Faster time-to-market with API-first

This page summarizes the projects mentioned and recommended in the original post on dev.to

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  • Flask

    The Python micro framework for building web applications.

  • The second major problem was the backend team wasn’t using a proper API framework. They used plain Flask with custom payload validation which they themselves implemented. You can picture it: hundreds of lines of code dedicated to API validation (for dates, for timestamps, for string formats, and so on), most of them untested. No wonder the project was going slow.

  • prism

    Turn any OpenAPI2/3 and Postman Collection file into an API server with mocking, transformations and validations. (by stoplightio)

  • prism

  • WorkOS

    The modern identity platform for B2B SaaS. The APIs are flexible and easy-to-use, supporting authentication, user identity, and complex enterprise features like SSO and SCIM provisioning.

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  • dredd

    Language-agnostic HTTP API Testing Tool

  • Consolidating the API specification with OpenAPI was a turning point for the project. From that moment we were able to run mock servers to build and test the UI before integrating with the backend, and we were able to validate the backend implementation against the specification. We used prism to run mock servers, and Dredd to validate the server implementation (these days I’d rather use schemathesis).

  • OpenAPI-Specification

    The OpenAPI Specification Repository

  • It turned out the team just wasn’t aware of REST APIs best practices and standards and didn’t know about the OpenAPI specification. So the first thing I did was to explain what OpenAPI is and how it works. Then we consolidated the API documentation in an OpenAPI specification. This allowed us to be very clear about what to expect from the API.

  • Schemathesis

    Automate your API Testing: catch crashes, validate specs, and save time

  • Consolidating the API specification with OpenAPI was a turning point for the project. From that moment we were able to run mock servers to build and test the UI before integrating with the backend, and we were able to validate the backend implementation against the specification. We used prism to run mock servers, and Dredd to validate the server implementation (these days I’d rather use schemathesis).

  • flasgger

    Easy OpenAPI specs and Swagger UI for your Flask API

  • When it comes to Flask, in particular, there’re plenty of choices. And in fairness, not all frameworks are created equal. You’ve got flasgger, restx (successor of flask-restplus), flask-RESTful, and flask-smorest, to mention a few. How do you choose among those???

  • flask-restx

    Fork of Flask-RESTPlus: Fully featured framework for fast, easy and documented API development with Flask

  • When it comes to Flask, in particular, there’re plenty of choices. And in fairness, not all frameworks are created equal. You’ve got flasgger, restx (successor of flask-restplus), flask-RESTful, and flask-smorest, to mention a few. How do you choose among those???

  • InfluxDB

    Power Real-Time Data Analytics at Scale. Get real-time insights from all types of time series data with InfluxDB. Ingest, query, and analyze billions of data points in real-time with unbounded cardinality.

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  • Flask RestPlus

    Fully featured framework for fast, easy and documented API development with Flask

  • When it comes to Flask, in particular, there’re plenty of choices. And in fairness, not all frameworks are created equal. You’ve got flasgger, restx (successor of flask-restplus), flask-RESTful, and flask-smorest, to mention a few. How do you choose among those???

  • flask-restful

    Simple framework for creating REST APIs

  • When it comes to Flask, in particular, there’re plenty of choices. And in fairness, not all frameworks are created equal. You’ve got flasgger, restx (successor of flask-restplus), flask-RESTful, and flask-smorest, to mention a few. How do you choose among those???

  • flask-smorest

    DB agnostic framework to build auto-documented REST APIs with Flask and marshmallow

  • When it comes to Flask, in particular, there’re plenty of choices. And in fairness, not all frameworks are created equal. You’ve got flasgger, restx (successor of flask-restplus), flask-RESTful, and flask-smorest, to mention a few. How do you choose among those???

  • pydantic

    Data validation using Python type hints

  • Uses a robust data validation library: validating payloads is a complex business. Your data validation library must handle optional and required properties, string formats like ISO dates and UUIDs (both dates and UUIDs are string types in OpenAPI), and strict vs loose type validation (should a string pass as an integer if it can be casted?). Also, in the case of Python, you need to make sure 1 and 0 don’t pass for True and False when it comes to boolean properties. In my experience, the best data validation libraries in the Python ecosystem are pydantic and marshmallow. From the above-mentioned libraries, flasgger and flask-smorest work with marshmallow.

  • marshmallow

    A lightweight library for converting complex objects to and from simple Python datatypes.

  • Uses a robust data validation library: validating payloads is a complex business. Your data validation library must handle optional and required properties, string formats like ISO dates and UUIDs (both dates and UUIDs are string types in OpenAPI), and strict vs loose type validation (should a string pass as an integer if it can be casted?). Also, in the case of Python, you need to make sure 1 and 0 don’t pass for True and False when it comes to boolean properties. In my experience, the best data validation libraries in the Python ecosystem are pydantic and marshmallow. From the above-mentioned libraries, flasgger and flask-smorest work with marshmallow.

NOTE: The number of mentions on this list indicates mentions on common posts plus user suggested alternatives. Hence, a higher number means a more popular project.

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