My talk @ OSCON covering trends and tips on maintainable API documentation.

1. MaintainableAPI Docs andOther Rainbow Colored Unicorns Neil Mansilla Director, Developer Products

2. Disclaimer The views and statements contained herein are my own (Neil Mansilla) and do not express the views of Mashery, Inc. nor any of its employees, agents, customers, and associates. Also, I’m not a Power Point guru, nor am I Anthony Robbins.

4. Job: Director, Developer Products

5. Company: Mashery

6. Email: neil@mashery.com

7. Web: http://developer.mashery.com

9. Over 115,000 key-holding developers

10. Over 30,000 active web and mobile applications

12. Mashery API Network

13. What does bad documentation really say about your platform? Your company?

14. Bad docs say to your users,“I don’t care about you.” Do your docs elicit any of these responses? “Why are these docs so awful?” “Don’t they realize this looks like hell?” “How in the world am I supposed to understand how this thing works?” “Do they no longer support this platform?” “Dude, these guys are bozos.”

15. A Few Common Pitfalls That Make for Bad Docs http://www.atarimagazines.com/hi-res/v1n2/davidcrane.php

17. data media of any format and for any reproduction,

18. other content.Common types of documentation include user guides, white papers, on-line help, quick-reference guides. It is less common to see hard-copy (paper) documentation. Documentation is distributed via websites, software products, and other on-line applications. [edit] Principles for producing documentation The following is a list of guides dealing with each specific field and type: documentation in health care [5] thesis writing [6], [7], [8] Further information: Dissertation papers for academic journal publishing (i.e. Journal of Food Science [9] and Analytical Chemistry [10]) Producing documentation Technical writers and corporate communicators are professionals whose field and work is documentation. Ideally, technical writers have a background in both the subject matter and also in writing and managing content (information architecture). Technical writers more commonly collaborate with subject matter experts (SMEs), such as engineers, medical professionals, or other types of clients to define and then create content (documentation) that meets the user's needs. Corporate communications includes other types of written documentation that is required for most companies. [edit] Specializing documentation Marketing Communications (MarCom) MarCom writers endeavor to convey the company's value proposition through a variety of print, electronic, and social media. This area of corporate writing is often engaged in responding to proposals. Technical Communication (TechCom) Technical writers document a company's project or service. Technical publication include user guides, installation manuals, and troubleshooting/repair/replace

20. data media of any format and for any reproduction,

21. other content.Common types of documentation include user guides, white papers, on-line help, quick-reference guides. It is less common to see hard-copy (paper) documentation. Documentation is distributed via websites, software products, and other on-line applications. [edit] Principles for producing documentation The following is a list of guides dealing with each specific field and type: documentation in health care [5] thesis writing [6], [7], [8] Further information: Dissertation papers for academic journal publishing (i.e. Journal of Food Science [9] and Analytical Chemistry [10]) Producing documentation Technical writers and corporate communicators are professionals whose field and work is documentation. Ideally, technical writers have a background in both the subject matter and also in writing and managing content (information architecture). Technical writers more commonly collaborate with subject matter experts (SMEs), such as engineers, medical professionals, or other types of clients to define and then create content (documentation) that meets the user's needs. Corporate communications includes other types of written documentation that is required for most companies. [edit] Specializing documentation Marketing Communications (MarCom) MarCom writers endeavor to convey the company's value proposition through a variety of print, electronic, and social media. This area of corporate writing is often engaged in responding to proposals. Technical Communication (TechCom) Technical writers document a company's project or service. Technical publication include user guides, installation manuals, and troubleshooting/repair/replace

22. Too Little a/k/a “Just Enough to Tick You Off” Method: createSituation(s3, s4, s5) This method creates a situation and takes in three parameters. Method: selectUserByDate(date) This method selects a user by a date.

23. Too Little a/k/a “Just Enough to Tick You Off” Method: createSituation(s3, s4, s5) This method creates a situation and takes in three parameters. Method: selectUserByDate(date) This method selects a user by a date.

26. Bad Docs = Angry Developers http://www.flickr.com/photos/gcarvalho/142922427/

27. Happy Sys Admin Day!http://www.sysadminday.com

28. Happy Sys Admin Day!http://www.sysadminday.com

29. Happy Sys Admin Day!http://www.sysadminday.com

30. Good API Docs http://www.flickr.com/photos/scorpio58/4067099731/

32. Initial copy can be very daunting

33. Audience diversity(can’t please ‘em all)

35. Is there a better way for developers to learn how to use my platform?

36. What are the pain points developers are experiencing with my current docs?

37. How can I maintain my API docs more easily?

39. WADL – XML for HTTP/REST

41. WADL – XML for HTTP/REST

43. XML Spy

45. Google Discovery FormatJSON, RESTful APIs http://code.google.com/apis/discovery/v1/reference.html#resource_discovery URL Shortener API: https://www.googleapis.com/discovery/v1/apis/urlshortener/v1/rest New Web Service Definition Formats & Tools

46. New Web Service Definition Formats & Tools

47. New Web Service Definition Formats & Tools Google API Explorer is now open source Java/GWT http://code.google.com/p/google-apis-explorer/

48. New Web Service Definition Formats & Tools

49. Wordnik swagr FormatJSON, RESTful APIs http://api.wordnik.com/v4/wordList.json New Web Service Definition Formats & Tools

50. New Web Service Definition Formats & Tools

51. Tool Driven and Interactive Docs A New Design Pattern: Interactive Documentation

53. API methods and parameters in plain view

54. Parameter values, types and limits provided

55. Ability to make live API calls within documentation

57. Inspired by Wordnik UI/UX for docs

59. Mashery I/O Docsin Production http://developer.klout.com http://developer.alibris.com http://developer.fanfeedr.com http://developer.mashery.com

61. Includes client interface form generator and back-end proxy API call handler (in same stack)

62. Deploy on your own server in just minutes

63. Released under MIT License

64. Plenty of JSON schemas configured with production APIs

65. Support for RESTful APIs

67. I/O Docs Live Demo Time permitting, pick simple API to build I/O Docs Sacrifice tweet to @demogods Go!

68. Thank you. Questions (and possibly some answers) Contact me: Email - neil@mashery.com Twitter - @mansillaDEV http://developer.mashery.com

69. Browser URLsHere are a list of URLs that I loaded during my presentation: