Learning API Styles: Understanding the Trade-Offs of Common APIs and Choosing the Correct Solutions

by Lukasz Dynowski, Marcin Dulak

Overview

An application programming interface (API) enables data exchange in systems such as web applications, microservices, and IoT devices. In this hands-on book, authors Lukasz Dynowski and Marcin Dulak show software developers and architects how to design and implement REST, GraphQL, gRPC, webhooks, WebSocket, messaging APIs, and more.

This book looks at the most popular API styles from a network, application, and architecture perspective. You'll learn how to determine the appropriate type of API for your application use case and how to tackle design decisions along the way. You'll also learn the trade-offs between various APIs and acquire practical knowledge of how to implement them.

• Explore the origins and evolution of API styles
• Learn network protocols that various APIs use
• Understand the trade-offs of each API style
• Select an appropriate API style
• Learn how to implement, secure, and document the APIs

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781098153991
Publisher:	O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
Publication date:	08/26/2025
Pages:	396
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.19(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Lukasz Dynowski is an independent consultant with over 10 years of expertise in IT. He has held numerous positions and responsibilities, including full-stack developer, DevOps engineer, software architect, and many others. Lukasz has a scientific background; he spent several years in academia as a coauthor and contributor to scientific papers. Lukasz won and judged O’Reilly’s Software Architectural Katas and ranks among the top 0.1% developers on Stack Overflow. He is a Docker Captain and the biggest geek you’d ever meet. He is a devoted husband and father to two lovely kids.

Marcin Dulak has over 20 years of experience in IT. He developed quantum modeling algorithms, including porting code to high-performance computing architectures. He acquired expertise in implementing and operating on-premises and cloud infrastructure, focusing most recently on web applications. When at home, he enjoys time with his family and cats.