The API space is agile, ever changing, and the companies like Matrix Marketers using API in its core development process must continually meet the shifting user needs and demands.

Speeding up and securing this life cycle is seen by many, companies. Whether this is in effect, automated documentation, improved usability and developer experience with dynamic sandboxing, or decreasing speed to market through faster iteration, the benefits can’t be overstated.

This post elaborates the use of OpenAPIs in advanced development:

Defining OpenAPIs

It is a framework which can be implemented and designed to create machine-readable interface files for describing, producing, consuming, and visualizing web services in a RESTful architecture. The main purpose of development of Open API is to provide security to the API and its use.

OpenAPIs Specification

OpenAPIs Specification has some really special features that make it so well-received in the API world. First and foremost, OpenAPI is language-agnostic. The API development is not dependent on any software language and has no preference for specific methods

Another huge benefit of the Openapi Specification is that, as a result of its specific dependence on declarative resource specification, clients have a much larger, more robust and holistic view of functionality. A template driven technology called Swagger-Codegen is used in Open API to generate documentation, server foundational stubs, and clients.

OpenAPI is the best way to develop APIs till date. With this in mind, how specifically does it help us toward our goal?

1.  API Fastness

Open APIs are developed to work fast to run faster applications such as mobile applications. In the classic development lifecycle, you’re playing a game of balance, you sacrifice quality for speed to market, and you give up some speed when you focus on securing resources. Here we are discussing few ways by which you can build secure OpenAPIs to be used in various web applications.

2. Proper Design and Approach

The Open API provides the better specification which uses latest tools and approaches to deliver the best solution. On the other hand, adopting a proper methodology for ensuring that content is properly synchronized can make for better functionality. The greatest part of all of this is that the three main ways this specification generation is done — Codegen, automatic generation and manually are completely adaptable to specific API functionalities and design aesthetics.

3. Complete Documentation and Description

We can easily describe an API using Open API specification. Every single aspect can be described easily in a simple but structured document.

Rapid Testing and Iteration

A declarative resource specification is used in Open API which allows easy exploration of the API without accessing server code or an understanding of the server implementation.

This means that, unlike other solutions where the dev has a great sandbox, but the average user is restricted, the API can be sandboxed in a way that allows for both developers and non-developers to understand and explore in an interactive sandbox.

This drastically aids in an iteration and enables truly rapid, dynamic testing with minimal overtime.

4: Shorter (More Secure) Time to Market

Due to the aforementioned drastic reduction in resource and time dedication for testing and iteration, this also naturally results in a decrease regarding time to market. By taking less time to iterate and using fewer resources between initial revisions, this results in a much quicker cycle as features are rolled into the main code set dynamically.

5: Machine and Human Readability and Translation

The OpenAPI Specification has the highest power in the API space. Whereas other solutions generate machine-centric data for the purpose of functionality and then derive from this human readable documentation and specification (or vice versa), the OpenAPI specification starts from a different position — a progenitor language from which all other content is derived.

The OpenAPI Specification can derive both machine and human readable content in a better, more complete way. This approach led Swagger to become a household name in the API space, and it continues to influence documentation trends to this day.

Conclusion:

OpenAPI Enables an Agile API Lifecycle. When we implement APIs, the first question in mind is how fast we will be able to move. The software industry is moving at a speed quick enough to iterate and innovate while securing the resources our consumers depend on. It’s no easy task. The companies like Matrix Marketers face everyday challenges. Many companies even left the used APIs as they couldn’t cope up.

The OpenAPI Specification is possibly the best implementation at this moment for this exact purpose. It’s method of generating documentation, and dynamic, diverse methods make it popular among the developers.