You can view the documentation for their REST API here. This makes accomplishing these tasks difficult for non-developers or recent contributors to a project. This content is intended for technical writers working on REST API documentation projects. In nearly every job description for technical writers in developer documentation, you’ll see requirements like this: Ability to read code in one or more programming languages, such as Java, C++, or Python. If you’ve ever tried to get a big company with a lengthy deployment process on board with making updates every couple of months to the code they’ve deployed, you realize how impractical it is. In short, if you want to solve the biggest problem with API documentation, you’ll need to develop more technical expertise in the subject domain. In many highly technical shops, this editor/publisher role is becoming increasingly common. If that’s the case, you’ll need to develop a deeper knowledge of C++ so you can provide more value in your writing role. Writing API Documentation training course This is part of our intermediate/advanced technical communication training course Cherryleaf's intermediate/advanced technical communication skills course provides you with access to a collection of online training modules, under a low cost monthly subscription plan. Even so, getting all the language right can be a challenge, which is why it’s so hard to find technical writers who have skills for producing developer documentation, especially for the SDKs and sample apps. Employers will usually have three requirements to hire you: These requirements are why I’ve focused this course on activities that will help you break into the field. Who the course is for. You may wonder what the motivation is behind these requirements, especially if the core APIs are RESTful. Engineers will write the technical material, especially the reference documentation, and technical writers will focus more on making sure the content checks all the boxes — that it has an overview, release notes, addresses user tasks, follows the style guide, integrates with the other docs, and so on. You can shape and organize the content, and identify areas where it’s deficient or needs expansion, but the ability to add deeper value requires a deeper knowledge of the subject matter. As such, developers want to just get in, get the code, and get out. However, you’ll play more of an editing/publishing role rather than an authoring role. During that time, the company is often struggling with a load of bugs and other issues that are setting them back. API stands for Application Programming Interface. The course highlights the factors that determine the degree of technicality of the language and concepts involved. The course develops technical writing skills necessary to communicate information gained through a process of technical or experimental work. In How API Documentation Fails, Martin Robillard and Gias Uddin explain: Perhaps unsurprisingly, the biggest problems with API documentation were also the ones requiring the most technical expertise to solve. Additionally, since native library APIs are implemented locally in the developer’s code, it was almost impossible to get users to upgrade to the latest version of the API. For an example, take a look at Algolia’s API. For example, when I worked at 41st Parameter (a startup acquired by Experian), the company had a Java, .NET, and C++ API — each implementation did the same thing but in different languages. Without in-depth, authoritative knowledge of the API, it will be challenging to complete, clarify, and correct errors in the content. The company has a REST API for interacting with their services. If you were recruiting for a technical writer to document Algolia, how would you word the job requirements? We also had an SDK for Android and iOS. A lack of more technical knowledge will likely remove some of the value from your role. This webinar will introduce the role of API technical writer, the product (APIs), and the documentation. The degree to which you can provide value in your role as a technical writer is often directly proportional to your level of technical knowledge. However, when you implement Algolia (which provides a search feature for your site), you’ll probably follow the documentation for your specific platform or language. You might not have six SDKs in multiple languages and frameworks for your API. When I worked at Badgeville, we developed a collection of JavaScript widgets that developers could easily copy and paste into their web pages, making a few adjustments as needed. It’s easier to use the pre-built JavaScript widgets. Completing the activities in this course will help you do that. 106/141 pages complete. In these cases, calls to REST APIs tend to be slow, so a native library API (such as Android) is used instead. What mainly changes across languages are the code snippets and some of the terms. Developers could also create their own JavaScript widget code (from scratch) based on calls to the REST endpoints, but sometimes it can be tricky to know how to retrieve all the right information and then manipulate it in the right way in your chosen language. Although I briefly mentioned jobs in Introduction to REST API documentation, in this section of my API documentation course, I’ll dive deeper into the job market for API documentation. Rolling out a simple update could take 6-12 months or more. The developers’ primary focus is their own company’s code; they’re just leveraging your REST API as an additional, extra service. The course primarily serves the following audiences: Professional technical writers looking to transition from GUI documentation into more API … Although I could create more quizzes in this course, and at the end, you could earn a “certificate” (which wouldn’t be a bad idea, actually) it would be virtually meaningless in your job search and larger goals. It was three times the amount of work, not to mention three times the amount of documentation. Topics include: principles of good writing, tricks for writing faster and with less anxiety, the format of a scientific manuscript, and issues in publication and peer review. Throughout this course, I put these concepts in real, applicable contexts with hands-on activities and demos. This site provides tutorials for documenting REST APIs. Completing, clarifying, and correcting documentation require deep, authoritative knowledge of the API’s implementation. Only 35 more pages to go. After all, they can’t expect you to do a programmer’s job. This get-in-and-get-out mentality is why companies need to provide multiple client SDKs in as many languages as possible — these client implementations allow developers to implement the API quickly and efficiently. Offered by Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. Developer Documentation Trends: Survey Results, Inspect the JSON from the response payload, Activity: What's wrong with this API reference topic, Activity: Evaluate API reference docs for core elements, IV: OpenAPI spec and generated reference docs, Overview of REST API specification formats, Introduction to the OpenAPI specification, Create an OpenAPI specification document using Stoplight Studio's visual editor, OpenAPI tutorial using Swagger Editor and Swagger UI: Overview, Activity: Create an OpenAPI specification document, Stoplight — visual modeling tools for creating your spec, Redocly tutorial -- authoring and publishing API docs with Redocly's command-line tools, Integrating Swagger UI with the rest of your docs, Demos of OpenAPI outputs using different tools, Activity: Test your project's documentation, Activity: Complete the SendGrid Getting Started tutorial, Activity: Assess the conceptual content in your project, What research tells us about documenting code, Following agile scrum with documentation projects, Activity: Manage content in a GitHub wiki, Activity: Pull request workflows through GitHub, Which tool to choose for API docs — my recommendations, Jekyll and CloudCannon continuous deployment tutorial, Case study: Switching tools to docs-as-code, Best locations for API documentation jobs, Activity: Create or fix an API reference documentation topic, Activity: Generate a Javadoc from a sample project, Doxygen, a document generator mainly for C++, Create non-ref docs with native library APIs, XI: Documentation processes and developer portals, DX content strategy with developer portals, Processes for managing large documentation projects, Processes for managing small documentation requests, Activity: Get event information using the Eventbrite API, Activity: Retrieve a gallery using the Flickr API, Activity: Get wind speed using the Aeris Weather API, Why employers look for candidates who can read programming languages, Providing value without in-depth technical knowledge, Familiarity with 1-2 programming languages or other technical foundations, Experience writing docs for a developer audience, A portfolio with writing samples demonstrating the above two points. The advantages of providing a universally accessible API using any language platform usually outweigh the specifics you get from a native library API. No, but here’s the most common scenario. Although the proliferation of code and platforms creates pressure on the multi-lingual capabilities of technical writers, if you can understand what’s going on in one programming language, your description of the reference implementations in other programming languages will follow highly similar patterns. It’s much more feasible for API development shops to move to a SaaS model using REST, and then create various client implementations that briefly demonstrate how to call the REST API using the different languages. Maintaining the same functionality across three separate API platforms was a serious challenge for the company’s developers. There’s no way around it: if you’re serious about breaking into API documentation, you need to fulfill the above requirements. You might be in a C++ only shop where all you need to know is C++ and nothing more. As such, you won’t be hopelessly lost if you can’t navigate these other domains in the programming languages. Remember that developers are typically using a REST API as a third-party service. Breaking into your first API documentation role can be challenging. There are plenty of technical writers who can write documentation for graphical user interfaces but not many who can navigate the developer landscape to provide highly technical documentation for developers working in code. There are plenty of technical writers who can write documentation for graphical user interfaces but not many who can navigate the developer landscape to provide highly technical documentation for developers working in code. Although users could construct their own code when using the REST endpoints, most developers would rather leverage existing code and copy and paste what they need. Can you now see why even though the core work involves documenting the REST API, it would also be good to have an “ability to read code in one or more programming languages, such as Java, C++, or Python.”. You might refer to “functions” instead of “classes,” and so on. As a consolation to this stress of having to navigate multiple programming domains, you can take comfort in the fact that REST APIs (which remember are language agnostic) are becoming more common and are replacing native-library APIs. In the next topic, How much code do you need to know?, I’ll explore the topic of how much code you need to know and strategies for learning it. Topics to be covered include: Introduction to the role of API technical writer The number of SDKs a company distributes can vary considerably. API is a set of tools, communication protocols, and subroutine definitions for building software… Technical Writing is Easy It will also provide ideas and links for continuing your own research after the session. The balance between generalist and specialist roles is an ongoing challenge that I’ll explore more in the next topic: How much code do you need to know? The difference lies in the product itself and the technical skills required. Keep current with the latest trends in technical communication by subscribing to the I'd Rather Be Writing newsletter. That said, one area where REST APIs can be problematic is with devices (for example, smartphones and tablets, devices in cars, streaming media devices). Technical writers who can write developer documentation are in high demand, especially in the Silicon Valley area. 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