API Specification vs Manual Documentation

Developers should learn and use API specifications to ensure consistency, interoperability, and scalability in API-driven systems, particularly in microservices architectures or when building public APIs for third-party integration meets developers should learn manual documentation to improve communication, facilitate onboarding, and maintain project knowledge, especially in complex or legacy systems where automated tools may not capture nuanced details. Here's our take.

API Specification

Nice Pick

Developers should learn and use API specifications to ensure consistency, interoperability, and scalability in API-driven systems, particularly in microservices architectures or when building public APIs for third-party integration

Pros

• They are essential for reducing development time through code generation, improving collaboration between frontend and backend teams, and facilitating API testing and monitoring in DevOps pipelines
• Related to: openapi, rest-api

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Manual Documentation

Developers should learn manual documentation to improve communication, facilitate onboarding, and maintain project knowledge, especially in complex or legacy systems where automated tools may not capture nuanced details

Pros

• It is crucial for creating user-facing documentation, API references, and design documents that require human interpretation and storytelling, such as in open-source projects or enterprise software with diverse stakeholders
• Related to: technical-writing, markdown

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. API Specification is a concept while Manual Documentation is a methodology. We picked API Specification based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

API Specification wins

Based on overall popularity. API Specification is more widely used, but Manual Documentation excels in its own space.