1.
Manage your Public API Like a
Protocol
Delyn Simons
VP Developer Platform, Mashery
@delynator @mashery #df12 #devzone

2.
What we hear from businesses
“We need to speed up our product development cycle.”
“Our stock price is half what it was 10 years ago.”
“How can we jumpstart innovation throughout the company?”
“My CEO wants us to have an iPad app by the next board meeting.”
“We are having a difficult time recruiting engineers.”

3.
What we hear from developers
• “Documentation and examples. Give me those, keep them up to date and I'm
happy.”
• “Version *every* change to your API, and version your docs the same way,
so I always know which functionality I'm getting, and what it's really supposed
to do.”
• “Keep your documentation up to date and in all reasonable instances provide
a fucking library for common languages that has real production-ready code
instead of some bullshit an intern wrote in an afternoon for a demo.”
• Credit: YourTrove Hacker News Developer Survey, August 2011

4.
Open APIs: Growth is accelerating
4 months
ProgrammableWeb API directory
7000 APIs and 6 months
9 months
18 months
8 years
Total APIs Over Time

5.
Slide Courtesy of ProgrammableWeb

6.
Slide Courtesy of ProgrammableWeb

7.
How did we get here?

8.
Think like a Product Think like a Platform
Device-centric Services-centric
OS Cloud
Hardware Content
Download Stream
Wired Magazine, Dec 2011

9.
Developers change the game

10.
Protocol: Communications
Definition: A system of digital message formats and rules for
exchanging those messages in or between computing systems. A
protocol definition defines the syntax, semantics, and synchronization
of communication.
Examples: HTTP, FTP, TCP/IP, POP3, OAuth, OData, Atom/RSS,
PubSubHubBub, OpenSocial
Credit: Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)

11.
Protocol: Diplomacy
Definition: a set of rules which guides how an activity should be
performed and based on the principles of civility. These well-
established and time-honored rules have made it easier for nations
and people to live and work together.
Examples: Kyoto Protocol, Montreal Protocol, US State Dept.
Office of the Chief of Protocol, United Nations Protocol to Prevent,
Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons.
Credit: International Association of Protocol Consultants and Officers.

12.
The promise of a great API platform

13.
… but unilaterally managed APIs often break the cycle

14.
Manage your API like a Protocol
Generous Terms of Service
Beautiful, well-maintained Docs/Code Samples
5 minutes > first API call
Developer Products are Products, too
Clear Versioning, Deprecation Policy

15.
Manage your API like a Protocol
Generous Terms of Service
Beautiful, well-maintained Docs/Code Samples
5 minutes > first API call
Developer Products are Products, too.
Clear Versioning, Deprecation Policy

16.
Manage your API like a Protocol
Generous Terms of Service
Beautiful, well-maintained Docs/Code Samples
5 minutes > first API call
Developer Products are Products, too.
Clear Versioning, Deprecation Policy

17.
Manage your API like a Protocol
Generous Terms of Service
Beautiful, well-maintained Docs/Code Samples
5 minutes > first API call
Developer Products are Products, too.
Clear Versioning, Deprecation Policy

18.
Manage your API like a Protocol
Generous Terms of Service
Beautiful, well-maintained Docs/Code Samples
5 minutes > first API call
Developer Products are Products, too.
Clear Versioning, Deprecation Policy

19.
Manage your API like a Protocol
Generous Terms of Service
Beautiful, well-maintained Docs/Code Samples
5 minutes > first API call
Release Products You are Proud of
Clear Versioning, Deprecation Policy

20.
Deliver on the promise of a great API platform

21.
Treat your developers like stakeholders
Photo Credit: flickr.com/techcrunch

22.
Thank you!
Your feedback is a gift.
Delyn Simons
@delynator, @mashery
#df12 #devzone
September 2012