Evaluation of JSON-API-Format REST API for Business-to-Business Integration Scenarios

Abstract

API technology has brought about changes in the technology industry, especially in the ways that applications interact. It has created a different way for developers to interact with web services, applications, and resources over the internet. This way of interacting with data has spawned many applications and standards that businesses and companies have made use of to improve their products and services. REST is an architectural de-sign that prescribes a set of constraints for interacting with applications and web ser-vices. REST is widely used in the API industry and applications that support REST architecture are called RESTful services.

For communication over the internet with web services and applications using REST, information has to be formatted and presented using formats that are efficient, concise, widely-used, and adaptable. JSON format fulfils these criteria. REST API in JSON for-mat is a common technology, and has been deployed to create the API technology, using Entity Framework Core, evaluated in this thesis document.

Fatman Ltd. is a company that produces Facility Technical Management software prod-ucts. One of the main products is called Fatman Frame. As a response to the demands of the modern industry and customers, an API was created for Fatman Frame. The main subject of this thesis is the evaluation of Fatman Frame API product. This evaluation is done against the business demands and goals of Fatman Ltd., and the customers of the company. The API product is also evaluated against its own design goals. Pricing for the API product is also explored using the pricing systems that are common in the API industry. It is shown in this thesis that the API fulfils its basic design goals, and business demands.