What’s Hiding in Your APIs?

There are 10 common gotchas that can quickly turn a well-intentioned API into a bad "culinary" experience. Much like a chef, developers create and deliver APIs that make or break a five-star customer experience. What can you do to avoid these common API scenarios?

• Forgetting something as little as the seasoning, a simple “s” can cause unwanted API surprises, redirects and problematic status codes.
• Ever try get a table at a popular restaurant in New York at 7pm without a reservation? In the same way, some APIs require ‘authorization’ vs. ‘authentication.’
• A good waiter will find out what’s wrong with your order and quickly correct the problem. Similarly, a good API error message can do the same.
• You would never just assume a waiter or chef was aware of your dietary restrictions, right? It’s the same with APIs when assessing information sent or received between clients and servers.
• You ordered Mac and Cheese, but the server gives you nachos instead. It’s the same scenario when an API returns a HTML error page instead of the JSON you expected.