# API Driven Development

<iframe class="speakerdeck-iframe" style="border: 0px; background: padding-box rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-radius: 6px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 5px 40px; width: 50%; height: auto; aspect-ratio: 560 / 430;" frameborder="0" src="https://speakerdeck.com/player/506c56d1ff33fd000205dfd2" title="API Driven Development" allowfullscreen="true" data-ratio="1.302325581395349"></iframe>


## Introduction to API Driven Development
- **Presenter**: Kenneth Reitz
- **Overview**: The talk focuses on API-driven development, highlighting how it benefits developers and enhances productivity.
- **Heroku Introduction**: Heroku is introduced as a web platform that abstracts server management, making application deployment easier.


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JQBnopNPQEc?si=o27f_29E6RvEv9sN" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>


## Open Source Contributions
- **Request Library**: Kenneth discusses his contribution to the open-source community, specifically the "Requests" library in Python, which simplifies HTTP requests.
- **HTTPBin**: He also developed HTTPBin, a web service for testing HTTP clients.

## Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)
- **Traditional Development Issues**: Kenneth explains common issues in traditional development where components are tightly coupled, making iterative changes difficult.
- **SOA as a Solution**: He advocates for Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) where different components or services are decoupled, making them easier to manage and scale.

## Building for Developers
- **APIs as First-Class Citizens**: APIs should be designed with developers in mind, treating them as first-class citizens in the development process.
- **Readme-Driven Development**: Kenneth recommends starting development by writing a README file that outlines how the API will be used, allowing developers to think from a user’s perspective.

## Pragmatic Development
- **Problem-Driven Development**: The best way to solve problems is by experiencing them firsthand. Kenneth shares examples, such as GitHub and 37signals, where products were developed to solve the founders' own problems.
- **Simplicity Over Functionality**: Kenneth emphasizes that a simple, easy-to-use API is more valuable than one packed with complex features.

## Closing Thoughts
- **Simplicity in API Design**: Simplicity should be prioritized in API design, ensuring that it is accessible and usable for developers.

## Q&A Session
- **Service-Oriented Architecture**: Kenneth discusses the challenges of transitioning a codebase to a service-oriented architecture and the importance of doing so early if scalability is a concern.