Over the last 18 months we’ve been looking at how we can better capture data on the OpenAPI ecosystem with particular focus on tooling – what tool makers are doing, what versions of OpenAPI they support and so on. Tooling registries obviously already exist in the wild such as openapi.tools. The goal was not replicate the functionality of these registries, but to industrialize the data collection process using a mechanism that was eminently extensible and could be expanded with very limited modification.
Introducing our OpenAPI tooling registry. The registry exposes a “classic” UI based registry hosted at https://tools.openapis.org that uses data automatically sourced from existing registries and uplifted with data collected from (as a first cut) the Github API. This mechanism was proven by Mike Ralphson and used to publish https://apis.guru/awesome-openapi3/, and we’ve taken the approach and applied it to all Github projects we’re sourcing. We also provide the raw data as a means for users to “slice-and-dice” in ways they see fit or ways we haven’t thought of yet.
The sourcing and consolidation of the source data is wrapped by a build process written in Node.js that runs on Github Actions and collects new data on a daily basis. The data collection process itself is not wedded to a given data source. In our source repository we implemented the concept of “processors” that are tailored to a given source and then normalize the data to the registry format. As part of this process different tools are categorized using a Bayesian approach then attempts to put tools into the right “bucket”.
The repository as it stands is really just a first cut. There is more work to be done, with a list of issues currently focused on improving data quality, creating better categories and providing the data in a variety of formats. There is also an opportunity to use this data for outreach to tooling users, using it as an engagement tool to encourage them to both describe their needs and advance their tooling to the latest version of OpenAPI. There is also an opportunity to bring tooling data together across specification languages – GraphQL, Async API, JSON Schema et al – to elicit a more holistic view of the API ecosystem and look at how cross-specification tooling might be of benefit. As always feedback is welcome. If you have any suggestions for improvement please raise them on the repository or get in touch if you’d like to talk in more detail about any aspect of the implementation.
The OpenAPI Initiative (OAI) was created by a consortium of forward-looking industry experts who recognize the immense value of standardizing on how APIs are described. As an open governance structure under the Linux Foundation, the OAI is focused on creating, evolving and promoting a vendor neutral description format. The OpenAPI Specification was originally based on the Swagger Specification, donated by SmartBear Software. To get involved with the OpenAPI Initiative, please visit https://www.openapis.org
About Linux Foundation
Founded in 2000, the Linux Foundation is supported by more than 1,000 members and is the world’s leading home for collaboration on open source software, open standards, open data, and open hardware. Linux Foundation projects like Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js and more are considered critical to the development of the world’s most important infrastructure. Its development methodology leverages established best practices and addresses the needs of contributors, users and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org.
The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) recently announced that OGC API – Tiles was adopted as an official OGC Standard. The OGC is a collective problem-solving community of experts from more than 500 businesses, government agencies, research organizations, and universities representing hundreds of thousands of geospatial professionals driven to make geospatial (location) information and services FAIR – Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.
The OGC API - Tiles Standard defines building blocks for creating Web APIs that support the retrieval of geospatial information as tiles. Different forms of geospatial information are supported, such as tiles of vector features (“vector tiles”), maps, imagery, and other types of geospatial information.
The new standard focuses on simple reusable REST API building blocks that can be described using the OpenAPI Specification.
Dr. Gobe Hobona, is the Director of Product Management, Standards at Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC).
Dr. Hobona joined OGC Staff in 2017, having been an OGC member since 2004. As the Director of Product Management, he provides oversight of the development of OGC API Standards, managing releases, and product marketing.
Who uses the Open Geospatial Consortium and why? Can you give an example?
Standards by the Open Geospatial Consortium are used by hundreds of organizations to publish millions of datasets, as reported by GeoSeer.net. Many of the organizations are OGC Members that all actively participate in a consensus process that designs and publishes standard specifications which improve interoperability. A few of the domains that make use of OGC Standards are Aviation, Built Environment & 3D, Business Intelligence, Government & Spatial Data Infrastructure, Energy & Utilities, and many more.
A great example of those standards being used would be in the aviation industry like EUROCONTROL, the European Air control agency and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States. Those teams publish a lot of their data using OGC Standards, specifically the Geography Markup Language (GML) which they have implemented in the Aeronautical Information Exchange Model (AIXM). Another example of the use of the standards is the OGC API – Features Standard which has been adopted as a Good Practice for implementing download services that are compliant with the European Union’s INSPIRE Directive, which positively affects hundreds of millions of EU citizens across the continent.
What’s new about the release of OGC API – Tiles? How will this be used? Who should use this?
We are really excited about it. The OGC API – Tiles Standard has been in the works for a number of years and now it is here. The OGC API defines building blocks for creating Web APIs that support the retrieval of geospatial information in tiles, basically little image chips that can be streamed with nearby chips to show a map. There are many great things about it, some special features include map tiles and vector tiles. Rather than the end user having to retrieve a large data set for the whole world, they can just retrieve that single tile. They can then use the identifier for that tile to collaborate with colleagues. Those in environmental sciences might retrieve a tile from other specialties and vice-versa. Now, instead of transferring terabytes of data across a network, it is just a subset.
We have standardized models for Tile Matrices, we have a registry where various organizations can agree on a set of tiling schemes to use together. There have been significant efficiency and cost savings seen across the board. Transmitting complete datasets over a network can incur some charges, so transmitting only relevant subsets offers cost savings. Also, performance has improved. For tiles that do not change, it is now possible to provide a cached tile. We recently hosted a code sprint in Brussels where developers came together from across the globe, and within a short time they were able to implement this standard, and simply just used the implementations through various client applications.
I’ll point out, all of that was made possible because the OGC API – Tiles Standard uses the OpenAPI Specification, which makes it attainable for web components to describe the capabilities for the resources, schemas, and so much more. In the previous generation of web service standards, it required developers to interpret the requirements of a standard. Now it is possible for some of that role to be done by the applications themselves. Apps can interpret what the API is intended to do. This takes away the burden from the developers and it leads to very happy developers!
What is the advantage of open source with spatial information?
Open standards by the OGC are used by both open source and proprietary software products; they do that to make Geospatial information more findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. One key thing about open standards and open source software is that they reduce the risk of vendor lock-in. With vendor lock-in, an organization gets tied to a single vendor and they must obtain products from that vendor. With open standards and open source software, it certainly reduces the risk of this and organizations do not have to buy from a single vendor. Furthermore, some common parts of commercial software come from open source to reduce the cost of developing some of that fundamental technology that can be shared; for example, the open source GDAL library is used by several commercial software products.
Why do you support the OpenAPI Specification? What are the main advantages?
The OpenAPI Specification makes it possible for developers to automatically create source code through code generators, by simply parsing an API definition document that complies with the OpenAPI Specification. In the past, most creation of source code required developers to manually read and interpret API definition documents, which led to human error and was certain to take longer to implement interfaces. Now, a lot of the interpretation is done by the application and then the human developer joins to codify the business logic. Moreover, using OpenAPI means that all of our APIs are defined in a consistent way so that the use of the APIs is predictable for all developers.
The efficiency gain for an organization is incredible. It is one of the key reasons why the OpenAPI Specification has been looked upon favorably by the OGC community.
OGC develops open standards, so everyone has the opportunity to provide some input to the standards. Other organizations do not have to wonder if there are some restrictions to access to the standards. But also, organizations can feed requirements in, as a community both the OGC and the Linux Foundation, which houses the OpenAPI Initiative and looks after the OpenAPI Specification, have done an excellent job of involving everyone across industry. There is a lot of feedback that is included or at least considered in the design of those standards. Everyone in the community has a chance to include input into those standards.
What is the best way to get involved in the OGC?
The OGC runs three member meetings a year, in different parts of the world, and with hundreds of participants. Now that travel restrictions are easing up, those meetings are now hybrid meetings with remote participants being supported.
OGC working groups use those meetings to gather needs and specs. In between those meetings, there are a series of working group get-togethers. For anyone that is interested in participating, I would recommend going to the OGC website and have a look at the information about membership, there is also a list of working groups. We have domain working groups in defense, aviation, meteorology, and more. We also have other working groups that focus on specification, like OGC API – Tiles and OGC API – Features.
The next OGC meeting will be from 20th to 24th February 2023, hosted by the European Space Agency in Frascati, Italy. That will be the first of three taking place in 2023, there will be another in June in Huntsville, Alabama, and another in September in Singapore.
I would also like to mention, the OGC runs several initiatives, we run innovation initiatives, where members can join in. These are run by the Collaborative Solutions and Innovations team in OGC, those initiatives are funded by the OGC membership, and they provide an opportunity for research and development. I encourage anyone interested to look at the OGC website and participate in these activities.
The OpenAPI Initiative (OAI) was created by a consortium of forward-looking industry experts who recognize the immense value of standardizing on how APIs are described. As an open governance structure under the Linux Foundation, the OAI is focused on creating, evolving and promoting a vendor neutral description format. The OpenAPI Specification was originally based on the Swagger Specification, donated by SmartBear Software. To get involved with the OpenAPI Initiative, please visit https://www.openapis.org
About Linux Foundation
Founded in 2000, the Linux Foundation is supported by more than 1,000 members and is the world’s leading home for collaboration on open source software, open standards, open data, and open hardware. Linux Foundation projects like Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js and more are considered critical to the development of the world’s most important infrastructure. Its development methodology leverages established best practices and addresses the needs of contributors, users and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org.
The OpenAPI Initiative, the consortium of forward-looking industry experts focused on evolving and implementing the OpenAPI Specification (OAS), is announcing that Bump.sh has joined as a new member. Welcome!
Bump.sh is an API contract management platform that helps document and tracks APIs: identifying what changes in APIs structure, and keeping developers up to date across an organization. Bump.sh acts as a single source of truth with information that remains up to date and changelogs.
The company has raised $4 million in funding led by Galion.exe and Bpifrance’s Digital Venture fund.
“We believe schemas are the cornerstone of future-proof API development. As a vendor, it is our duty to contribute to and keep up to date with the latest specifications,” said Sébastien Charrier, CEO of Bump.sh. “Joining the OpenAPI community will help us better support our customers and contribute to the direction of OpenAPI Specification development.”
The OpenAPI Initiative (OAI) was created by a consortium of forward-looking industry experts who recognize the immense value of standardizing on how APIs are described. As an open governance structure under the Linux Foundation, the OAI is focused on creating, evolving and promoting a vendor neutral description format. The OpenAPI Specification was originally based on the Swagger Specification, donated by SmartBear Software. To get involved with the OpenAPI Initiative, please visithttps://www.openapis.org
About Linux Foundation
Founded in 2000, the Linux Foundation is supported by more than 1,000 members and is the world’s leading home for collaboration on open source software, open standards, open data, and open hardware. Linux Foundation projects like Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js and more are considered critical to the development of the world’s most important infrastructure. Its development methodology leverages established best practices and addresses the needs of contributors, users and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org.
The OpenAPI Initiative is announcing today that Noname Security has joined as a new member. Welcome!
According to recent research commissioned by Noname Security, API Security Trends in 2022, 76% of those surveyed reported they had experienced an API security incident in the past 12 months. Noname covers API security across three pillars: posture management, runtime security, and API security testing. Noname Security is privately held, remote-first with headquarters in Silicon Valley, California, and offices in Tel Aviv and Amsterdam.
Noname works with 20% of the Fortune 500 and has won numerous security awards.
“As we continue our rapid growth, joining the OpenAPI Initiative brings immense value in bolstering every aspect of our platform from posture management to API security testing,” said Shay Levi, Co-Founder and CTO of Noname Security. “We are excited to be part of the OpenAPI Initiative and look forward to better serving our customers and their critical assets by supporting this vendor-neutral open source specification and ecosystem.”
The OpenAPI Initiative (OAI) was created by a consortium of forward-looking industry experts who recognize the immense value of standardizing on how APIs are described. As an open governance structure under the Linux Foundation, the OAI is focused on creating, evolving and promoting a vendor neutral description format. The OpenAPI Specification was originally based on the Swagger Specification, donated by SmartBear Software. To get involved with the OpenAPI Initiative, please visithttps://www.openapis.org
About Linux Foundation
Founded in 2000, the Linux Foundation is supported by more than 1,000 members and is the world’s leading home for collaboration on open source software, open standards, open data, and open hardware. Linux Foundation projects like Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js and more are considered critical to the development of the world’s most important infrastructure. Its development methodology leverages established best practices and addresses the needs of contributors, users and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org.
This year’s API Specifications Conference (ASC), organized by the OpenAPI Initiative, set a record for submissions for talks, won the CHAOSS Gold badge for Diversity and Inclusion, was rated excellent or above by 95% of the attendees, and was an excellent networking opportunity and… was just plain a lot of fun!
ASC 2022 was held in person in South San Francisco, California, from September 19 – 21. Due to Covid restrictions and as a precaution the conference was held virtually for the past two years. This year, it was hybrid. No matter the format, the conference continues to be extremely popular and showcases developers, users, companies, organizations, API tool makers and more, all interested in API technology.
It was a real thrill hearing from and interacting with industry experts discussing topics such as OpenAPI Specifications, RAML, Blueprint, gRPC, OData, JSON, Schema, GraphQL, AsyncAPI, and other formats.
Recordings are available here (on-site) and here (virtual).
The ASC 2022 received the CHAOSS Gold badge, a Linux Foundation project, for the second year in a row! The CHAOSS Gold badge was awarded because ASC 2022 met greater than or equal to 80% of requirements in the open source community that fosters healthy Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) practices.
Other inclusion efforts included: Offering onsite resources like a quiet room if you need a physical space where conversation and interaction are not allowed, a nursing room and child care as well as special communication stickers, and other features to make this event as accessible as possible.
Special thanks to Frank Kilcommins, API Technical Evangelist, SmartBear, for welcoming and giving the Opening Remarks.
Attendance by the numbers!
The survey conducted after the conference showed that 95% rated the content as great or excellent (4 or above on a scale of 1-5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️! 45% of attendees say they attended ASC 2022 as a valuable way to meet people in the industry or network.
We had an attendance of 123 people from 17 countries.🌎
Record CFP Submissions! 🔥
The API Specifications Conference (ASC) 2022 received 111 CFP submissions, compared to 104 in 2021, 72 in 2020, and 42 in 2019. A team of peer reviewers accepted 44 sessions. Program Chair, Frank Kilcommins of SmartBear, along with the planning committee, carefully curated content and the keynote lineup bringing the most relevant topics and talks to this year’s event.
For those that missed the conference or would like to watch the event again, the keynote and session recordings are available on our YouTube Channel.
As a member of the OAI community, you can register with a complimentary pass using the code OAI20. Only 20 are available, so don’t wait!
This all-day track focused on OpenAPI Specification issues is a first and will include a wide variety of API topics of interest to both developers and managers. It is intended to become a series of one-day events at APIDays events planned for 2023.
The goal of the OpenAPI track is to bring API practitioners together and share real-world experiences. How are you using the OpenAPI Specification in your company? What are the main strengths and weaknesses? At the end of the track, we will meet to discuss the specification, its evolution, and where it is headed. We will gather feedback from you to bring back to the OpenAPI initiative.
If you are using the OpenAPI Specification in your company and have something to share, please make sure to attend the Community Feedback OpenAPI session starting at 16:55.
The day includes presentations from Isabelle Mauny, Co-Chair at OpenAPI Initiative, on The State of OpenAPI; from Steve Swartz, Principal Architect at Cisco, on The 12 Facets of the OpenAPI Specification; from Beppe Catanese, Developer Advocate at Adyen, covering From API Specifications to Code with OpenAPI; and from Mario Bodemann, Developer Evangelist at Deutsche Telekom, on OpenAPI: Building an Android Parser and Tester App… and many more!
OpenAPI Initiative continues strong pace of membership growth; 45 current members include Atlassian, Bloomberg, eBay, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Postman, SAP, SmartBear, and many more
SAN FRANCISCO – October 18, 2022 – The OpenAPI Initiative, the consortium of forward-looking industry experts focused on creating, evolving, and promoting the OpenAPI Specification (OAS), a vendor-neutral, open description format for RESTful APIs, is announcing today that Cisco has joined as a new member.
As a catalyst in community-powered innovation in cloud native development, AI/ML, API security, connectivity, observability, network automation, and more, Cisco believes that standardizing Web APIs throughout the cloud will provide transparency and value across the global open source and cloud native community ecosystem. Cisco sees the advantages of implementing the OpenAPI Specification to address cloud native challenges, reduce implementation costs, and support the next generation of visionaries through open source.
“Well-built components are a core consideration in shipping powerful applications and platforms,” said Stephen Augustus, Head of Open Source, Cisco. “Cisco is thrilled to join esteemed partners in the OpenAPI Initiative to drive innovation and wider adoption of the OpenAPI Specification as a fundamental component for robust, interoperable applications.”
“We are excited to welcome Cisco to the OpenAPI Initiative. Cisco is active with many open source and Linux Foundation projects, so it is a natural fit, and we look forward to working more closely with them to build the OpenAPI Specification,” said Kevin Swiber, Marketing Chair, OpenAPI Initiative and API Lifecycle Integration Specialist at Postman. “Our membership is open to anyone who understands the immense value of standardizing APIs and is interested in evolving and promoting a vendor neutral description format. Why not become a member and get started today?”
Cisco has a long history in the open source and standards ecosystems, with community-powered innovation in cloud native development, AI/ML, API security, connectivity, observability, network automation, and more. To find out more about Cisco’s open source activities: opensource.cisco.com
About the OpenAPI Initiative
The OpenAPI Initiative (OAI) was created by a consortium of forward-looking industry experts who recognize the immense value of standardizing on how APIs are described. As an open governance structure under the Linux Foundation, the OAI is focused on creating, evolving and promoting a vendor neutral description format. The OpenAPI Specification was originally based on the Swagger Specification, donated by SmartBear Software. To get involved with the OpenAPI Initiative, please visithttps://www.openapis.org
About Linux Foundation
Founded in 2000, the Linux Foundation is supported by more than 1,000 members and is the world’s leading home for collaboration on open source software, open standards, open data, and open hardware. Linux Foundation projects like Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js and more are considered critical to the development of the world’s most important infrastructure. Its development methodology leverages established best practices and addresses the needs of contributors, users and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org.
Join us at The API Specifications Conference (ASC) this September 19-21 in South San Francisco! ASC 2022 is a place for API practitioners to come together and discuss the evolution of API technology. ASC includes cutting edge technology keynotes and sessions that chart the future of APIs, in-depth specification, and standards discussions.
The event is designed to be highly interactive with plenty of discussion time throughout the workshops and sessions!
Want to sponsor ASC 2022 but thought it was too much for your budget? Think again!
Community Partner Sponsorships are available for free for OpenAPI Members or $500 to non-members. (If you want to learn more about becoming a member of the OpenAPI Initiative, go here.) This partnership is a great opportunity to connect directly with API practitioners including API developers, API Operations teams, API Designers and Enterprise Architects.
Deadline to sign up is Aug 19th.
All Community Partner Sponsors will benefit from the following:
Display on shared table in sponsor showcase
Logo included in “Thank You to our Sponsors” keynote slide
Logo included in “Thank you to our Sponsors” blog post
Will be posted prior to the event on OpenAPI blog
Recognition on event website (prominent logo display on event homepage)
Post-Conference Data Report: Provides event demographics and additional details on event performance
The API Specification Conference – ASC 2022 – is being held in person from September 19 – 21 in South San Francisco! OpenAPI Initiative’s API Specifications Conference (ASC) is a place for API practitioners and enthusiasts to come together and discuss the evolution of API technologies. The OpenAPI Specification, RAML, Blueprint, gRPC, OData, JSON Schema, GraphQL, AsyncAPI, and other formats will all be topics, enabling attendees to get familiar with these formats and discuss how to use them in practice.
ASC includes cutting-edge technology keynotes and sessions that chart the future of APIs with in-depth specification and standards discussions. This year’s first announced keynote is presented by Jean Yang, CEO of Akita Software. Jean is the founder and CEO of Akita Software, a developer tools company building “one-click” observability. Previously, Jean was a professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. She has a Ph.D. from MIT, holds software tools patents from work at Microsoft Research and Facebook, and was selected as one of the MIT Technology Review’s 35 Innovators Under 35 in 2016.
The event is designed to be highly interactive with plenty of discussion time throughout the workshops and sessions!
The lineup of early bird talks is also being announced and includes presentations from:
Erez Yalon, Checkmarx, Evolution of the API Security Top 10
Jeremy Glassenberg, Docusign, Setting Standards and Create Smooth API Implementations
Brian Terlson, Microsoft, Developing API-First Multi-Protocol Services with Cadl
The OpenAPI Initiative, the consortium of forward-looking industry experts focused on evolving and implementing the OpenAPI Specification (OAS), is welcoming APIIDA as a new member.
APIIDA provides an API management platform and develops solutions and products for customers to manage change by enabling technology-independent API management. The APIIDA solution separates APIs from their runtimes and adapts them to focused strategies, acting as independent entities. This is done with the goal to improve customer experience and allow the rapid growth of new business models and offerings.
“We are excited to be a part of the OpenAPI Initiative. Having widely adopted standards like OpenAPI provides us with a stable base we can build upon. Together with the other members of the OpenAPI Initiative, we want to expand the reach and the adoption of the OpenAPI Specification. This will benefit APIIDA customers, and it’s the right thing to do for the broader API community,” said Markus Müller, CTO, and co-founder of APIIDA. “By actively contributing to the special interest groups and the steering committees we want to give back to the community.”
The company currently serves over 300 organizations of all sizes and across a wide range of industries.
Want to become a member of the OpenAPI Initiative? Find more information here!
The OpenAPI Initiative (OAI) was created by a consortium of forward-looking industry experts who recognize the immense value of standardizing how APIs are described. As an open governance structure under the Linux Foundation, the OAI is focused on creating, evolving, and promoting a vendor-neutral description format. The OpenAPI Specification was originally based on the Swagger Specification, donated by SmartBear Software. To get involved with the OpenAPI Initiative, please visithttps://www.openapis.org
About Linux Foundation
Founded in 2000, the Linux Foundation is supported by more than 1,000 members and is the world’s leading home for collaboration on open-source software, open standards, open data, and open hardware. Linux Foundation projects like Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js, and more are considered critical to the development of the world’s most important infrastructure. Its development methodology leverages established best practices and addresses the needs of contributors, users, and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org.
