Tagged Questions
4
votes
2answers
101 views
Custom functions in a REST API
Looking at two of our entities Company and Address. A company has a billingAddress and a profileAddress.
I'm unsure of how to implement a function to set the billing address versus the profile. Here ...
2
votes
2answers
123 views
RESTful URI's, Creating a new noun/uri or add a queryparameter
I have a Person class with a one to many relationship to Employment. A Person in the CRM can have multiple Employments (historic data).
My current REST URI for this class looks like this:
...
0
votes
2answers
124 views
How does API design differ from general web application development design? [duplicate]
If I was working on a web application designing and writing an API how does that differ from a general web application development?
What things would I need to consider and take into account? Are ...
19
votes
8answers
1k views
“Public APIs are forever: Only one chance to get it right”?
In an OS book I just read that, "Public APIs are forever: Only one chance to get it right". Is it true? Is it applicable only in APIs of Operating Systems or other APIs too? For example, will this be ...
7
votes
1answer
450 views
What API design for storing generic data in a more specific format?
for In the project I am working on we send messages about widgets over message queues, serializing them onto the queues as XML. The XML schema contains tags for properties that are common to all types ...
4
votes
1answer
177 views
When to use nested resources in a RESTful API
I have two resources: users and links.
Users can have several links associated with them. I have designed my RESTful API so that you can reach the links associated with a user at the following URI:
...
4
votes
2answers
357 views
Implementing the command pattern in a RESTful API
I'm in the process of designing an HTTP API, hopefully making it as RESTful as possible.
There are some actions which functionality spreads over a few resources, and sometime needs to be undone.
I ...
0
votes
1answer
123 views
Rails-API gem, Is there such thing as an API only application?
I've built a few API's using the complete rails stack. In each project there have been multiple uses for rails core features. Each of the API has had management screens for monitoring usage, managing ...
6
votes
3answers
189 views
Does a mobile app need more access than the public API of a site?
I have a site with a public API, and some mobile app developers have been brought in to produce an iPhone app for the site. They insist they need to see the database schema, but as I understand it, ...
1
vote
1answer
131 views
RESTful API design - should a PUT return related data?
I have an API which allows a user to update their system status; and a separate call to retrieve system status updates from other users. Would it make sense to unify them under a PUT request where a ...
4
votes
1answer
534 views
Authentication for users on a Single Page App?
I have developed a single page app prototype that is using Backbone on the front end and going to consume from a thin RESTful API on the server for it's data.
Coming from heavy server side ...
3
votes
1answer
160 views
When designing an enterprise API, what level is appropriate for separating libraries?
Assume we are developing a REST system for an enterprise company to expose the companies resources in a Java based application. Ultimately you have one web application, and domain libraries. My ...
7
votes
1answer
228 views
How To Handle Login For An Unofficial API?
I am building a tool to access some data on a site (Fitocracy) and I would like to turn it into an unofficial partial API, as no official API exists.
If you are not logged in, you cannot get access ...
5
votes
3answers
250 views
How do I assess tradeoff between robustness and “lazy” code in API design?
Postel's law:
Be conservative in what you do, be liberal in what you accept from others.
"Lazy" code (per The Pragmatic Programmer):
Be strict in what you will accept before you begin, and ...
2
votes
3answers
304 views
One or many RESTful APIs for large company?
I work for a large company which has several non-RESTful APIs. I am tasked with building a web application to interact with these APIs. Each API handles and provides very different business processes ...
