Dustup at OSCON – Missing the API Bigger Picture?

Dustup at OSCON – Missing the API Bigger Picture?

Fellow Cloud pontificator Randy Bias caused quite a stir at O’Reilly’s Open Source Convention (OSCON) this week. Basically, he suggested that the OpenStack crowd capitulate to Amazon Web Services (AWS). Instead of building competing APIs, Randy opined, OpenStack should follow in Eucalyptus’s footsteps and simply comply with the AWS de facto API standards.

His reasoning: AWS has already sown up the Public Cloud marketplace. No sense for OpenStack to keep beating their collective heads against that wall. Instead, OpenStack should go after the Private Cloud space. Because APIs are central to the Hybrid Cloud story, being able to connect OpenStack Private Clouds to AWS or other AWS-compatible Clouds is where the money is.

OpenStack-based Public Cloud providers like Rackspace are sure to disagree, but I think Bias is on to something. AWS clearly dominates public IaaS. Hybrid Clouds are unquestionably where the money is, for any consultant or service provider serving the enterprise market. I would also go so far as to say that OpenStack is well behind AWS, and losing ground – so playing a “can’t beat ‘em so join ‘em” game makes sense.

Fair enough, but I think there’s a larger, more strategic issue here that both sides of the Cloud API discussion appear to be missing. We’ve outgrown the old notion of API as a tightly coupled, procedural interface. We’ve been through the fire of Web Services as we struggled to achieve loose coupling with contracted interfaces. And now we’ve come out on the other side, calling our software interfaces APIs once more. But have we learned anything?

What we really want from our software interfaces is deep interoperability. We want them to abstract the underlying software capabilities, not only to support different implementations at the same time, but also to support changing implementations over time. Web Services took us part way there, but they needed intermediaries to abstract multiple implementations and rigorous repository-based governance to handle versioning.

Hypermedia-Oriented Architecture (HOA), the architectural style that REST was meant to be, takes us further. Hypermedia take care of interface discoverability, helping to resolve the agility issues that plague typical APIs.

True, HOA needs work. There are still missing pieces to the deep interoperability puzzle. But as the OSCON API dustup indicates, people aren’t even thinking about hypermedia-driven discoverability when they’re thinking about APIs. Stop chopping down trees, folks, there’s a whole forest out there to figure out!

devx-admin

devx-admin

Share the Post:
Razer Discount

Unbelievable Razer Blade 17 Discount

On September 24, 2023, it was reported that Razer, a popular brand in the premium gaming laptop industry, is offering an exceptional deal on their

Innovation Ignition

New Fintech Innovation Ignites Change

The fintech sector continues to attract substantial interest, as demonstrated by a dedicated fintech stage at a recent event featuring panel discussions and informal conversations

Import Easing

Easing Import Rules for Big Tech

India has chosen to ease its proposed restrictions on imports of laptops, tablets, and other IT hardware, allowing manufacturers like Apple Inc., HP Inc., and

Anthropic Investment

Amazon’s Bold Anthropic Investment

On Monday, Amazon announced its plan to invest up to $4 billion in the AI firm Anthropic, acquiring a minority stake in the process. This

AI Experts Get Hired

Tech Industry Rehiring Wave: AI Experts Wanted

A few months ago, Big Tech companies were downsizing their workforce, but currently, many are considering rehiring some of these employees, especially in popular fields

Razer Discount

Unbelievable Razer Blade 17 Discount

On September 24, 2023, it was reported that Razer, a popular brand in the premium gaming laptop industry, is offering an exceptional deal on their Razer Blade 17 model. Typically

Innovation Ignition

New Fintech Innovation Ignites Change

The fintech sector continues to attract substantial interest, as demonstrated by a dedicated fintech stage at a recent event featuring panel discussions and informal conversations with industry professionals. The gathering,

Import Easing

Easing Import Rules for Big Tech

India has chosen to ease its proposed restrictions on imports of laptops, tablets, and other IT hardware, allowing manufacturers like Apple Inc., HP Inc., and Dell Technologies Inc. more time

Semiconductor Stock Plummet

Dramatic Downturn in Semiconductor Stocks Looms

Recent events show that the S&P Semiconductors Select Industry Index seems to be experiencing a downturn, which could result in a decline in semiconductor stocks. Known as a key indicator

Anthropic Investment

Amazon’s Bold Anthropic Investment

On Monday, Amazon announced its plan to invest up to $4 billion in the AI firm Anthropic, acquiring a minority stake in the process. This decision demonstrates Amazon’s commitment to

AI Experts Get Hired

Tech Industry Rehiring Wave: AI Experts Wanted

A few months ago, Big Tech companies were downsizing their workforce, but currently, many are considering rehiring some of these employees, especially in popular fields such as artificial intelligence. The

Lagos Migration

Middle-Class Migration: Undermining Democracy?

As the middle class in Lagos, Nigeria, increasingly migrates to private communities, a PhD scholar from a leading technology institute has been investigating the impact of this development on democratic

AI Software Development

ChatGPT is Now Making Video Games

Pietro Schirano’s foray into using ChatGPT, an AI tool for programming, has opened up new vistas in game and software development. As design lead at business finance firm Brex, Schirano

Llama Codebot

Developers! Here’s Your Chatbot

Meta Platforms has recently unveiled Code Llama, a free chatbot designed to aid developers in crafting coding scripts. This large language model (LLM), developed using Meta’s Llama 2 model, serves

Tech Layoffs

Unraveling the Tech Sector’s Historic Job Losses

Throughout 2023, the tech sector has experienced a record-breaking number of job losses, impacting tens of thousands of workers across various companies, including well-established corporations and emerging startups in areas

Chinese 5G Limitation

Germany Considers Limiting Chinese 5G Tech

A recent report has put forth the possibility that Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community may consider limiting the use of Chinese 5G technology by local network providers

Modern Warfare

The Barak Tank is Transforming Modern Warfare

The Barak tank is a groundbreaking addition to the Israeli Defense Forces’ arsenal, significantly enhancing their combat capabilities. This AI-powered military vehicle is expected to transform the way modern warfare

AI Cheating Growth

AI Plagiarism Challenges Shake Academic Integrity

As generative AI technologies like ChatGPT become increasingly prevalent among students and raise concerns about widespread cheating, prominent universities have halted their use of AI detection software, such as Turnitin’s

US Commitment

US Approves Sustainable Battery Research

The US Department of Energy has revealed a $325 million commitment in the research of innovative battery types, designed to enable solar and wind power as continuous, 24-hour energy sources.

Netanyahu Musk AI

Netanyahu and Musk Discuss AI Future

On September 22, 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with entrepreneur Elon Musk in San Francisco prior to attending the United Nations. In a live-streamed discussion, Netanyahu lauded Musk

Urban Gardening

Creating Thriving Cities Through Urban Gardening

The rising popularity of urban gardening is receiving increased recognition for its numerous advantages, as demonstrated in a recent study featured in the Environmental Research Letters journal. Carried out by

What You Need to Know About Cloud Security Strategies

What You Need to Know About Cloud Security Strategies

Today, many businesses are adopting cloud computing services. As a result, it’s important to recognize that security measures for data in the cloud are different from those in traditional on-premises

Romanian Energy Security

Eastern Europe is Achieving Energy Security

Canada and Romania have solidified their commitment to energy security and independence from Russian energy exports by signing a $3-billion export development agreement. The deal is centered on constructing two

Seamless Integration

Unlocking Seamless Smart Home Integration

The vision of an intelligently organized and interconnected smart home that conserves time, energy, and resources has long been desired by many homeowners. However, this aspiration has often been hindered

New Algorithm

MicroAlgo’s Groundbreaking Algorithm

MicroAlgo Inc. has revealed the creation of a knowledge-augmented backtracking search algorithm, developed through extensive research in evolutionary computational techniques. The algorithm is designed to boost problem-solving effectiveness, precision, and

Poland Energy Future

Westinghouse Builds Polish Power Plant

Westinghouse Electric Company and Bechtel have come together to establish a formal partnership in order to design and construct Poland’s inaugural nuclear power plant at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in Pomerania.

EV Labor Market

EV Industry Hurting For Skilled Labor

The United Auto Workers strike has highlighted the anticipated change towards a future dominated by electric vehicles (EVs), a shift which numerous people think will result in job losses. However,

Soaring EV Quotas

Soaring EV Quotas Spark Battle Against Time

Automakers are still expected to meet stringent electric vehicle (EV) sales quotas, despite the delayed ban on new petrol and diesel cars. Starting January 2023, more than one-fifth of automobiles