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When should you change API version?
When the number of API consumers are small (or zero), or when the consumers are internal and you are able to coordinate the API changes easily, then the impact can be minimized. Yet, any change required by an API consumer costs time and effort. As a result, creating a new version of your API should be a last resort.
What is the correct way to version any API?
There are four common ways to version a REST API.
- Versioning through URI Path.
- Versioning through query parameters.
- Versioning through custom headers.
- Versioning through content negotiation.
- Summary.
Why do we need API version?
The most common reason for API versioning is honoring contracts with your existing API customers. Their apps may rely upon the way your API functions when they set it up. Just because you need to update your API doesn’t mean they’re ready to do the same for their apps.
When do you need to change the version of an API?
Non-breaking changes, such as adding new endpoints or new response parameters, do not require a change to the major version number. However, it can be helpful to track the minor versions of APIs when changes are made to support customers who may be receiving cached versions of data or may be experiencing other API issues.
Why is it important to version Your REST API?
REST API Versioning. To manage this complexity, version your API. Versioning helps you iterate faster when the needed changes are identified. Change in an API is inevitable as your knowledge and experience of a system improve. Managing the impact of this change can be quite a challenge when it threatens to break existing client integration.
What are the pros and cons of API versioning?
Whether that next iteration is a whole number version bump or just a feature expansion, it’s important to consider the pros and cons of how you let your developers know about it. Far different than traditional software versioning, API versioning can have complex implications for the products using it downstream.
Are there redirection status codes for API versioning?
There are at least two redirection HTTP status codes that are appropriate for API versioning scenarios: 301 Moved permanently indicating that the resource with a requested URI is moved permanently to another URI (which should be a resource instance permalink that does not contain API version info).