. The Parallel: Micro-Services
1. Expose data and functionality via interfaces. Ditto for micro-
services
2. Standard protocols for communications. Micro-services
expose a contract for the standard interfaces it exposes
3. Use the advertised interfaces and contracts only; no back-
doors. Segregation and independence is strongly encouraged by
micro-services
4. All API’s are to be exposed and consumable within the public
domain. Yup, this is still a scary proposition so let’s explore it with
API Management services. We will get to that shortly
8. Developer Support and Service
Contracts are Important
Don’t break your API users
Provide support when they want to
adopt your platform
10. Monitoring and Quality Assurance
Both are interconnected
Healthy services is not whether it is
up or not; facets of good health
• Response times
• Correctness
• Durable
• Resiliency
12. API Management in Action
API#1 API#2 API#3Micro-Services
API Management
Product #A Product #B
Products for
Consumers
Policies Policy Policy Policy Policy
Developer Apps Foo Bar
Dev Portal API and Docs Exposed to the World
13. Don't Defer APIm
Current API Consumers are Small
Never underestimate organic growth. When your
API consumers grow, find ways to automate.
Your API is already easy to understand
So you don’t write documentation? Not all your
users are so savvy implementing others’ code.
It’s easy to control access to your API
Tomorrow’s requirement: have multiple tier levels
of products with various throttle controls. Now
what?
14. Don't Defer APIm
There is no money in the API!
Yes, indirectly, you are exposing your product on
a platform which can organically grow
Designed for once off special use API
Probably today, yes. However, that mobile app
now has other feeds from IoT. Now what?
Partner API already has a dashboard
Good luck in trying to troubleshoot latency
issues when you rely on other people’s numbers
15. Other APIm Use Cases?
SOAP
Monitor external service
providers for free by
routing your API calls
through the API
Manager.
AKA: Lie Detector :)
18. Conclusion
(It’s all about the Platforms)
• Expose your API as soon as possible; it’s a platform
for organic growth outside of your teams’ efforts
• Publishers and consumers should have a first class
experience in experiencing the platform which you
expose
• Keep micro-services as lean as possible. Utilize the
abstractions provided for by the API Manager to
manage the more complex and common aspects of
your API exposure.