API's

Question 1

Definition of API

Answer 1

An API is a set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate with each other

Question 2

Types of APIs:

Answer 2

• Public: Openly available for any developers.
• Private: Restricted for internal use within an organization.
• Partner: Shared with specific partners.
• Composite APIs: Combine multiple APIs into one, allowing complex operations to be executed with a single call.

Question 3

API Architectures

Answer 3

• REST: Representational State Transfer, a widely-used architectural style leveraging standard HTTP methods.
• GraphQL: A query language for APIs allowing clients to specify exactly what data they need.
• SOAP: Simple Object Access Protocol, a protocol for exchanging structured information.
• gRPC: A high-performance RPC framework using HTTP/2.
• WebSockets: Enables real-time, two-way communication between client and server.
• Webhooks: Allow servers to send callbacks to clients when events occur.
• AMQP: Advanced Message Queuing Protocol for messaging.
• MQTT: Lightweight messaging protocol for small sensors and devices.

Question 4

API Security

Answer 4

• Authentication: Verifies the identity of a user or application.
• OAuth: Standard for token-based authorization.
• JWT: JSON Web Tokens for secure data transmission.
• Basic Authentication: Uses username and password.
• Rate Limiting: Controls the number of API calls a client can make in a certain time.
• Encryption: Secures data in transit using protocols like TLS/SSL.
• Authorization: Ensures that authenticated users have permission to perform specific actions.

Question 5

Principles to create robust APIs

Answer 5

• RESTful Conventions: Following REST principles for resource design.
• Versioning: Managing API updates without breaking existing clients.
• Pagination: Handling large data sets efficiently.
• HATEOAS: Hypermedia as the engine of application state, guiding clients through available actions

Question 6

API Documentation
💡Guides developers on how to use APIs:

Answer 6

• Swagger: OpenAPI specification, a powerful tool for API documentation.
• Postman: Platform for testing APIs.
• OpenAPI Specification: Standard that defines how APIs should be described.
• Redoc: API documentation generator.

Question 7

API Testing

Answer 7

• Postman: For manual and automated testing.
• SoapUI: Testing SOAP and REST APIs.
• Katalon Studio: Automation testing.
• Insomnia: REST client for debugging APIs.
• JMeter: Performance testing.
• Pact: Consumer-driven contract testing.
• Karate: API testing automation.
• Rest-Assured: Java library for testing REST services.
• Newman: CLI agent for Postman collections.
• Cypress: End-to-end testing.