It is becoming more and more important for us to organize the structure of software products because they are increasingly merely a collection of microservices and third-party OpenAPI mixed together.
By providing a comprehensive specification outlining how APIs of its type ought to operate, GraphQL accomplished this at the time of its creation. The environment for RESTful APIs took a more wild-west turn. Even so, not all backend developers are aware that there are different REST API requirements!
The OpenAPI specification, sometimes known as OAS, is among the most well-known application programming interfaces.
Put OpenAPI
Before version 3.0 of the OpenAPI specification was released in 2017, the name was changed to OpenAPI, the first known swagger. It’s a means of describing a RESTful API that may be used to create code stubs and documentation that is independent of the language.
The idea behind it is to use a YAML document to establish a REST API. You can use this document to create API endpoint documentation and methods. The OpenAPI specification enables us to separate the public interface of our API from the implementation details, even though APIs are typically used to decouple software.
The features that are required can be specified by the business and design teams, and an engineering team can produce an OpenAPI YAML document that formally defines all of these elements.
Why Should We Use It?
There are numerous benefits to introducing an OpenAPI software interface definition between the front end and the back end.
1. Design-First
Before we begin developing it, we can describe the entire API with types and examples for each endpoint. We can confirm that everything appears as anticipated using tools that provide fake APIs. By just repeating the specification paper, we may improve the design of our API.
2. Code Generators
The majority of languages are supported by their code generators under the REST specification known as OpenAPI. It creates server stubs in the language of our choice, which we must connect to our databases and backend services.
3. Tooling
The OpenAPI specification was once known as the Swagger specification before being donated to the OpenAPI organization. To speed up the API development process, a vast ecosystem of tools developed under the Swagger brand can be employed.
These can be utilized to automatically generate:
- Tests For Documentation,
- Simulated Servers
4. Large User Base
Many large corporations support and use OpenAPI, which may be seen as their distilled understanding of creating tens of thousands of APIs throughout the years. If we begin by creating our first API, this knowledge alone will be priceless, but it’s also helpful to know that there are many resources available in case something goes wrong.
5. An implementation that’s stable
Since the OpenAPI spec was previously known as the Swagger spec until 2017, it is not surprising that this version is not the original. The switch from Swagger to OpenAPI took place in version 3.0.
The specification is now considered mature and doesn’t change all that frequently.
Many large corporations support and use OpenAPI, which may be seen as their distilled understanding of creating tens of thousands of APIs throughout the years. If we begin by creating our first API, this knowledge alone will be priceless, but it’s also helpful to know that there are many resources available in case something goes wrong.
6. An implementation that’s stable
Since the OPENAPI specification was previously known as the Swagger specification until 2017, it is not surprising that this version is not the original. The switch from Swagger to OpenAPI took place in version 3.0.
Conclusion
OpenAPI is one of many attempts to distill decades of expertise in API development into a definition. Even the ones that appear to have the most support financially and intellectually. Due to its affiliation with the Linux Foundation, the OpenAPI Initiative has gained some legitimacy and, at the very least, gives the impression that it is here to stay.
Although it isn’t a panacea and definitely isn’t for everyone, the increased complexity can, when used properly, significantly reduce the amount of time needed to write future documentation and tests.
