DZone
Thanks for visiting DZone today,
Edit Profile
  • Manage Email Subscriptions
  • How to Post to DZone
  • Article Submission Guidelines
Sign Out View Profile
  • Post an Article
  • Manage My Drafts
Over 2 million developers have joined DZone.
Log In / Join
Refcards Trend Reports Events Over 2 million developers have joined DZone. Join Today! Thanks for visiting DZone today,
Edit Profile Manage Email Subscriptions Moderation Admin Console How to Post to DZone Article Submission Guidelines
View Profile
Sign Out
Refcards
Trend Reports
Events
Zones
Culture and Methodologies Agile Career Development Methodologies Team Management
Data Engineering AI/ML Big Data Data Databases IoT
Software Design and Architecture Cloud Architecture Containers Integration Microservices Performance Security
Coding Frameworks Java JavaScript Languages Tools
Testing, Deployment, and Maintenance Deployment DevOps and CI/CD Maintenance Monitoring and Observability Testing, Tools, and Frameworks
Culture and Methodologies
Agile Career Development Methodologies Team Management
Data Engineering
AI/ML Big Data Data Databases IoT
Software Design and Architecture
Cloud Architecture Containers Integration Microservices Performance Security
Coding
Frameworks Java JavaScript Languages Tools
Testing, Deployment, and Maintenance
Deployment DevOps and CI/CD Maintenance Monitoring and Observability Testing, Tools, and Frameworks
  1. DZone
  2. Data Engineering
  3. Databases
  4. Box's Seamless Approach To API Documentation

Box's Seamless Approach To API Documentation

We'll never see things move as fast as we want—but eventually, the world evolves. We'll see investment in areas that make a difference on the ground at API operations.

Kin Lane user avatar by
Kin Lane
·
Feb. 27, 17 · Opinion
Like (3)
Save
Tweet
Share
4.16K Views

Join the DZone community and get the full member experience.

Join For Free

The document platform Box updated their developer efforts recently, helping push forward the definition of what API documentation can be. I've long been advocating moving APIs out from the shadow of the developer portal making them more seamless with any UI, kind of like CloudFlare does with their DNS dashboard. There is no reason the API should have to be hidden from users — it should be right behind the UI for everyone to discover.

Box does this. You can interact with files just like it is the regular interface. When you push get the folder items, upload file, or any other option available to you in the documentation, you get an example API request and response in the right-hand column. It is a blend of a regular UI and some of the attractive and interface documentation we've seen emerge lately, like ReDoc — making it easy to see and understand what an API does, while speaking in the context of solving a relevant problem for a human.

API documentation doesn't have to be overly technical and boring. It can look like a regular user interface, and the API can be right behind the UI curtain, providing a snapshot of the requests and responses that are doing the heavy lifting behind. I'm finally seeing the movement I have wanted to see with API documentation in 2017. I'm feeling like this is going to be a common theme in the world of APIs for all of us. We will never see things move as fast as we want, but eventually, the world evolves — and we will see investment in the areas that make a difference on the ground at API operations and for the consumers who are putting APIs to work in their regular world.

API Documentation

Published at DZone with permission of Kin Lane, DZone MVB. See the original article here.

Opinions expressed by DZone contributors are their own.

Popular on DZone

  • Express Hibernate Queries as Type-Safe Java Streams
  • Event Driven 2.0
  • How to Secure Your CI/CD Pipeline
  • Remote Debugging Dangers and Pitfalls

Comments

Partner Resources

X

ABOUT US

  • About DZone
  • Send feedback
  • Careers
  • Sitemap

ADVERTISE

  • Advertise with DZone

CONTRIBUTE ON DZONE

  • Article Submission Guidelines
  • Become a Contributor
  • Visit the Writers' Zone

LEGAL

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy

CONTACT US

  • 600 Park Offices Drive
  • Suite 300
  • Durham, NC 27709
  • support@dzone.com
  • +1 (919) 678-0300

Let's be friends: