API Strategy every Developer should Adopt
Today, APIs are considered as an enabler in the digital transformations in the industries and businesses. APIs are allowing businesses to link their system with the technological advancements for the purpose of introducing soundness and efficiency. In any online marketplace, whether it is a bank, a financial institution or an online portal, APIs are used to open new pathways towards innovation and productivity.
Hundreds of APIs are introduced every day which support certain functionality or provide developers ways to introduce ease in their projects. In the online system development, developers use APIs to monetize the data, manage it and efficiently draw results from it. This on the other side facilitates the business in profitable partnerships with other businesses. Whether it is a small or renowned business, APIs are helping each of them in navigating towards a growth strategy.
A developer is the one who is going to implement the APIs in the system. Different APIs for different business needs. But, sometimes it gets hard for the developers to choose an API that fits in best into the system and can fulfill the purpose. For this, developers should follow a strategy that could help them select a better API for their project.
Read the Documentation Thoroughly
The very first step that developers should take while selecting an appropriate API is to read the API documentation. Refer to the official API documentation that is up-to-date and provides you accurate information and guide. Out-Dated API documentation distracts the developer and so fails to derive the value out of that API.
It is extremely important to read the APIs that you find more accurate and easy to grasp. Many online API providers present their APIs with proper use-cases and guides. Let’s say, you want to embed an API in your system. You are developing an online store, what APIs you need the most while developing such a platform?
You will be in need of an online payment handling APIs, several friendly interface APIs, Online identity verification APIs, and such related APIs.
The very first step you will be taking is to read the documentation of the aforementioned APIs. Now, it is the responsibility of the developer to use authenticated APIs that have a high rating and are used by other developers the most.
Go through the adoption of the Developer Community
Measure the matrices against which developers adopt APIs, evaluate APIs on those matrices and select the ones that highly follow the guidelines. Check the community engagement related to that API.
Try to engage yourself with the developer community, a discussion can give you much better results as compare to your own research. Technical experts sharing their experiences with the APIs would give you better feedback regarding the use of API, their versions and functionalities.
Jump into B2D Community
Another way of deciding a better API for your system is to jump into the Business to Developer (B2D) community. Find your concerns there and implement the API which is suggested by most of the developers. Check the reviews and comments. The best in class coding strategies and implementation details are provided in the B2D community which can help you explore different coding experience, tricks, and tips.
B2D community will help you judge the language that suits which API the most. Most of the APIs are provided with multiple supported programming languages. These languages may include python, ruby, HTTP, PHP, etc. Just like, you want to integrate an online identity verification API, the B2D community can help you find out the API that has documented its API integration details along with a number of languages. This helps programmers to integrate that API into their system efficiently. Therefore, it is better to engage with the programmers’ community where discussions can help you in better adoption of APIs.
