Ad Hoc API Design vs API Design First
Developers should use Ad Hoc API Design in scenarios like proof-of-concept projects, internal tools with limited scope, or when experimenting with new ideas where formal design overhead is unnecessary meets developers should use api design first when building scalable, maintainable apis, especially in microservices architectures or when multiple teams need to integrate. Here's our take.
Ad Hoc API Design
Developers should use Ad Hoc API Design in scenarios like proof-of-concept projects, internal tools with limited scope, or when experimenting with new ideas where formal design overhead is unnecessary
Ad Hoc API Design
Nice PickDevelopers should use Ad Hoc API Design in scenarios like proof-of-concept projects, internal tools with limited scope, or when experimenting with new ideas where formal design overhead is unnecessary
Pros
- +It allows for rapid iteration and flexibility, but it's not recommended for production systems, public APIs, or large-scale applications due to risks like technical debt, integration challenges, and poor developer experience
- +Related to: api-design, rest-api
Cons
- -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case
API Design First
Developers should use API Design First when building scalable, maintainable APIs, especially in microservices architectures or when multiple teams need to integrate
Pros
- +It reduces integration errors by providing a clear contract early, supports automated documentation and testing, and allows for client SDK generation before backend completion
- +Related to: openapi, swagger
Cons
- -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case
The Verdict
Use Ad Hoc API Design if: You want it allows for rapid iteration and flexibility, but it's not recommended for production systems, public apis, or large-scale applications due to risks like technical debt, integration challenges, and poor developer experience and can live with specific tradeoffs depend on your use case.
Use API Design First if: You prioritize it reduces integration errors by providing a clear contract early, supports automated documentation and testing, and allows for client sdk generation before backend completion over what Ad Hoc API Design offers.
Developers should use Ad Hoc API Design in scenarios like proof-of-concept projects, internal tools with limited scope, or when experimenting with new ideas where formal design overhead is unnecessary
Disagree with our pick? nice@nicepick.dev