A Web API ecosystem through feature-based reuse
This addresses the issue of limited flexibility for Web API clients, though it appears incremental as it builds on existing concepts of reuse and compatibility.
The paper tackles the problem of clients being unable to easily switch between different Web API providers by proposing a vision for developing Web APIs based on feature-based reuse, which enables granular reuse of code, documentation, and tools to foster cross-API compatibility.
The fast-growing Web API landscape brings clients more options than ever before---in theory. In practice, they cannot easily switch between different providers offering similar functionality. We discuss a vision for developing Web APIs based on reuse of interface parts called features. Through the introduction of 5 design principles, we investigate the impact of feature-based reuse on Web APIs. Applying these principles enables a granular reuse of client and server code, documentation, and tools. Together, they can foster a measurable ecosystem with cross-API compatibility, opening the door to a more flexible generation of Web clients.