API First (ZendCon 2013)

A recent theme among web creators is the notion of mobile first. It's the idea that we should design first for the mobile experience. Throw in the concepts of progressive enhancement and responsive design, and we have some excellent approaches to interface design and development. But where does that leave the overall software design? How do we get all the data to the interface and manipulate it without building a lot of back-end scripts to drive the various front-end incarnations? A centralized API will solve these problems, but we're often scrambling to implement the "mobile first" strategy on top of existing code. For good web software design, it's time to start thinking in terms of API first. In this talk, Ben Ramsey pulls from his experience making APIs to discuss how you can begin projects with an API-centric mindset and use this to your advantage to deliver software quickly, more efficiently, and with higher quality. If you already have projects that began life without APIs, then have no fear. Ben will also share how to use the same principles to convert existing web applications to API-backed software with some elbow grease, of course.

Transcript

1. API First Ben Ramsey
4. 6 billion mobile subscriptions globally
5. 6 BILLION!!!
8. Website MVC Templates Static Assets Database
9. 6 BILLION!!!
10. Website & Mobile MVC Templates Static Assets Database Mobile Templates Separate Mobile MVC Templates Static Assets Database Website & Mobile MVC Templates Static Assets Database Mobile Templates Mobi MVC
11. Mobile MVC Templates Static Assets Website MVC Templates Static Assets Database
13. Mobile MVC Templates Static Assets Website MVC Templates Static Assets Database Native App API Native App
15. Mobile MVC Templates Static Assets Website MVC Templates Static Assets Database Native App API Native App
16. Mobile MVC Templates Static Assets Website MVC Templates Static Assets Database Native App API Native App
17. Mobile MVC Templates Static Assets Website MVC Templates Static Assets Database Native App API Native App
18. Mobile MVC Templates Static Assets Website MVC Templates Static Assets Database Native App API Native App
20. “A big ball of mud is haphazardly structured, sprawling, sloppy, duct-tape and bailing wire, spaghetti code jungle. We’ve all seen them. These systems show unmistakable signs of unregulated growth, and repeated, expedient repair. Information is shared promiscuously among distant elements of the system, often to the point where nearly all the important information becomes global or duplicated. The overall structure of the system may never have been well defined. If it was, it may have eroded beyond recognition.” — Brian Foote and Joseph Yoder, laputan.org/mud
21. Start with the API first
22. Mobile MVC Templates Static Assets Website MVC Templates Static Assets Database Native App API Native App
23. Start with the API first
24. 1. Separation of concerns
25. API Layer UI 1 UI 2 UI 3
26. 2. Scalable
27. 2a. Team
28. 2b. Product
29. 2c. Business
30. 2d. Technology
31. API Layer UI 1 UI 2 UI 3 Users Assets Products Trx
32. 3. Extensible
33. 4. Seamless
34. 5. Evolvable
35. SOLID
36. 1. Single responsibility
37. 2. Open/closed
38. 3. Liskov substitution
39. Client Service 1 Service 2 Service 3
40. Client Service 1 Service 2 Service 3
41. 4. Interface segregation
42. 5. Dependency inversion
43. Client Service 1 Service 2 Service 3
44. Service-oriented architecture
45. Representational State Transfer (REST)
46. 1. Client-server 2. Stateless 3. Cacheable 4. Layered system 5. Code on demand 6. Uniform interface
48. API Layer Native App Website Mobile Users Assets Products Trx Database
49. What about “legacy” code?
50. Mobile MVC Templates Static Assets Website MVC Templates Static Assets Database Native App API Native App
51. Mobile MVC Templates Static Assets Website MVC Templates Static Assets Database API Layer Native App
52. Mobile MVC Templates Static Assets Website MVC Templates Static Assets Database API Layer Native App
53. But how do we “sell” it within our company?
54. 1. Show how it adds value, increases throughput, and decreases time to implement change requests and new features 2. Demo a working prototype 3. Do this with a presentation 4. Tell a convincing story 5. Create a roadmap 6. Get help from a co-worker, boss, or mentor
55. Ben Ramsey benramsey.com @ramsey joind.in/9094 Thank you
56. API First Copyright © Ben Ramsey. Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivs 3.0 Unported. For uses not covered under this license, please contact the author. Ramsey, Ben. “API First.” ZendCon. Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, CA. 10 Oct. 2013. Conference Presentation.
57. Photo Credits 1. “Samsung to Launch Smart Feature Phone ‘REX Series’ in Emerging Markets” by Samsung Tomorrow, flickr.com/photos/samsungtomorrow/8475665954 2. “Danger D'Avalanche” by Peter Dutton, flickr.com/photos/joeshlabotnik/375149668 3. “Favela da Rocinha” by Scott Hadfield, flickr.com/photos/hadsie/3289716114 4. “Wrapping paper and bow” by Jonathan, flickr.com/photos/metabrilliant/4805163439