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Developer StudioCreate and Manage API Applications

🛠️ Creating an Application in Developer Studio (ATA)

Developer Studio in AllThingsAPI (ATA) allows you to design, define, and configure APIs for various applications. Whether you are building an API, a database application, or a web application, ATA provides a seamless interface for creating and managing applications with multi-level access control, tech stack management, and deployment settings.

This documentation will guide you through the process of creating an application in ATA and explain the different types of applications you can create.

🔑 What is an Application in Developer Studio?

An Application in ATA represents a logical entity that encapsulates your API, database, or web services. In Developer Studio, an application can be associated with one or more APIs, defining their structure, tech stack, deployment settings, and access control mechanisms.

By creating applications in Developer Studio, you ensure that your API and associated resources are well-documented, easily manageable, and properly configured for the specific environment (e.g., development, production, etc.).

🧑‍💻 Types of Applications in Developer Studio

ATA allows you to create several types of applications based on the nature of your project. These types help define the scope of the application and the tech stack you’ll use.

1. API Application

An API Application is a type of application that represents an API service you are building, deploying, or managing. This could be an API that your team is developing, integrating, or providing to third-party consumers.

  • Example: A RESTful API that handles user authentication or a GraphQL API for querying product data.

2. Database Application

A Database Application allows you to define, manage, and integrate database connections, schemas, and models into your API ecosystem. You can link your database to API endpoints and ensure smooth communication between your APIs and the underlying database.

  • Example: An application that provides access to a relational database such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, or a NoSQL database like MongoDB.

3. Web Application

A Web Application application type focuses on the frontend of your web services. This application will define the tech stack for the UI components (such as React, Vue, Angular, etc.) and the backend (e.g., Node.js, Express).

  • Example: A web application that serves a dynamic UI for users to interact with your API.

4. Summary API Application

A Summary API Application is a lightweight API application used for aggregating and summarizing data from multiple API endpoints or services. It provides an abstracted view of multiple APIs and helps aggregate their responses into a unified result.

  • Example: A summary API that collects data from multiple microservices and provides a unified response for the user.

5. Other Applications

ATA also allows you to create Other Applications that don’t necessarily fall into the categories above. These might include hybrid applications or specific use cases that don’t require a strict API or database model.

🧑‍💻 How to Create an Application in Developer Studio

Follow these steps to create an application in ATA’s Developer Studio:

Step 1: Navigate to Developer Studio

  1. Log in to your ATA account.
  2. From the ATA homepage, go to API Testing Lab → Developer Studio.

Step 2: Click the ”+” Icon to Create a New Application

  1. In the Developer Studio section, click the ”+” icon at the top of the application list sidebar.
  2. This will initiate the Application Creation Wizard where you will define key details about your application.

Step 3: Enter Application Details

In the application creation wizard, you will need to fill in several key details:

  1. Application Name: Enter a descriptive name for your application (e.g., “User Authentication API”, “Inventory Management System”).
  2. Application Type: Choose the type of application you want to create from the dropdown. The options include:
    • API Application
    • Database Application
    • Web Application
    • Summary API Application
    • Other (for special cases)
  3. Business Domain: Define the business domain for the application (e.g., “E-commerce”, “User Management”).
    • To create a domain, click on the text box, write the domain name, and click the ”+” button in the dropdown to add it.
  4. Tech Stack Type: Choose whether the application is primarily Frontend or Backend:
    • Frontend: Select frontend technologies such as React, Vue, Angular, Next.js, etc.
    • Backend: Select backend technologies such as Express.js, Node.js, Django, Spring Boot, etc.
  5. Deployment Server: Select the deployment server for your application:
    • AWS
    • Google Cloud
    • Azure
    • Serverless
  6. Application Description: Add a brief description of your application, explaining its purpose and functionality.
  7. Access Request Approval Type: Select the approval type for the application access:
    • None: No approval needed.
    • Anyone User Can Approve: Any user can approve the request.
    • All Users Must Approve: All users in the team must approve the request.
    • If you select anything other than None, a dropdown will appear allowing you to choose authorized users who will have approval rights.
  8. Application Source: Choose the source of data for your application:
    • Git: Link to a Git repository.
    • API Gateway: Link to an API Gateway.

Step 4: Save the Application

Once all fields are filled in, click Save to create your application.

📦 Configuring Application Source and Deployment

After your application is created, it will be listed in the My Applications section. From here, you can configure the source (Git or API Gateway) and deployment settings:

  1. Package Info: Provide a package title and version for the application. The Draft field will be pre-filled.
  2. Configure Application Source: Select either Git or API Gateway as the data source for your application.
  3. Select Deployment Server: Choose whether to deploy the application to an existing ATA mock server or create a new mock server.
  4. Release Notes: Define the release notes for the application using one of the following options:
    • Delta: Only changes since the last release.
    • Generate Full Release Notes: Everything about the release.
    • Manually Add Release Notes: Write your custom release notes.

📋 API Spec Tab

Once your application is configured, navigate to the API Spec Tab, where you define your OpenAPI Spec (OpenAPI specification). You can either:

  • Import the OpenAPI Spec from your configured Git repository or API Gateway.
  • Write the OpenAPI Spec manually in JSON, YAML, or Form View.

The API Spec Tab ensures your application’s API is well-documented, governed by best practices, and compliant with industry standards.

🏁 Conclusion

Creating and managing applications in Developer Studio allows you to fully define and configure your API applications, from tech stacks to deployment settings and access control. By choosing the right application type, configuring the deployment server, and managing API specifications, ATA helps you streamline the entire lifecycle of API development and management.

Developer Studio enables seamless integration with external sources like Git and API Gateways, providing full control over your APIs and ensuring a robust foundation for development, testing, and deployment.

Happy developing! 🚀

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