Building a Web API
If you have every designed an API, you know that it is not a trivial process.
From naming, to versioning, to security, the number of things you have to get right is quite large.
Creating a Web API introduces more complexity; security writ large, versioning writ large, subscriber management, reporting, billing, etc.
At MIX, we will talk about the things that can help you build out Web APIs, including OData and “Dallas”.
There are also some interesting startups that provide services to help you kickstart your Web APIs.
One of which is WebServius, which I call out because I know one of the founders (they are also part of our BizSpark program).
They provide both free and paid services to enable you to focus on the Web API itself (still not an easy task), while letting them worry about security, monitoring, etc.
It is exactly these sorts of services that will help get more and more Web sites to offer Web API.
Over time, more and more developers will realize that it is the Web API, not the Web site, that truly captures and exposes real value.
The Twitter API is one of the first evidence points of this movement.
I long for the day when I can pivot and access any piece of information on the Web in tools like Excel or DabbleDB.
If you run a Web site, why not start today?
[...] about OData, an HTTP and Atom-based approach to data portability, as well as "Dallas" an information [...]
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