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API First (ZendCon 2013)

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.

Ben Ramsey

October 10, 2013
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  1. 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
  2. “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
  3. 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
  4. 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.
  5. 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