how do you write an api guide

What should be included in API documentation?

API documentation should provide an example of every call, every parameter, and responses for each call. It should include code samples for commonly used languages such as Java, JavaScript, PHP, and Python. Documentation should provide an explanation for each API request and examples of error messages.

What is an API developer guide?

A developer guide is reference documentation for each API operation (method). A typical organization might include: Use cases. URI (endpoint). Sample request.

How do I create API documentation template?

Make sure your API reference templates include the following information:The root path for this version of your API.Authentication and other headers required with each request.The path to call each endpoint.Which HTTP methods can be used with each endpoint.More items...•

Is writing an API difficult?

Writing a functional API is relatively easy, but writing a good one that's functional and empowers your users takes planning and patience. Designing a good API is about creating a sense of clarity and simplicity—it's the bridge between your intention and your users.

What is the most used template for API documentation?

REST API Documentation TemplateOpenAPI (Swagger): Previously called Swagger, this is the most popular Open-source documentation template in the market. ... RAML: Also known as RESTful API Modelling Language, is a simple way of documenting RESTful APIs.More items...•

What is an example of an API?

API is the acronym for Application Programming Interface, which is a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other. Each time you use an app like Facebook, send an instant message, or check the weather on your phone, you're using an API.

What is an API template?

The api template creates a simple api module with an empty public interface. For example, suppose you want to create an API project called my-api-project with a package name of com.liferay.docs.api and a class name of MyApi .

What is API format?

An API is an Application Programming Interface A web API or web service API is a set of tools that allow developers to send and receive instructions and data between a web server and a web browser — usually in JSON format — to build applications. Read more about JSON on MDN.

How do I write a RESTful API?

Security & authenticationUse HTTPS. A secure REST API should only provide HTTPS endpoints. ... Add a timestamp to HTTP requests. Alongside other parameters, include a timestamp for your request. ... Restrict HTTP methods. ... Consider input validation. ... Use OAuth. ... Don't expose sensitive data in URLs. ... Perform security checks.

What does a good API look like?

A good API must be able to limit the amount of data that can be received in one go, as well as the frequency of requests for data. It should also be able to notify about how many “pages” of the data are left.

How long does it take to write an API?

How long does it take to build an API app? An API app usually takes 69 hours to build. However, an API app can be built in as few as 35 hours, or in as many as 104 hours. The exact timeline mostly depends on how complicated your app is.

How do I create my own API?

How to Build an API: a Comprehensive GuideStart with your goals and intended users.Design the API architecture.Develop your API.Test your API.Monitor your API and iterate on feedback.

How much do API developers make?

Salary Ranges for Api Programmers The salaries of Api Programmers in the US range from $116,000 to $174,000 , with a median salary of $145,000 .

Whats API means?

Application Programming InterfaceAPI stands for Application Programming Interface. In the context of APIs, the word Application refers to any software with a distinct function. Interface can be thought of as a contract of service between two applications. This contract defines how the two communicate with each other using requests and responses.

What is required for API development?

While developing an API endpoint, you'll need to specify the types of requests it can receive, its responses, and errors. With the REST architecture, your endpoints can receive requests that contain different HTTP methods: The GET method is used to read resources from your database.

What an API does?

Application programming interfaces, or APIs, simplify software development and innovation by enabling applications to exchange data and functionality easily and securely.

What is RapidAPI

RapidAPI is the world’s largest API marketplace with over 500,000 developers and 8,000 APIs. Discover, evaluate, and integrate with any API using a...

How Do I Reset a Compromised API Key?

To reset your API key, you will need to delete the application associated with compromised API Key. To do this, head over to your developer dashboa...

How to Change My Credit Card?

There are many reasons why you might want to change your credit card on RapidAPI. To do this, you can go to your billing dashboard at dashboard.rap...

Deleting Your Credit Card

In order to delete your credit card, you must first unsubscribe from all the APIs your account was using.

What If My Credit Card Is Declined?

Sometimes depending on the bank's fraud protection settings, a bank will decline the validation charge we make when we attempt to be sure a card is...

Does an API have _______ Functionality?

With so many APIs available on RapidAPI, created by thousands of different API providers, there is a lot of different API functionality you can fin...

What Should I Do If I’ve Found an API That Is Fraudulent or Falsely Advertising What It Provides?

Our entire team wants to ensure you have the best experience possible while using RapidAPI. Unfortunately, there can be times when an API provider...

When Does the Daily Pricing Quota Window Reset?

RapidAPI provides a lot of customization for how API providers set up their pricing, one of these options is the ability to set a daily quota limit...

Where can I find the exact subscription start time?

By going to your billing dashboard, then transaction history, you'll see a list of your invoices. Opening one of your invoices will show the exact...

What is an API reference?

An API reference will generally contain the following pages. You can find more details of what each page contains, examples, and templates, in our Page types article. Before you start you should write down a list of all the pages you should create.

What is an API overview page?

A single API overview page is used to describe the role of the API, its top-level interfaces, related features contained in other interfaces, and other high level details. Its name and slug should be the name of the API plus "API" on the end. It is placed at the top level of the API reference, as a child of https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API.

What to do when API has changed?

When an API has changed, you need to be careful that existing demos you refer to or learn from are not out of date. Check the main constructs that are used in the demo to see if they match up to the latest spec. They may also not work in up-to-date browsers, but this is not a very reliable test, as often the old features continue to be supported for backwards compatibility.

How to find the latest version of a W3C spec?

To find it, you can usually do a Web search. The latest version will often be linked to from all versions of the spec, listed under "latest draft" or similar.

What should the first paragraph of the landing page provide?

Description: the first paragraph of the landing page should provide a short, concise description of the API's overarching purpose.

What is interface page?

Interface pages. Each interface will have its own page too, describing the purpose of the interface, listing any members (constructors, methods, properties, etc. it contains), and showing what browsers it is compatible with. A page's name and slug should be the name of the interface, exactly as written in the spec.

Do instance methods exist in a class?

Usually only instance methods exist, in which case you can put these under the title "Methods".

How to get an API key?

1. Get an API key. An API Key is a unique string of letters and numbers. You will need to add an API key to each request so that the API can identify you. In order to get an API key, you need to somehow register with the API server and enter your identity data.

What is an API?

It is a sequence of tasks that run synchronously as a result of the execution and not at the request of a task. Its main uses are to speed up the process of execution and improve the performance of the listeners in the web interfaces. You can read more about API types here: Types of API.

What is an API and How Do They Work?

In the process of improving your applications, you will eventually come across a term like API.

Why are APIs important?

If there were no APIs, the functionality of your applications would be limited, and the development time would increase significantly since any function that is not implemented as a module of one of the programming languages would have to be developed independently.

How to reset API key?

On the left-hand side, select the ‘My Apps’ button. From there, select the pencil for the Application/API key you would like reset and press the ‘Delete’ button when it appears. After deleting the application, you can add a new application to generate a new app/API key for your account.

What are the different types of APIs?

There are four main types of APIs: 1 Open APIs: Also known as Public APIs, there are no restrictions to access these types of APIs because they are publicly available. 2 Partner APIs: One needs specific rights or licenses in order to access this type of APIs because they are not available to the public. 3 Internal APIs: Also known as Private APIs, only internal systems expose this type of API, which is, therefore, less known and often meant to be used inside the company. The company uses this type of API among the different internal teams to be able to improve its products and services. 4 Composite APIs: This type of API combines different data and service APIs. It is a sequence of tasks that run synchronously as a result of the execution and not at the request of a task. Its main uses are to speed up the process of execution and improve the performance of the listeners in the web interfaces.

How many APIs are there in RapidAPI?

RapidAPI is the world’s largest API marketplace with over 500,000 developers and 8,000 APIs. Discover, evaluate, and integrate with any API using a single account.

What are the Types of API Documentation?

There are three types of API documentation: reference, tutorial, and conceptual.

How to Write API Documentation: A Step-by-Step Guide

Writing great API documentation can be hard, but you can do it well if you follow a process based on best practices. A good understanding of APIs also helps. It’s ideal if you have some knowledge of programming languages, such as PHP, Java, and Python, along with some technical writing experience.

API Documentation Best Practices

Here are some best practices that will improve the developer experience for your API documentation.

API Documentation Tools

Using an API documentation tool can provide many benefits. Tools help to reduce the time it takes for developers and technical writers to write and maintain API documentation by automating or simplifying some tasks.

Who Writes API Documentation?

Writing API documentation requires technical skills and an understanding of how APIs work. It is a collaborative process between developers, technical writers, and other stakeholders.

What is API specification?

An API specification is like a template of your future docs, the unified language that describes the design of your API, explains how it functions and what to expect from it. There are a few specifications, such as RAML (RESTful API Modeling Language), OpenAPI (formerly Swagger), and API Blueprint, but there’s a trend going on for combining all specs under the hood of OpenAPI.

How do APIs help developers?

APIs make the world go round. Developers use APIs almost every day – by some estimates, they spend a whopping 10+ hours a week working with APIs. This covers not only using them, but also researching, googling for support, studying reviews, and of course, rummaging around in the documentation. How clear, easy, useful, and supported your API is determines the whole developer experience (DX) – an emotional response devs have to the product. In the API economy, great developer experience is fundamental. APIs that help developers succeed and are a joy to use will get tons of users and rise above the competition. And it starts at the exact moment they open the documentation for the first time.

How to improve docs?

Use analytics to improve docs. Standard API analytics will tell you which endpoints are used more often, so you can focus on certain parts of documentation and provide more useful info or create dedicated tutorials. Monitor the use cases your APIs are used for because that will let you widen the value proposition and update the docs with more possibilities.

What is HTTP request?

HTTP requests. Providing web requests in HTTP is the bare minimum for documentation. It’s usually assumed that devs will know how to send HTTP requests in their language of choice, but sometimes, API creators include requests in various languages. This can be done automatically via API spec tools and API management tools like Postman.

How to talk to developers?

The developer community is laidback and informal, so they won’t appreciate dry corporate language even if it sounds more “professional.” Good docs always talk to humans.

What is API spec?

Alternative to traditional API doc solutions like WordPress or Drupal CMSs, API spec products are open source, created by the dev community for the dev community, have parsers in different programming languages, and constant creator support.

Why is technical documentation not written by developers?

There’s a reason technical documentation is usually not written by developers themselves – it’s the job of technical writers, experts in translating tech aspects into a readable format. But even technical writers tend to leak a bit of jargon into the text.

What should an API bring?

Your API should bring value both to your organization and its intended users.

What are the requirements for API?

Regardless of your architectural style, an API has to meet a number of requirements: Usability: developers should be able to learn and use your API with minimum effort; Reliability: the service should have minimal downtime; Scalability: the system should handle load spikes; Testability: testers should be able to easily identify any defects; and.

Why is my API response slow?

One way to avoid such issues is to enable the Accept-Ranges header for GET requests for large resources.

Why are APIs important?

APIs are everywhere. They help us integrate third-party features, connect enterprise systems, and exchange data between apps. Learning how to build an API turns regular developers into digital superheroes. Here’s our guide to unlocking your superpower.

Why should we pay attention to APIs?

APIs can be a major source of vulnerabilities (e.g. improper authentication, API keys in URI, unencrypted sensitive data, injections, replay attacks, stack trace leaks, DDoS attacks, etc.). That’s why you should pay enough attention to security at the design stage.

How can APIs leak information?

Be careful as APIs can leak sensitive information via stack traces in error messages. They can show the names of servers, frameworks, classes, versions, and SQL queries used on the project.

How to reduce response times on API?

To decrease response times and protect your API against DDoS attacks, you can split the data into several “pages”. For easier navigation, each page has its own URI. The API should only display a portion of data in one go and let users know how many pages are remaining.

What is an API?from ibm.com

An API is a set of defined rules that explain how computers or applications communicate with one another. APIs sit between an application and the web server, acting as an intermediary layer that processes data transfer between systems. Here’s how an API works:

What is an application programming interface (API)?from ibm.com

An application programming interface, or API, enables companies to open up their applications’ data and functionality to external third-party developers, business partners, and internal departments within their companies. This allows services and products to communicate with each other and leverage each other’s data and functionality through a documented interface. Developers don't need to know how an API is implemented; they simply use the interface to communicate with other products and services. API use has surged over the past decade, to the degree that many of the most popular web applications today would not be possible without APIs.

Why is it important to develop APIs?from ibm.com

It’s crucial to develop APIs fit for purpose in today’s world. Cloud native application development relies on connecting a microservices application architecture through your APIs to share data with external users, such as your customers.

What is an open API?from ibm.com

Open APIs are open source application programming interfaces you can access with the HTTP protocol. Also known as public APIs, they have defined API endpoints and request and response formats. Partner APIs are application programming interfaces exposed to or by strategic business partners.

What are the two common approaches to APIs?from ibm.com

When using APIs, there are two common architectural approaches—service-oriented architecture (SOA) and microservices architecture.

What are some examples of APIs?from ibm.com

Google Maps: One of the most common examples of a good API is the Google Maps service.

What is an API login?from ibm.com

Universal logins: A popular API example is the function that enables people to log in to websites by using their Facebook, Twitter, or Google profile login details. This convenient feature allows any website to leverage an API from one of the more popular services to quickly authenticate the user, saving them the time and hassle of setting up a new profile for every website service or new membership.

How Much Do You Know About API?

The API term opens up as “Application Programming Interface.” It is an essential component of the unrealized hybrid integration platform (HIP). It is an architectural approach to connecting and integrating everything with a digital pulse.

Working Components of the API?

Now that it is clear what an API is, let’s make things a little bit more substantial.

Why Build An API?

Why build an API, When to build an API were some other questions on our list. It’s time to discuss these questions. Every company holds valuable data and functionality within its systems. And businesses have had great success in building APIs for customers and other third-party uses.

Points To Consider While Building An API

Now, if you are building a website that includes sensitive data, you must add the log-in feature before the user can access it.

API Creation

Why create an API? Well, now you know the answer to this. How about gaining more information about it?

How To Build An API?

The process of building an API is very elementary. Assume building an API as a workflow with various phases. Each phase will have additional steps. Let me explain to you the stages of building an API.

Get Started With Extern Labs Today!

Extern Labs got your back. Now that we have explained how to build an API, you can consider taking a step forward.

What do you learn from API?

As you use the API, you’ll learn about endpoints, parameters, data types, authentication, curl, JSON, the command line, Chrome’s Developer Console, JavaScript, and more. The idea is that rather than learning about these concepts independent of any context, you learn them by immersing yourself in a real scenario while using an API. Immersion in real scenarios makes these tools and technologies more meaningful.

How many subscribers does I'd rather be writing have?

Keep current with the latest trends in technical communication by subscribing to the I'd Rather Be Writing newsletter. 5,500+ subscribers. (See email archive here .)

How to test if curl is installed?

If you want to test whether curl is installed, open Terminal (on Mac) or Command Prompt (on Windows) and paste in curl --get "https://api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/weather?zip=95050&units=imperial&appid=126cac1a482f51de0f1287b45ae2bf9a". If you get a JSON response, you’re good.

Which browser is best for inspecting JSON?

Chrome browser. Chrome provides a Javascript Console that works well for inspecting JSON, so we’ll be using Chrome. Also, in order to read JSON responses more easily in the browser, install the JSON Formatter Chrome extension.

Will this course help you get a job in API documentation?

This course will help you make that transition, but you can’t just passively read through the content. You need to do the activities outlined in each section, especially those topics that involve working with content from an open-source project (or something similar). These activities are crucial to building experience and credibility with a portfolio. I provide more details in Getting an API documentation job and thriving. Without a strong portfolio to demonstrate your writing expertise, almost no manager will hire you, even if you have an extensive tech background.

What is an API

An API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of functions that allows applications to access data and interact with external software components, operating systems, or microservices. To simplify, an API delivers a user request to a system and sends the system’s response back to a user.

How does an API work

Think of an API to be the “middleman” between the application you are using and the server. You tell your app to do something for you, then the app will use an API to communicate with the web server, telling it what to do. This action is called a request. Afterward, the server will send a response to be delivered by the “middleman” to your app.

APIs by use cases

APIs are handy. As we mentioned above, communication between various software and apps is essential in order to achieve a particular goal, so an API is designed based on what you want to accomplish. Let’s see a few examples:

APIs by release policy

Some APIs are built only for internal use. This is particularly common for large enterprises. Others are designed as products, meant to integrate with whatever software customers use. These are the main categories:

SOAP APIs

SOAP or Simple Object Access Protocol APIs are web communication protocols and are used for exchanging information and structured data over HTTP/HTTPS. Unlike REST APIs, SOAP supports the XML data format only.

REST APIs

The Representational State Transfer is an architecture style created by Roy Fielding in 2000 for designing coupled applications over HTTP and often used in API development. For a service to be referred to as RESTful, it mustn’t violate these constraints.

API Documentation

An APIs documentation isn’t some videogame tutorial you can skip with nonchalance and learn its mechanics along the way. The documentation contains instructions on how to effectively use and integrate said API.