Nordic APIs Digest #7 / 2024

Hello world,

First off, the videos from the Austin API Summit are now live! Here's the playlist. See what 40+ experts have to say about API design, AI strategy, security, developer experience, API description languages, and more. Also, our YouTube channel just hit 10k subscribers! Thanks for following! ??

For the readers out there, I wrote up a blog about the key takeaways from the event, and a post covering my session on how to make "platinum APIs," as well.

On the blog, we recently welcomed Daniel Feichtinger to describe how he's tackling one of the underused REST constraints, code on demand, in a new interesting API standard and open-source project called HyperMap.

Adriano Mota is back, this time to explain the importance of API observability. We also looked into new text-to-image AI APIs, covered how to make a great developer experience around API versioning, and published a 101-style post on SOAP.

Thanks for reading,

Bill Doerrfeld , Editor in Chief, Nordic APIs

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Call for Speakers: Platform Summit 2024

Nordic APIs is excited to announce the Platform Summit 2024, to be held October 7-9 in Stockholm. Join industry leaders at Nordic APIs’ flagship API conference?to elevate your API strategies and craft top-tier, secure API platforms. Call for speakers and sponsorship opportunities are now open?here.

Blog Highlights

API 101: What is SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)?

by Kristopher Sandoval ?? GDC

Compared to other API formats, SOAP has a more formalized standard, making it applicable to high-grade security situations, says Kristopher Sandoval. Find the examples of SOAP in practice and its pros and cons - in this article.

Going Platinum: How to Make A Hit API

by Bill Doerrfeld

In music and APIs, style matters. In this blog post, Bill Doerrfeld explores the similarities between producing hit albums and APIs to learn how API producers can become platform rock stars.

14 Text-to-Image AI APIs

by Kristopher Sandoval

There are now many text-to-image APIs to choose from. Here are some top choices, from DALL·E, to Imagen, Stability AI, and others. Read article.

Crafting an Excellent Developer Experience for API Versioning

by Kristopher Sandoval

Versioning is a fact of life. For most APIs, there’s no avoiding it. But API versioning doesn’t have to mean broken clients. Thankfully, with proper planning and forethought, software providers can make the developer experience around versioning quite positive. Learn more.

There Are Only 6 Constraints in REST, Let's Use Them All

by Daniel Feichtinger

A newly proposed REST standard, HyperMap, is set to make implementing a core REST constraint — code on demand — much easier. Read article.

Understanding the Benefits of API Observability

by Adriano Mota

API observability offers several key advantages for businesses, primarily focused on improving performance, user experience, and overall business agility. Learn how it's different from typical API monitoring and what its benefits are - in this blog post.