Good APIs Project

A simple Web API is usually REST/HTTP based, with XML delivery of a simple schema e.g. RSS. You may want to offer toolkits for different languages and support a variety of formats (e.g. SOAP, REST, JSON etc.).

Try to provide APIs in XML format then it can also be read by other devices such as kiosks and LED displays. Making returned data available in a number of format (e.g. XML, JSON, PHP encoded array) it saves developers a lot of wasted time parsing XML to make an array.

Provide sample code that uses API in different languages. Try to be general where possible so that one client could be written against multiple systems (even if full functionality is not available without specialization).

For database APIs, provide a variety of output options – different metadata formats and/or levels of detail.