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Ruben Verborgh

A Web API ecosystem through feature-based reuse

Ruben Verborgh and Michel Dumontier

The fast-growing Web API landscape brings clients more options than ever before—in theory. In practice, they cannot easily switch between different providers offering similar functionality. We discuss a vision for developing Web APIs based on reuse of interface parts called features. Through the introduction of 5 design principles, we investigate the impact of feature-based reuse on Web APIs. Applying these principles enables a granular reuse of client and server code, documentation, and tools. Together, they can foster a measurable ecosystem with cross-API compatibility, opening the door to a more flexible generation of Web clients.

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Published in 2018 in Internet Computing.

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Cite this article easily using its BibTeX entry:

@article{verborgh_ic_2018,
  title = {A~{Web API} ecosystem through feature-based reuse},
  author = {Verborgh, Ruben and Dumontier, Michel},
  journal = {Internet Computing},
  year = 2018,
  month = may,
  publisher = {IEEE},
  volume = 22,
  number = 3,
  pages = {29--37},
  url = {https://ruben.verborgh.org/articles/web-api-ecosystem/},
  doi = {10.1109/MIC.2018.032501515},
}

Alternatively, pick a reference of your choice below:

ACM
Ruben Verborgh and Michel Dumontier. 2018. A Web API ecosystem through feature-based reuse. Internet Computing 22, 3 (May 2018), 29–37.
APA
Verborgh, R., & Dumontier, M. (2018). A Web API ecosystem through feature-based reuse. Internet Computing, 22(3), 29–37.
IEEE
R. Verborgh and M. Dumontier, “A Web API ecosystem through feature-based reuse,” Internet Computing, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 29–37, May 2018.
LNCS
Verborgh, R., Dumontier, M.: A Web API ecosystem through feature-based reuse. Internet Computing. 22, 29–37 (2018).
MLA
Verborgh, Ruben, and Michel Dumontier. “A Web API Ecosystem through Feature-Based Reuse.” Internet Computing, vol. 22, no. 3, IEEE, May 2018, pp. 29–37.

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