Free course · 10 lessons · Intermediate
API Architecture and Integration Design
REST, GraphQL, gRPC, events and webhooks; contract-first OpenAPI; pagination, errors, idempotency and versioning; gateways, BFFs and resilient integrations.
1. API Styles and Contracts
REST, GraphQL, gRPC, events and webhooks — and contract-first design with OpenAPI.
- HTTP and REST API Design — Resources, methods, status codes and conventions for predictable REST APIs.
- GraphQL and Webhooks — When GraphQL fits, how to secure it, and how to design outbound webhooks.
- gRPC and Event-Driven APIs — Typed RPC for internal services and asynchronous event contracts.
- OpenAPI and Contract-First Development — Design the contract first, then generate docs, mocks, clients and tests.
2. Designing Robust APIs
Pagination, errors, idempotency and versioning — the details that make APIs reliable.
- Pagination, Filtering and Sorting — Return large collections efficiently and predictably.
- Errors and Validation — Consistent, actionable error responses with Problem Details.
- Idempotency, Retries and Concurrency Control — Make retries safe and prevent lost updates.
- Versioning and Evolving APIs — Change APIs without breaking clients, and retire old versions gracefully.
3. Integration Patterns
API gateways, BFFs and resilient communication between services.
- API Gateways and Backends for Frontends — Centralize cross-cutting concerns and tailor APIs to each client.
- Resilient Service Integrations — Timeouts, retries, circuit breakers, bulkheads and graceful degradation.