Workshop: API Specification With OpenAPI & AsyncAPI
by Thilo Frotscher
System integration via APIs is an important part of modern software architectures. An elementary task in the development of such APIs is the creation of an API specification. If the ‘API First’ approach is followed, the specification serves as a starting point for iterative API design. If necessary, it can also be used to coordinate the interface between the provider and future consumers. Various tools are available that generate visually appealing API documentation from the specification. In addition, the specification serves as a first point of contact for client developers to clarify technical or functional questions.
When talking about APIs, most people first think of HTTP APIs that implement a synchronous communication pattern. For these APIs, OpenAPI has become the mainstream specification language. However, event-driven architectures and asynchronous APIs are now also becoming very common. In order to be able to create API specifications for asynchronous interfaces, a new specification language called AsyncAPI has been developed. It supports concepts such as channels, messages and different communication protocols.
In this workshop, participants will learn how to create API specifications with OpenAPI and AsyncAPI and which tools are available to support developers in this space.
