1. API Readiness:
Visualizing and
Virtualizing
LO R I N D A B R A N D O N
@ L I N DY B R A N D O N
S M A RT B EA R
S O F T WA R E

2. Keys to a
successful
API
documentation
testing
mocking
evangelism
management
monitoring

3. But how do you get
there?

4. API
Readiness
visualize

5. Service Definitions
The best way to visualize your API

6. Describing
Is not really visualizing

7. Visualizing
:
New ideas
Coloring outside the lines
New Ideas
“The best design gets
out of the way
between the viewer’s
brain and the
content.”
– Edward Tufte

8. Visualizing
:
New ideas
Swagger.ed (credit - @chefarchitect)
Coloring outside the lines
New Ideas

9. Visualizing
:
New ideas
Ardoq
Coloring outside the lines
New Ideas

10. Visualizing
:
New ideas
LucyBot
Coloring outside the lines
New Ideas

11. API
Readiness
visualize
validate

12. Functional Test
Live up to your own hype

13. Load Test
Don’t let success kill you

14. Security Test
Know where the dangers are

15. API
Readiness
visualize
validate
virtualize

16. Why virtualize your
APIs?

17. Bootstrap
Parallel dev and test
Test Design
Virtual API
Generate
from spec or
with tools
Client Development
Integration Development

18. Isolate
Test execution and
development
Test Execution
(automated or manual)
Development
Component in
dev or test
3rd party APIs
(virtualized)
Other APIs
(virtualized)
Legacy Systems
(virtualized)
• Simulate (un)expected behavior
• Minimize impact on and usage of external systems
• Assert usage of external components

19. Performance
Test
Solution
under test
Load Test Execution
(automated or manual)
3rd party APIs
(virtualized)
Other APIs
(virtualized)
Legacy Systems
(virtualized)
• Simulate (un)expected performance in external systems
• Minimize impact on and usage of external systems
• Triage Performance bottlenecks

20. Provide
Sandbox
Hardware /
Software
Solution
API Virtual API
Evaluate
Integrate
Integration Test

21. Enable API evolution… Corp
Corp
Web
app
Corp
App +
API
API
API
API
Device
APP
API
Device
IoT
Device
IoT
Device
API
API
API

22. Three Levels
of API
Virtualization
Static Mocks
Static responses
• Semantically
correct
• No logic
• Payloads
generated from
schemas or
examples
Code or generated
from metadata
Dynamic Mocks
Dynamic responses
• Based on input
• Re-use input in
output
• Scripting
• Data-driven /
Data-generation
• Simulate state
Assertions on
incoming content
Virtual APIs
Runtime behavior simulation
Runtime management
• Redirect traffic to Virtual
APIs dynamically
• Access control
• Deployment
• Test execution
integration

23. API
Virtualization
- do you need
it?
• Local development & basic component
testing
• Requirement for sandbox environment(s)
• Collaborative evolution & testing of APIs with
low number of controlled dependencies
Maybe
• Collaborative evolution & testing of APIs with
high number of complex dependencies
Probably
• Need for simulating functional & non-
functional behavior in complex distributed
solutions
Definitely

24. API
Readiness
visualize
validate
virtualize
monitor

25. MONITO
RING
Virtual APIs
Mock Services
Production
APIs
Keep production
stable
Prevent
bottlenecks
Test
DevTestDev
Test
Ongoing development
API
Monitoring

26. visualize
validate
virtualize
monitor