Intro to API Documentation

Recording of "Intro to API Documentation" presentation that I gave at the STC Summit 2019. More details: idratherbewriting.com/my-slid...
Slides: idratherbewriting.com/learnap...

[@AnilGuttikonda]

Great learning material! Million Thanks to you for sharing your valuable knowledge to all the tech writers.

[@WriterThinkerDogger]

Tom's podcasts, talks, and idratherbewriting site are a gift to the tech writer community.

[@paulharker6372]

Absolutely brilliant top-level overview of what's required in good API documentation. Thanks for uploading.

[@garimasrivastava8916]

This is what i was looking for, clear and crisp info about API documentation. Thanks

[@alexl8858]

Great learning material! Thanks for your work Tom.

[@mikeroberts4588]

This is an awesome lecture. Thanks for uploading.

[@bpotter136]

Great intro into API Documentation. Thank you.

[@OdetteWeinrauch]

very well explained, I study this and already struggled with the various usual tools but starting to figure them out. Interested in software documentation, so good to know what I have to focus on. thankss

[@89arqam]

The best intro i have seen.

[@Artem-jm9xd]

Thanks 👍

[@ulricha.abiguime7918]

This video is underated

[@shynie4986]

I am your 600th sub x'D

[@TammyButcherPlus]

Hi Tom. Great intro. I've been taking a few bootcamp courses and here is what I find frustrating in those and in this course (and in API docs in general). You have us use the By city name endpoint for the open weather API which (it would seem) queries cit name or city name and country code. And yet, in Postman, you then enter zip, units (somehow knowing to use imperial), and appid. How do you know to enter this? I looked all through the docs and see nowhere that this info is specified yet, somehow, you knew to enter this specifically. For those of us that are new to this, how would we find this information?

[@tomjoht]

I think I am simply implementing some of the required parameters specified in the doc, though I might not have explained where in the doc those parameters are specified. The OpenWeatherMap docs aren't the greatest example -- the API just seemed like a stable one.

[@nickeldan]

Minor correction: HTTP is an application protocol not a transport protocol.

[@isatyavaraprasad]

He said, transfer protocol not transport. 🙂

[@nickeldan]

Ah, my bad. Thanks

[@ulricha.abiguime7918]

Does it mean that i can't have a final version of an Api before i've finished the development of the api it's self ?

[@fsocietyearth9091]

Hi, is it possible to start tech writing carrier with API documentation?

[@tomjoht]

sure, if you have strong tech skills and know how to write, and can prove it with a portfolio, you can surely get your foot in the door somewhere.

[@fsocietyearth9091]

@@tomjoht Thanks a lot for your valuable response Sir!!,
Need a help from you could you suggest directly jumping to AIP documentation would be okey or I need to find the entrance door? Little confuse as waisted 3-4 years in doing various things. I have heard and read a lot about you and your unique website especially website name. Or you have video or pdf guide for starters please share, It will be helpful for me and your fans 👣.

[@yunjiehong4649]

What is STC?

[@khill3227]

Society for Technical Communications