Question 1

REST or GraphQL — which should I choose?

Accepted Answer

REST is the right default for most public and partner APIs: it's universally understood, cacheable via standard HTTP, and simple to document and consume. GraphQL shines when clients need flexible, precise data fetching across complex, nested relationships and you want to avoid over-fetching. Many systems use both — REST for simple resource access and GraphQL for a rich client. We'll recommend based on who consumes the API and how varied their data needs are.

Question 2

How should I version my API?

Accepted Answer

The most common approaches are URL versioning (/v1/, /v2/) and header-based versioning. URL versioning is the most explicit and easiest for consumers to understand, so it's our usual default. The key principle is backward compatibility: additive changes don't need a new version, but breaking changes do, accompanied by a deprecation period and migration guide so clients aren't surprised.

Question 3

What makes a REST API well-designed?

Accepted Answer

Predictability. Resources are nouns, HTTP methods carry the verb (GET reads, POST creates, PATCH updates, DELETE removes), status codes mean what they should (404 for missing, 422 for validation, 401 vs 403 for auth), and pagination, filtering, and errors are consistent everywhere. When an API follows conventions, developers can guess endpoints correctly — and that's the mark of a good one.

Question 4

Do you provide API documentation?

Accepted Answer

Yes, always. We produce OpenAPI/Swagger specifications with real request and response examples, error catalogs, and often an interactive console where developers can try calls. Documentation isn't an afterthought — it's a core deliverable, because an undocumented API generates support tickets and slows every integration. We keep the docs generated from the spec so they stay in sync with the code.

Question 5

How do you secure a REST API?

Accepted Answer

We authenticate every request with JWT, OAuth 2.0, or scoped API keys depending on the use case, and enforce authorization on each endpoint — including object-level checks so users can't access records that aren't theirs. We add input validation, rate limiting, HTTPS everywhere, and protection against the OWASP API Top 10 risks. Security is designed per endpoint, not assumed at the gateway.

Question 6

How do you handle errors and edge cases?

Accepted Answer

We return consistent, machine-readable error responses with the right status code, a stable error code, and a human-readable message — never a raw stack trace. Validation errors specify which fields failed and why. Consistent error handling lets client developers build robust integrations instead of guessing what went wrong, which dramatically reduces back-and-forth support.

Question 7

Can the API handle high traffic?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We design stateless endpoints that scale horizontally behind a load balancer, add caching for read-heavy paths, use pagination to bound response sizes, and apply rate limiting to protect the backend. Database queries are optimized to avoid N+1 patterns. With these in place, the API stays fast and stable whether you're serving thousands or millions of requests.

Question 8

Can you build an API on top of our existing database?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We regularly build REST APIs over existing databases and legacy systems, exposing clean, modern endpoints without forcing a rewrite of what already works. We add a well-designed API layer with validation, security, and documentation in front of your data, which is often the fastest path to enabling web, mobile, or partner access to systems that previously had none.

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