2016/09/22 by Ruben Verborgh, Michel Dumontier, Verborgh, Ruben +1
Computer Science · #Advanced Software Engineering Methodologies #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Service-Oriented Architecture and Web Services #Software Engineering (cs.SE) #Software System Performance and Reliability
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1609.07108
openalex publication_date 2016/09/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
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.