I'm seeing a resurgence in my embeddable API research lately, based upon signals I'm seeing across the space, and conversations I'm having with folks. The interesting part for me is that this wave isn't about API providers like Twitter and Faceobok using JavaScript to create buttons, badges, and widgets. This latest round is about API service providers making their services more accessible to both API providers, and API consumers, using embeddable tooling, and most importantly, API definitions.
API driven embeddable tools comes in many shapes and sizes, but is something I work hard to understand, and track on in the space. I have several new embeddable stories to talk about this week, but today's is from my friends over at APIMATIC, as well as Apiary. The two service providers now offer the ability to embed your APIMATIC driven SDKs, into your Apiary driven API documentation. All you do, is plug in the URL of your Apiary portal page for your API, into your APIMATC account, and you are returned embeddable markdown you can paste into your Apiary API documentation--Apiary addresses your API design, documentation, testing and virtualization needs, and APIMATIC comes is with the API SDK assist.
I like API service providers working together like this, it is something that makes API provider's and API consumer's lives easier. This approach to API service interoperability is what it will take to weave together the patchwork of API services that will be needed across the API life cycle. As more API service providers emerge to fill gaps in the life cycle, the ability to stitch these stops will grow more critical, something embeddability will contribute to. Depending on a single provider in 2016, is just not a reality, and I need the services that I depend on to work together.
As I will work to showcase in future stories, embedability comes in many shapes and sizes. I'm hoping we are on the cusp of a new wave of API driven embeddability, one that is exponentially more fruitful, and easier to implement for each individual API provider. An approach to using JavaScript and image driven embeddability, that uses APIs like previous waves, but this one is more designed for API providers, API consumers, as well as for end-users, like historical approaches to embed like Twitter tweet buttons, and Facebook share and login buttons were.
