API Specification
An API specification is a formal document that defines the structure, behavior, and requirements of an Application Programming Interface (API), typically using a standardized format like OpenAPI, RAML, or GraphQL SDL. It serves as a contract between API providers and consumers, detailing endpoints, request/response formats, authentication methods, and data models. This enables automated documentation generation, client SDK creation, and validation of API implementations.
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. 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.