Interesting books for advancing as an API developer

2 min reading
27 November 2018
Interesting books for advancing as an API developer
Interesting books for advancing as an API developer

BBVA API Market

“Ask Google”. This is perhaps today the most frequent answer to any query or requirement to acquire a new item of knowledge. And of course it works. But sometimes there is a need to go a little deeper.

“Ask Google”. This is perhaps today the most frequent answer to any query or requirement to acquire a new item of knowledge. And of course it works. But sometimes there is a need to go a little deeper, and although books currently seem condemned to an uncertain present, with people’s attention becoming ever more scattered and disputed, it is precisely because they require us to focus our attention that they are today one of the best possible channels for learning. And this is also true for developers seeking to improve their skills in the world of APIs.

Here is a list of five very useful books for this purpose:

Build APIs you won’t hate

With its clear and no-nonsense title, this book is aimed at programmers who already have some experience and history with APIs. It contains exercises with examples of PHP code, and highlights the most common errors and the author’s most successful experiences, along with the solutions and lessons he learned in the field of API development.

RESTFul web APIs

Unlike the previous one, this book is much more accessible and suited to those who are starting out on their journey in this subject, and therefore want to first clarify the most basic concepts without having to write too much code. The author analyzes SOAP vs REST architectures, backend languages and JSON versus XML response languages.

REST in practice

This original title –a play on the words of the well-known epitaph– is perfect for anyone looking for common solutions to web development, design patterns and the ways of thinking involved in the practical development of REST APIs. Another aspect worth noting is the author’s writing style, which is very natural and easy to understand. Both beginners and experts will find this book useful.

Service design patterns

This book by Robert Daigneau is ideal for expert developers looking for ways to improve and scale a modern API. The author explains the scenarios in which an API makes sense, and helps users avoid common pitfalls and errors throughout the development process. All the code is written in .NET or Java, so it is primarily a web programming book.

RESTful web API handbook

This 122-page guide covers the most important philosophies to take into account for the correct implementation of REST in the workflow. This guide is not suitable for beginners, but offers a valuable resource that can be regularly consulted for those who are not total experts but who already have some experience of REST.

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