API first or not - api

I've a global question about the steps to develop an app as I'm sorry, but I'm not a developper.
I'm working in a start up which wants to develop a web application.
We have a fullstack developper working with us on the development of the API at the moment.
We're now looking for working with a frontend team and an UX/UI team to help us as we have a short time to build the app.
We thought that the first step would be to create the different layouts so that the frontend dev team can start coding while our fullstack dev is coding the API.
But the frontend lead dev says that they can't start until they have the API finished with the documentation.
Is that exact ? What would be the best strategy ? API first ? Or front ? Or both at the same time ?

This is too general but no, you should definitely not wait to have the API finished to start with the front-end. Even less in the context of an Startup.
You want to have feedback from customers ASAP, it makes no sense to leave front-end to the last minute.
From the front-end side you might want to have your views decoupled from the data format on the API side, at least at the beginning. Of course you'll have some rework on the front-end once the APIs are finished but as a trade-off to that, you'll get something to show and feedback sooner.
I don't want to get too technical because you said you are not a developer, but you should try to convince your coworkers to find a way to work in the views and in the API at the same time, accepting some rework at the end.

Related

How to authenticate multiple api using Nuxt and nuxt-auth module

I have an application with (nuxt js using nuxt-auth) with local authentication so far (later I want to add git and google auth).
Now I need to add authentication to invoke other services / API (like google cloud rest API, payment system, youtube API, etc...)
The question is: the user is authenticated only once (during login to the application.) but each of these 3rd party APIs has its own authentication.
How to implement multiple authentications. (I read the documentation and google for the entire day but there is no clear answer).
As of today, it looks like it is not doable (people are needed on this module): https://github.com/nuxt-community/auth-module/issues/889
So, you would need to make it manually by plugging the APIs yourself.
Answer to your latest question~comment
Nuxt is indeed nice with some of it's modules (but you can totally dislike it, no problem :D).
First thing that you need to know, is that this project (nuxt-auth) is not the biggest one, #pooya is doing his best but he is on a lot of projects, so he cannot give all of his love to it. Then, you also need to understand that it's working great but it's still in a decent beta state with a lot of missing features, needed documentation and a lot of small things to make it an all rounded solid top notch solution.
That do not mean that you should not use it, I'm just saying that this module do have some limitations. Hence, the fact that it is not supporting a whole lot of OAuth solutions in a clear + simple + flexible way. And some breaking changes may be introduced in future updates.
The module is aimed towards having an OAuth solution to block the content of your website behind it (in my opinion). It means that you will usually use a single login solution and then, being able to have access to your app. I don't think that it's a viable multi-OAuth solution (yet).
Some services don't even need to use a solution like this. Stripe for example, should not be handled on the frontend but communicate with a backend for sensitive variables and just send minimal info thanks to Stripe Elements.
That said, the most common solution is JWT or OAuth2, and you could totally have a backend service or service like Okta, Auth0 or alike, do the heavy lifting by allowing simple logins to providers (Github, Google etc...).
To sum up, you do connect to this backend/service thanks to nuxt-auth, the service itself does the provider connection and you get the best of both worlds while still connected in a secure way through your initial nuxt-auth entry point login.
Or you could try to reach the community on Discord, see if somebody knows how to do it. Or even try to read the source code to see if it is currently feasable.
And that's my 2cts.

What is the point of using /api/v1/(whatever route here) in express?

Ive been making API's for about a year now and I was taught to use http://IPAddress:Port/api/v1 all the time when building an API with express.js. Is there a specific reason I would want to do that? Is this just denoting that the API is in development? Ive recently changed my API to not run on port 3000 so that I am able to just say http://IPAddress.com/ instead of http://IPAddress.com:3000/api/v1 and it works just fine the new way.
One main reason for versioning an API is because it may be that an API can be improved upon but doing so might lead to breaking changes (for example, it might not work for applications that are consuming the API because an endpoint has been modified).
So, the solution to this is to allow consumers of the current API (v1) to keep using it until they want to switch, and release an updated version (v2) for new consumers.
Here's some more info on it: https://restfulapi.net/versioning/

How to set up a server for my app

At the moment I am making an app. I am relatively new but have experience with a lot of different languages like PHP and SQL. My app needs to communicate with a server to post/retrieve data for everyone to see. People also need to be able to login and register. Right now I am using parse because it gives a lot of the requirements in an easy package but parse is retiring soon and I have no experience with setting up my own server.
I was thinking of making my own 'server' from an old computer but not use parse because it will no longer support push notification. Then of course the app needs to communicate with this server. I started looking online and found a lot of terms but not a real clear explanation on how to proceed. I need it to be able to communicate with iOS and Android. Furthermore I was wondering how to execute a script on the server itself. I want to do something with time, once someone uploads something it needs to disappear after 48 hours, but of course it also needs to do this even if the app isn't active on a smartphone
Can anyone tell me how I need to proceed, what to use and where i can find useful info.
My plan for now is creating my own server with something like MongoDB but then i still need something called a backend and different SDK's to communicate with the apps. Maybe its possible to install parse on my own server and add something so i can still use Push and run a script on the server itself.
All help would be very much App-reciated ;)!
The reason of a backend service or framework is to let developer focus on front end app development. Maybe you can check other options like firebase, meoter, or even leancloud. Don't be hurry jump to the decision to make your own backend.
Parse Server is already supporting Push Notifications. I think should keep using Parse. It will become the best framework for backend and API development in a short time. You can also use services like https://www.back4app.com that helps you in all process of configuration of your server.
Do you mean by create your own server running a personal derver pr you mean create your own back end application?

Kimono Desktop Stopped Working?

Anyone having trouble building API's with the new Kimono Desktop app. When I click create API the browser just stays on create API screen loading but nothing happens.
I even tried building an API that is the same as one I built when Kimono was still in business and no luck.
My existing api's still run and pull data fine.
Working just fine here.
Just a shot in the blue...did you install the new extension specifically for the desktop app? The old one can't work anymore since Kimono disabled the online service.
You can't build new APIs I think - only existing ones. :( Said something like it was not the acquiring company's policy to provide this publiclu available service but since they did not know how many businesses depended on their APIs they decided to allow existing APis to run.
You can also use their software for replace the online API. But it's an abandonware.
It's working great but on some website I can create new API because of an error.
I just find a possible (free) product that can replace Kimono : Datascraping.co.
They will include an REST FULL API within few days / weeks, as they said here.
It's a good software, but comparing to Kimono Desktop it's a little much more complicated.
Kimono got bought out and it's not working anymore.
Import.io is good but it kinda expensive for me. I've tried the free trial before but see the price starts from $249, so... https://www.import.io/standard-plans/
I don't have any progamming skills so I know very little about some web scraping frameworks like Scrapy.
You may want to look at this new web scraping software called Octoparse.
In case you want to know, here is the link:http://www.octoparse.com/
It takes a little time to begin. But they have rich tutorials on the website. Plus it doesn't require programming skills.
They provide cloud-based scraping service and API access.
You can use it to create API but you have to pay for the service. Free version doesn't have the API and cloud service.
I've been using it for 2 month with the Standard plan $89, which a lot cheaper than import.io. So far so good.
Hope it would be helpful for you.

To Make an API Centric Application or Not? - Laravel

So. I have embarked on the journey of learning Laravel in the last couple of weeks, and am thoroughly enjoying it.
It has come time for a site redesign and I thought it was about time to tighten up some of our functionality, so I am making the switch from CodeIgniter to Laravel.
I was wondering whether it is worth starting off with a RESTful API layer in Laravel (easy enough to create) and use it as a base even for the web application. In the future we are likely to build a mobile app that will need to use the API. So:
Is it worth having the web application connect to the API
and what is the easiest way/s to make calls to the API without having to write a bazillion
lines for cURL everytime I want to make a request?
It is definitely worth it.
I am currently redesigning a messy PHP code for an established hosting company turning it into beautiful Laravel code. I already have a mobile app working with it - Laravel makes it easy to return JSON data with one line -
Response::json('OK', 200);
or
Response::eloquent(Auth::user());
or
$tasks = Task::all();
Response::eloquent($tasks);
You don't need to use CURL as far as I know.
You can make all requests with simple AJAX, jQuery would simplify that.
Also using some MVC JS framework would help you make the application code structure more elegant for the client side, and the advantage is that you can easily package that into PhoneGap when you are ready to have your API take some real testing.
Today I posted on my blog about a simple example that you can try to see if this approach is worth your time : http://maxoffsky.com/code-blog/login-to-laravel-web-application-from-phonegap-or-backbone/
Check it out and accept the answer if you think it's on the right track.
As always, your results may vary, but this is exactly what I'm going through at the moment. I'm migrating a large .Net site with this API architecture and I've decided to keep it for Laravel.
I personally decided for this because:
More scalable. I can setup api.domain.com and then add additional
boxes/vm/whatever as our traffic grows. In fact, you could load
balance just the api by "round robin" or multiple dns entries for
that domain.
Future proofing for new sites and apps. Sounds like you're in the
same situation. I can see an app or two being added in the next year
or so.
Lost cost. You'll already be laying out your controllers, so really
it can be just a matter of setting them to RESTful and making small
tweaks to accommodate.
To be fair, some counter points:
Possibly additional load time, from processing through the API, though this should be minimal.
Additional security items to consider if you'd like to lock things down to just your app.
Either way, welcome to Laravel!
and what is the easiest way/s to make calls to the API without having to write a bazillion lines for cURL everytime I want to make a request?
#Sneaksta try postman chrome extension for calling rest services. you can create forms in this extension and pass data from these forms to you Rest services
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/postman-rest-client/fdmmgilgnpjigdojojpjoooidkmcomcm?utm_source=chrome-ntp-icon