Do you need to adopt GraphQL to get its advantages? Were the ideas behind REST and hypermedia misaligned with client needs all along? I don’t think so. In this talk, I will explore API design from the perspective of the clients consuming the API. We will look at how different client platform constraints and use cases benefit from different styles of Web API design. Then, I will demonstrate how the JSONAPI.org specification enables API providers to serve diverse, often opposing client requirements.
This talk is informed by my 4 years leading Web API design and infrastructure at Fitbit and why it ultimately chose JSON API for the next version of its Web API.