Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Design RESTful APIs following industry best practices and standards.
• Explain the function and architecture of an API Gateway and API Management platform.
• Implement robust security measures for APIs, including OAuth 2.0 and API keys.
• Configure traffic management policies such as throttling, rate limiting, and caching.
• Utilize a developer portal to manage API documentation, onboarding, and subscriptions.
• Monitor API performance, usage, and analyze usage metrics.
• Apply versioning strategies and manage the lifecycle of an API.
• Understand the business models and monetization strategies for APIs.

• API Developers and Software Engineers.
• API Product Managers and Business Analysts.
• Integration Specialists and Enterprise Architects.
• Cloud Engineers managing API Gateway services.
• IT Security Professionals focused on API defense.

• Hands-on labs configuring an API Gateway with security and traffic policies.
• Individual exercises on designing a RESTful API specification using OpenAPI.
• Group activities focused on creating a developer onboarding process and documentation.
• Case studies on API security breaches and best practices for mitigation.

Unit 1: API Fundamentals and Design

• Defining APIs: the contract between services.
• Comparing REST, SOAP, and newer styles like GraphQL.
• Understanding HTTP methods and response codes in API context.
• The business value of an API economy.

• Designing clean, consistent, and intuitive RESTful endpoints.
• Effective use of resources and collection naming conventions.
• Data representation formats (JSON vs. XML).
• API versioning strategies (URI, Query Param, Header).

Unit 2: API Management Platform and Gateway

• Components of an API Management platform (Gateway, Portal, Analytics).
• The role of the API Gateway in traffic routing and policy enforcement.
• Deployment options: on-premises, cloud, and hybrid models.
• Introduction to service mesh concepts in microservices architecture.

• Implementing security policies (e.g., IP filtering, JWT validation).
• Traffic control: rate limiting, quotas, and throttling.
• Performance optimization with response caching.
• Transforming request and response payloads.

Unit 3: Security and Governance

• Authentication mechanisms: API Keys, Basic Auth, and Mutual TLS.
• Authorization with OAuth 2.0 flows (e.g., Client Credentials, Authorization Code).
• Protecting against common threats (e.g., Injection, Mass Assignment).
• Implementing logging and audit trails for security monitoring.

• Defining API standards and design guidelines.
• The API lifecycle: planning, design, implementation, testing, and retirement.
• Contract testing and ensuring service level agreements (SLAs).
• API cataloging and internal discoverability.

Unit 4: Developer Engagement and Analytics

• Setting up and customizing a Developer Portal.
• Onboarding process for internal and external API consumers.
• Generating interactive API documentation (e.g., OpenAPI/Swagger).
• Managing API subscriptions and access tiers.

• Tracking key API metrics: latency, error rates, and traffic volume.
• Analyzing API usage patterns and consumer behavior.
• Implementing usage-based billing and monetization models.
• Proactive alerting for performance degradation and security breaches.