iOS development: Some of the experiences of Yo's API developers

In the article "Don't make developers unhappy ..." We mention the importance of the developer experience (DX, Developer experience). A good developer experience allows developers to quickly create the required services through the API, creating additional value for your product or service. This article through? Yo API? For example, let's get a better understanding of the conditions that a good API service should have.

Remember the last year that caused a great sensation? Yo App? Do you? He's an App that can only send a Yo message, you're right, and that's all he's got. Yo was thought to be the dumbest idea in the world at the start, and didn't even understand why a App that only spends 8 hours developing and sending Yo messages can get millions of dollars in investment. But since Yo opened the API, Yo turned into a platform role, allowing developers to send messages to subscribers through Yo, creating many interesting apps.

　　1. What can Yo do?

Yo just sent a message with "Yo", but at the moment yo can send a hyperlink or your current position to your friend in addition to simply sending the yo message. Don't you have a clue? Now you can go to Yo's exclusive? Yo Store? To see what new and interesting applications developers around the world are using yo.

For example, can you subscribe? Product Hunt's service, you receive the "Yo" message from Product hunt, and you will be linked with the product Hunt page of the products or services when you get a very high attention.

What do you do when the bike breaks down halfway? After subscribing to the Bikeshop service, you can send your position to Bikeshop,bikeshop will return to your recent and open store information, is not very convenient?

And because of Yo's innate character (which can only send a yo message), the developer is able to get a clear idea of what Yo is offering, through? Yo Store? Allows users to know what context to use your service, instant users do not have the need for a while, and the next time you encounter similar situations, you can quickly connect the needs and your products or services.

　　2. Simple and clear documentation

In a previous article, we mentioned that how to get developers to scratch quickly is a key element in creating a good developer experience. In? The Yo API file provides a quick-start file that provides the basic information that the developer needs, including how to authenticate, link to a sample program, and related contexts. In addition, the code examples for different programming languages are provided in each API description to facilitate developers ' reference.

Yo only provides 5 APIs, but you probably only use one (/yoall, send Yo messages to all users who subscribe to your service), and each API clearly defines parameters, possible postback content, and call paradigms for different programming languages. Finally, if you still don't have a clue, you might want to take some inspiration from the Code Samples by referencing other developers ' apps.

　　3. What should I do if I have a problem?

If you have a problem with your development, or if you have ideas that are worth recommending, you can search the Yo API forum for relevant discussions or questions. Good community support is the API can continue to be used by developers of an important factor, if only open the API, but encountered problems but no place to ask, want to suggest features but find no way, the end developers touch rebuff, can only leave your products or services away. So, do not think that your API function is perfect enough, or the file has been written enough, developers always have a variety of unexpected ideas, to maintain two-way communication, in order to make your API more perfect.

Keep It Simple & stupid!

Have to acknowledge the characteristics of the Yo service itself, make the Yo API simple to use, of course, yo in the developer experience is not perfect, such as lack of service status query, developers can not know whether the current Yo API can be normal service, are yo can continue to improve, but overall, from the Yo App and The Yo API lets us experience what a service should look like, keep it simple but simpler (and I don't think it can be simplified) so that users can create unlimited possibilities through the Yo App and API.