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API documentation using Swagger

Author Karol Pietruszka Lead Back-end Developer
2 min read 2020-11-17
API stands for Application Programming Interface, a protocol collection that clearly dictates how software components or systems interact. Typically, the responsibility of documenting APIs rests on the shoulders of the developers due to the specialized and technical demands of this task and the intended audience for the documentation, mainly programmers. The creation of API documentation involves tools that necessitate a significant level of technical expertise and specialized knowledge alongside practical experience from the users.

What is Swagger?

Swagger is a framework that simplifies application API visualization, utilization, and documentation. Setting up Swagger is straightforward, often requiring no more than twenty minutes. This framework significantly eases the process of API design.


However, the most significant advantage of using Swagger lies in its capability to provide self-updating documentation. This feature spares developers the need to manually update documentation following each change, addressing common challenges such as maintenance difficulties and errors arising from minor mistakes during documentation creation or inconsistencies between the API and its documentation versions. Swagger effectively alleviates these burdens from developers.

Types of Swagger

When generating reference documentation for APIs, there is a wide array of tools available that can create it based on API definitions. Among these, the tools from the Swagger suite stand out as instrumental in establishing this standard.

The Swagger package includes several widely-used programs. The most commonly used are:

Understanding the OpenAPI Specification (OAS) is crucial. It outlines a RESTful API using a JSON or YAML file, facilitating a range of actions like creating a mock server, generating user documentation, and code generation. Notably, the OAS is language-agnostic, making it understandable to humans and machines.

The API standard builds upon the REST framework, employing the JSON data format for representation. Critical recommendations for API documentation standards include:

Describing resources,

Why use Swagger when creating an API?

Developers highly favor Swagger for creating API documentation primarily because it significantly streamlines their workflow. The documentation creation process, often fraught with challenges, is simplified and automated through Swagger. This efficiency reduces writing endpoints to just a few lines of code. Additionally, the tool helps prevent numerous errors that may arise when developers need to update the documentation with each modification to the API manually.

Programmers are particularly keen on using Swagger as it enhances their efficiency, accelerates the development process, and minimizes the risk of errors. By leveraging simple file formats like JSON or YAML, they can improve the quality of their output. Swagger's capacity to facilitate easier and more accurate documentation practices makes it an indispensable tool in API development.

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Karol Pietruszka
Lead Back-end Developer
Karol is a versatile developer specializing in PHP and Laravel with competencies in Vue.js. His creative and innovative approach is critical to solving complex technical problems.
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