Do You Want a SDK with that API? Nordic Tour Highlights

[Editor’s note: This is a part of a series of blog posts summarizing the proceedings from the recent Nordic Tour.]

6737_01_OnlinedateiWe were very fortunate to have Holger Reinhardt, Product Architect & Business Developer at Layer 7, with us for part of the recent Nordic Tour. He posed the question to the attendees of the Stockholm and Copenhagen events: Do You Want a SDK with that API?

He touched on the following points as he unpacked this question:

  • Designing an API is easy, but effective API design is difficult.
  • SDKs allow developers to consume an API quickly, and to prototype new solutions using an API.
  • The best cases for using an SDK are to speed up “time to first use.”
  • Two of the biggest difficulties with using SDKs in production applications are that:
    1. Using the SDK may introduce a lot of unwanted dependencies that can have an adverse effect on your product; and
    2. May be overkill if the needs you have for the API are relatively few.
  • The rule of thumb for both API consumers and providers is to use/provide SDKs for prototyping and direct consumption of the API for production usage.
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His presentation in Copenhagen was recorded and is available on YouTube.

His slides are available in the Nordic APIs Slideshare stream.

Thanks again to Holger and Layer 7 for a great presentation and for your ongoing help in making the Nordics programmable!