A rant about error handling

Most APIs are usable when everything works, yet it's when something goes wrong that an API's true colours show through. In this talk, I will discuss what I consider to be the minimum viable error response for a competent API, through the lens of a real-world example of possibly the worst I have ever seen…

Transcript

1. A Rant About Error Handling Rob Allen 19ft.com ~ @akrabat ~ July 2016
2. Consider this error response Rob Allen ~ @akrabat
3. Consider this error response Rob Allen ~ @akrabat
4. Consider this error response Rob Allen ~ @akrabat
5. Consider this error response Rob Allen ~ @akrabat
6. Status Code 1xx,2xx,3xx - NOT an error 4xx - Client error 5xx - Server error Rob Allen ~ @akrabat
7. Media Type Honour accept header Content-Type must match the data Rob Allen ~ @akrabat
8. Messages Code & human readable, please! Use a structured response format Rob Allen ~ @akrabat
9. Thank you! Rob Allen ~ 19ft.com ~ @akrabat