by David I | Aug 9, 2017 | APIs, Cloud Computing, DevRelate, Programming |
When a developer’s app is built using one or more remote services and a problem occurs, users will start reporting a problem. Users will not necessarily know what is causing the problem. It could be issues with a cloud based service’s API, a cloud storage system or a bug in the software. How can your app know what the problem? Developer programs that provides services and APIs should also provide a live, frequently updated status page. Providing status APIs and pages allows the software, developers, partners, ISVs and even end users to track down problems. Ultimately the solution to any problem is the responsibility of the app developer (and company) regardless of where the fault is. Well designed and implemented developer programs should provide an API to check status and receive notifications for apps to fail-over, recover, fail gracefully and display problem information and solutions to users.

Developer System Status Pages
Here are a few developer program system status pages that I’ve found in my research and assessments. Some sites also provide APIs, feeds and subscriptions to program and API status information.
Status Page Hosting and API services
Altassian, for example, provides to customers a status page hosting service and API. You can find details of the developer service at https://www.statuspage.io/. Here is a list of some of the companies that use the hosting and API service:
3rd Party Status Check Sites
There are several 3rd party status check sites that monitor popular sites and provide an edit box to input a URL. You can use these services to see if another site/service is up or down. Some, like DownDetector, provide APIs (for a fee) to check on service status.
Do you provide a service status page and status API as part of your developer program?
If you have your developer service status and API, send me an email with additional information and the links to the status page and API.

David Intersimone “David I”
Vice President of Developer Communities
Evans Data Corporation
davidi@evansdata.com
Blog: https://www.devrelate.com/blog/
Skype: davidi99
Twitter: @davidi99
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidi99/
by David I | May 30, 2017 | APIs, DevRelate, Webinar |
This week, I am presenting a DevRelate webinar, “Developer Relations and your Company’s APIs” on Wednesday (May 31) and Thursday (June 1). This blog post contains additional information and links covered in the webinar.
APIs and Your Company
Developer Relations and APIs
API Documentation Examples
API Versioning – Overview
REST
- URI
- Request parameter
- Media type (aka content negotiation & accept header)
- Date
- Custom request header
- Domain name
SOAP
- XML namespaces and XML comments
- UDDI version aware service registry
Shared Code Files
- Filename
- Version resource
API Resource Links
API Documentation Generation Tools
Additional Swagger Resources
The following Swagger related links were provided by SmartBear Software (thank you Keshav and Tracy)
- [Blog] API Design Best Practices – https://swaggerhub.com/blog/api-design/api-design-best-practices/
- [Blog] What is API Design, and Why it Matters – https://swaggerhub.com/blog/api-design/what-is-api-design/
- [Webinar] Scaling your API Design Process – https://swaggerhub.com/blog/api-design/scaling-your-api-design/
- [eBook] Optimizing the Swagger collaborative workflow using SwaggerHub – https://swaggerhub.com/blog/api-resources/optimize-your-swagger-api-workflow/
- [Blog] Design first or Code first approach to APIs – https://swaggerhub.com/blog/api-design/design-first-or-code-first-api-development/
- [Webinar] API Developer Experience (DX), and good documentation practices for good DX – https://swaggerhub.com/blog/api-documentation/api-documentation-and-developer-experience/
API Versioning – Examples
Facebook / Parse (BaaS) API Shutdown Example
Evans Data Developer Program Workshops and Assessments
If you have additional API links, best practices, tools, tips, tricks, thoughts and questions, send me an email.

David Intersimone “David I”
Vice President of Developer Communities
Evans Data Corporation
davidi@evansdata.com
Blog: https://www.devrelate.com/blog/
Skype: davidi99
Twitter: @davidi99
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidi99/
by David I | Apr 13, 2017 | Developer Outreach, Developer Programs News, Developer Relations, DevRelate |
During one of the Evans Data 13th Annual Developer Relations Conference Sunday Boot Camp sessions on Best Practices (featuring developer programs and features from boot camp attendees), three specific developer program sites were called out by several of the attendees. In addition, we also had the opportunity to have two of our Boot Camp faculty members on hand to talk more about their developer programs, sites and features.
Ford Developer Program
Scott Burnell, Ford Motor Company Global Lead, Business Development & Partner Management, spent a few minutes talking about the Ford Developer Program and took questions from the attendees. Scott covered several of the Ford developer program offerings including:
- SYNC® AppLink™ – AppLink is a suite of APIs that provide the ability for mobile developers to extend the command and control of a mobile application to the in-vehicle Human Machine Interface (HMI).

- Smart Device Link (SDL) – an open-source POSIX-compliant technology platform on which the Ford AppLink product is built and allows it to communicate between applications running on a mobile device and our SYNC in-vehicle software.
- https://developer.ford.com/pages/sdl
- POSIX-compliant technology platform
- Deploy to Linux, QNX, or other popular embedded operating systems
- Communicate with any mobile device OS such as iOS or Android.
- OpenXC – a non-production open source interface, designed to attract top developers to experiment with DIY projects in Ford vehicles (with or without SYNC).

Ford TDK
ThingWorx Developer Program
Michael Aglietti, VP of Developer Programs at ThingWorx, got up next and spent a few minutes going over the ThingWorx developer program, specific aspects that are unique to an IoT company and took questions from the attendees. Michael covered some of the ThingWorx offerings including:
- “Begin Your IoT Journey”
- Program is focused to help developers:
- Make – ThingWorx allows you to connect anything and everything including devices, sensors, and systems. By leveraging the power of the platform, you can quickly build impactful solutions.
- Analyze – You do not have to be a data scientist to produce insights as if you were one. Leverage our platform to derive meaningful insights from your data.
- Code – Use the ThingWorx development tools and API’s to quickly connect devices and build secure applications. Leverage existing systems and device clouds for ultimate flexibility.

- REST APIs – Quick starts, How To’s, Cheat Sheets
- SDKs for Java, .NET, C, iOS, Android
- Edge Micro Server (EMS) – Raspberry Pi
- Marketplace – The ThingWorx Marketplace gives you easy access to everything you need to build and run your ThingWorx based IoT application: From extensions and apps that can be downloaded and integrated directly into your ThingWorx application to partners that can help you build your IoT solution or offer certified and compatible products that work with it.

Three Developer Programs attendees said had great Documentation Best Practices
Several of the boot camp attendees mentioned the following three developer programs saying they had great documentation for developers.

Thank You AngelHack, Boot Camp Faculty, Product Marketing Panelists and Attendees
A big thanks to AngelHack for sponsoring this year’s Evans Data Developer Relations Boot Camp. Two big thank you(s) to Scott (from Ford) and Michael (from ThingWorx). And finally, massive thank you(s) to all of our great boot camp attendees for your participation and your feedback surveys. With your help we will continue to evolve the boot camp day to meet your needs. I hope we see you again next year!

David Intersimone “David I”
Vice President of Developer Communities
Evans Data Corporation
davidi@evansdata.com
Blog: https://www.devrelate.com/blog/
Skype: davidi99
Twitter: @davidi99
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidi99/
by David I | Mar 7, 2017 | Developer Relations, DevRelate |
Alexander Graham Bell’s patent #174,465, “Improvement in Telegraphy”, was issued today, March 7, 1876, by the U.S. Patent Office. The patent covered “a method of, and apparatus for, transmitting two or more telegraphic signals simultaneously along a single wire by the employment of transmitting-instruments, each of which occasions a succession of electrical impulses differing in rate from the others; and of receiving instruments, each tuned to a pitch at which it will be put in vibration to produce its fundamental note by one only of the transmitting instruments; and of vibratory’circuit breakers operating to convert the vibratory movement of the receiving-instrument into a permanent make or break (as the case may be) of a local circuit, in which is placed, a Morse sounder, register, or other telegraphic apparatus.”

What does this have to do with developers, software development and developer relations? We take for granted that we can communicate voice and data anywhere, anytime using multiple devices and technologies. The earliest developer relations program site I used was built on top of the Wildcat BBS bulletin board software made by Mustang Software, Inc. I connected to the BBS using a modem card, acoustic coupler and telephone. The next generation developer relations site was built on CompuServe with its email, groups and upload/download capabilities. Today we can create full featured developer programs in the cloud and connect via high speed internet.

Regardless of the technology, the infrastructure or the software, developers till care about the same developer program features: asking questions, communicating with other developers, download latest builds, and receiving emails about upcoming events and news. What started more than one hundred and forty years ago, now allows us to be connected with our members 24×7 and provide a wide range of services to move software development forward at light speed. I remember the 300 and 1200 baud modems and the hours waiting for a large download to complete. Today I can simultaneously download an operating system, grab a technology stack update, watch a programming webinar, track the status of a complex build, test and deploy, get answers on Stack Overflow, and use Slack to share latest ideas and updates with my distributed team members.

Thank you Alexander Graham Bell and the millions of other inventors, dreamers and engineers that provide us with the ideas, tools, frameworks, libraries, devices, services, and platforms that we use everyday, sometimes without even realizing what makes it all work. It’s amazing how far we’ve come in just under 1.5 centuries. With the pace of innovation we see today and with a global developer population of more than 21 million, I can’t wait to see what appears in the coming minutes!

—
David Intersimone “David I”
Vice President of Developer Communities
Evans Data Corporation
davidi@evansdata.com
Blog: https://www.devrelate.com/blog/
Skype: davidi99
Twitter: @davidi99
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidi99/
by David I | Oct 28, 2016 | APIs, Developer Programs News, Developer Relations, DevRelate |
In today’s interconnected world, companies in all industries need to publish APIs and cultivate a developer community to access and use them. To be competitive today, attracting and supporting developers is essential. The key to cultivating a vibrant developer community that uses your APIs and supports your platform is a good developer relations program. “Developer Programs and APIs in the News” is a series of news items from developer programs around the world.
Developer Programs and APIs in the News
Facebook – October 27 – Improving Facebook Login on TV and Android. “Today, we’re introducing a faster and easier Facebook Login experience to the big screen. Previously, people needed to enter a confirmation code on their phone or browser to log in with Facebook on their TV. Now, the SDK can communicate directly with the Facebook app over the same wireless network, letting people sign in to their TV with just a few taps.”
Uber – October 26 – Introducing the Driver API. “More than 1.5 million people across the globe drive on the Uber platform. Hundreds of engineers, product managers, and designers at Uber are working hard every day to make the experience more enjoyable and rewarding for drivers from all walks of life — whether they drive just a few hours or five days a week. By leveraging driver profile data, trip data, earnings, and more, developers can create new apps and services that make driving with Uber more productive and fun.” The Uber blog post mentions partners that are already using the API including Jobcase, ShopYourWay, Sherpashare, Stride and ActiveHours.
IBM & Slack – October 26 – Slack, IBM Partner to Bring Watson to Developers. “Drawing on the power of Slack’s digital workplace and the cognitive computing capabilities of Watson, developers will be able to create more offerings — including bots and other conversational inferences — that will transform the platform’s user experience. Developers can easily access the range of Watson services — such as Conversation, Sentiment Analysis or speech APIs — and build powerful new tools for the platform with this enhanced cognitive functionality.”
Advanced Web Ranking – October 26 – AWR Cloud Release: Developer API v2. “With the new version of the API, we aimed to extend the data provided for your projects. In addition to keyword ranking positions, now you can automatically get information from the Google Search Console account, as well as the Visibility values that AWR Cloud computes based on the keywords and search engines you’re tracking.”
IBM – October 25 – IBM Unleashes the Power of Machine Learning with Watson-enabled Data Platform. “The platform delivers the world’s fastest data ingestion engine and cognitive-powered decision-making to data professionals, allowing them to collaborate in the IBM Cloud, with the services they prefer. IBM is also making IBM Watson Machine Learning Service available – making machine learning simple with an intuitive, self-service interface.”
Mastercard, GM & IBM – October 25 – Mastercard Joins Onstar Go, the Auto Industry’s First Cognitive Mobility Platform Delivered by IBM and General Motors. “This breakthrough collaboration will bring Masterpass secure, payment technology and Mastercard Digital Enablement Services (MDES) to a new cognitive mobility platform called OnStar Go, which will be embedded across many GM vehicles starting in 2017. ”
Ellie Mae – October 24 – Ellie Mae Announces the Encompass Lending Platform. “Ellie Mae, a leading provider of innovative on-demand software solutions and services for the residential mortgage industry, today announced the launch of Ellie Mae’s Encompass Lending Platform™. The Encompass Lending Platform gives customers, partners and independent software vendors a secure, scalable platform plus a suite of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) and developer resources to enable them to extend Encompass with new functionality, easily integrate Encompass with external systems and data, and build custom applications in the cloud.”
Google, Visa & Mastercard – October 24 – Android Pay partners with Visa and Mastercard to bring simple checkout to more places online. “Android Pay users will soon be able to pay on hundreds of thousands of new sites where Visa Checkout or Masterpass are accepted using their preferred device authentication method – like fingerprint recognition. No longer will users have to remember multiple usernames and passwords in order to checkout, saving them time and hassle.”
eBay – October 19 – Introducing new eBay Sell and Buy APIs. “The new APIs are an example of how eBay is leveraging technology to accelerate and disrupt commerce. “With these APIs, developers can rapidly create an integration and help accelerate buying from eBay anywhere, anytime. To me, that’s true disruption – and, it’s a leap forward for eBay developers,” said Frederick. All of these APIs use the latest technology such as OAuth authentication, JSON payloads and RESTful design principles.”
Symphony Software Foundation – October 18 – The Symphony Software Foundation is Open for Business. “The Foundation hosts open source development of the Symphony platform, bots, apps, and integrations on the Symphony Platform and open source technologies common to the financial services industry. With the Open Developer Platform, the Foundation will provide community contributors and Foundation member organizations with open development access to the Symphony API, as well as best-of-breed development tools and lifecycle, to promote a seamless developer experience.”
YouMail – October 11 – YouMail Launches Robocall API. “YouMail has the technology to identify known robocallers and scammers. In an effort to empower others to combat robocalls, YouMail has released a new API that provides access to a growing database of phone numbers so that carriers, private branch exchange providers, and third party developers have the technology to identify robocallers as well.”
Wayfair – October 5 – Wayfair Opens 3D Model API to Developer Community. “Wayfair Inc., one of the world’s largest online destinations for home furnishings and décor, today announced the launch of its first-party 3D Model API. Developed by Wayfair Next, the company’s in-house research and development team, the platform enables access to more than 10,000 3D furniture and décor models, allowing developers to integrate more realistic content into their applications.”
NCR – September 26 – NCR Unveils Open API Developer Portal for Digital Banking Customers. “The portal provides self-service access to digital banking APIs, the Software Development Kit (SDK) and third-party software connections developed by Digital Insight, an NCR company, to provide developers at financial institutions with the data and services required to create and seamlessly integrate custom applications that complement their existing digital banking functionality.”
Send me your Developer Programs News!
If you have news about your Developer Relations Program, send me an email about the news. Send to davidi@evansdata.com