With the rapid increase of APIs emerging over the last few years, an ecosystem of low-code solutions has emerged to connect the dots between existing API-enabled services. These services are well within reach of the average developer, opening up a wealth of API-driven capabilities associated with the applications, services, and platforms we already depend on.

But what if you had to build your own API?

The API development process

Arguably there are three significant blocks when developing an API:

• Designing the API,
• Building the API and
• Hosting the API.

Each of these areas need to be addressed in taking your API design into production. Before going into detail, it is essential to understand an API’s typical development process. Typically, an API is developed in multiple phases.

API development tools

Just as the rise of RESTful APIs has been explosive, so has the rise in tools for creating, testing, and managing them. Whether you’re a newbie building your first API, or an expert racing an intractable deadline, there is a gamut of services to help you bring your API from concept to production. When looking to build and implement your API, each step might likely be done with a different tool or platform.

API Design

Several tools can assist in designing and testing your API. With many, you can visualise and test your OpenAPI specification, then automate API testing once it’s ready. Of course, you’ll still need to build the API, implement business logic, host it, perform monitoring, and document it.

Code, Implement Logic and Testing

When it comes to building the API, there are several ways to do this. Which one you pick will depend on the available skills, the feature set you need to support, time and budget. Low-code platforms are often a good choice as they tackle many notorious issues associated with development – and hosting – while also reducing engineering time and resources required.

For example, using a low-code tool such as Linx can simplify the API development process into just the use of 2 tools.

By shrinking the number of tools you require to develop the API, the focus shifts from technical ability and mastery over a specific framework to ensuring that the business and complex logic operate as expected. Additionally, as low-code tools possess the additional benefit of speed of implementation, going from design to production can be far quicker than traditional tools.

Deploy, Monitor, Maintain

In the traditional API development process, the developer would be responsible for all the elements around hosting and management. Of course, you could opt for an IaaS platform where the basic building blocks are serverless functions like AWS Lambda or Azure Functions running behind their API management services. You would still need to code the API and have a good understanding of how APIs work, knowledge of the services offered by the IaaS platform and how they interact.

Low-Code Can Be the Perfect Match

A recent Statista report found that a whopping 29.5% of API developers’ time is spent programming and coding APIs. The second most time-consuming task was manually debugging code, which was 17%. Therefore it is no surprise that using APIs converges well with the concept of low-code platforms.

Low-code development accelerates the laborious line-by-line hand-coding - repeatedly writing, testing, and debugging code until it works correctly. It’s also a handy time-saver for replacing writing authentication code, parsing logic, and the mundane aspects of writing integration code to an external service. A key tradeoff to adopting a low-code platform for API development is binning your preferred frameworks, templates, and boilerplates for something new. This may seem daunting - and timely - at first, but the real challenge in delivering an API is time, complexity, profit, and process. So again, the right tool(s) is key to API success.

Design

It is natural for developers to roll up their sleeves and begin coding to deliver an API. It is what they are trained to do. But any good engineer can tell that if you start with a shaky foundation or bad bedrock, you will collapse, and the same is true for APIs. There isn’t an API developer worth their code that hasn’t come across Postman. It is highly popular and offers well-organized, structured documentation and a comprehensive set of tools for testing.

Build in Low Code

The whole point of programming is to solve complex problems, not introduce more. To build an API, the developer has several options - from the popular (Python) to the divergent (low code). You should consider the technical quality of your task, the knowledge required to complete the job, and your available resources. For example, Python is an excellent choice for API builds, but it is surprisingly complex when deploying your app. Conversely, if you have no affinity for any languages, a low code tool might be the answer as they are quicker to understand and use.

Testing

Exposing or consuming an API should be easy enough for most developers worth their salt. Still, they can easily be bogged down with complexity when working with many different APIs and systems. Furthermore, trying to test, implement, and manage everything turns what is supposed to be something straightforward into another layer of complexity. Using a tool such as Postman makes the process more accessible by providing a more precise method to verify the functionality, uptime, reliability, and security.

Hosting

Choosing the location to host your server is a big decision. Every project is different, each with specific needs for performance, scalability, and administrative features. With traditional API deployment, you would be responsible for the hosting environment. You will need to maintain the infrastructure - database objects, files, storage configurations, and plugins- even if it’s hosted on AWS or Azure. No matter where you deploy your API, it is a good idea to add operational and functional monitoring so you can follow the health of your service and analyze the API usage. In summary, a lot of work.

Low-code is an excellent option if you want to quickly get something out of the door, as the platform removes a bucketload of complexities around hosting and maintenance. The Linx platform, for example, provides a dedicated hosting server with standard monitoring, access control, and versioning. This means you will spend less time investing in complicated and increasingly unnecessary from-scratch infrastructure processes and maintenance.

Documentation

Providing easy-to-navigate, accurate documentation is essential in helping people understand what it does and how each request works. Postman (based on your specification) and Linx (from your application data) can dynamically generate documentation.

Wrapping Up

APIs have become the center of software development. They allow for flexible integrations and customization of existing products, enabling developers to enrich and enhance services in new and creative ways. The quicker you can get your product to production, the better. Of course, there will always be more problems to solve, but selecting and using the right tools can deliver high-quality APIs significantly faster and cheaper.

Bonus

Experience low-code API development and care-free 1-click deployment by trying the Postman to Production guide. The solution provides an end-to-end process for taking an OpenAPI specification to a live server.