Api-first architecture
An approach that treats APIs as primary product interfaces by specifying their contracts as a foundation for implementing the services and clients that use them.
Effective Platform Engineering
API-first architecture designs an API as the primary interface of a capability before building user interfaces or other tools on top of it.
- How it is used
- Supports self-service platform capabilities by making service interfaces the starting point for every feature, integration, and automation.
- How deep it goes
- Defines the interface-first rule and explains its flexibility and boundary benefits without prescribing detailed API implementation techniques.
- Examples
- Uses APIs, user interfaces, developer tools, integrations, and automation as the concrete capability layers.
- What you can do after
- Build self-service platform capabilities by defining APIs before adding user interfaces or developer tools.
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Platform Engineering on Kubernetes
A software development approach in which an API is designed as the primary interface for accessing a service before client implementations are built.
- How it is used
- Positions APIs as the stable access layer for consuming cloud services and provisioning resources.
- How deep it goes
- Defines exposed capabilities, ownership, lifecycle, and client tradeoffs, but stops short of prescribing cross-provider API standards.
- Examples
- Uses cloud-provider resources, configuration parameters, deployment regions, beta APIs, SDKs, CLIs, and dashboards as examples.
- What you can do after
- Evaluate/understand cloud platforms by inspecting their APIs, client layers, ownership model, and automation capabilities.
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Secure APIs
API design first is an approach that defines an API before implementing its producer or consumer.
- How it is used
- Aligns business, product, engineering, and security stakeholders before API implementation.
- How deep it goes
- Explains the design-first rationale, collaboration model, quality practices, and security benefit without prescribing a specific method.
- Examples
- Uses stakeholder collaboration, quality checks, standards, and detailed documentation as design-stage practices.
- What you can do after
- Evaluate and align API behavior before producer and consumer implementation begins.
Related concepts
- FastAPIused by · FastAPI is a Python web framework for building APIs, with type-annotation-based request handling, validation, and automatic OpenAPI documentation.
- contractuses · An API contract is a specification of the operations, data, and behavioral expectations that govern interactions between software components.
- self-serviceproduces · Self-service is a mode in which users independently obtain resources or perform supported tasks without requiring an intermediary for each request.
- design-first approachcontrasts with · A specification-first approach defines and validates an interface or behavioral contract before implementing the system that conforms to it.
- secure by designuses · Secure by design is an engineering approach that incorporates security requirements and protections throughout a system’s design, development, and lifecycle.
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