Azure API Management is a comprehensive solution for publishing, securing, and managing APIs. Creating and documenting APIs in API Management involves several key steps and best practices.
To create an API in Azure API Management, you first need to provision an API Management instance through the …Azure API Management is a comprehensive solution for publishing, securing, and managing APIs. Creating and documenting APIs in API Management involves several key steps and best practices.
To create an API in Azure API Management, you first need to provision an API Management instance through the Azure portal, CLI, or ARM templates. Once your instance is ready, you can add APIs by importing existing specifications like OpenAPI (Swagger), WSDL for SOAP services, or by manually defining endpoints. You can also import APIs from Azure Functions, Logic Apps, or App Services.
When creating APIs, you define operations that represent the HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) and their corresponding URL paths. Each operation can have request and response schemas, query parameters, headers, and body definitions. Policies can be applied at various scopes (global, product, API, or operation level) to transform requests and responses, implement caching, rate limiting, and authentication.
Documentation is crucial for API adoption. API Management provides a built-in developer portal that automatically generates interactive documentation from your API definitions. The developer portal allows consumers to explore APIs, view request/response examples, and test endpoints. You can customize the portal's appearance and content to match your branding.
Best practices for API documentation include providing clear descriptions for each operation, including sample requests and responses, documenting error codes and their meanings, and specifying authentication requirements. You should use OpenAPI specifications to maintain consistency and enable automatic documentation generation.
API Management also supports versioning and revision management, allowing you to maintain multiple API versions simultaneously while keeping documentation separate for each version. Products group APIs together and define access policies, making it easier to manage documentation and access control for different consumer segments.
Proper API documentation improves developer experience, reduces support requests, and accelerates integration timelines for API consumers.
Create and Document APIs in API Management
Why It Is Important
API Management is a critical component for modern cloud applications. Creating and documenting APIs properly ensures that developers can discover, understand, and consume your APIs effectively. Well-documented APIs reduce support overhead, improve developer experience, and enable better governance across your organization. For the AZ-204 exam, this topic represents a significant portion of the 'Connect to and consume Azure services' section.
What It Is
Azure API Management (APIM) is a fully managed service that enables you to publish, secure, transform, maintain, and monitor APIs. The service acts as a facade or gateway between your backend services and API consumers. Key components include:
- API Gateway: The endpoint that accepts API calls and routes them to backends - Azure Portal: Administrative interface for API configuration - Developer Portal: Auto-generated website where developers discover and learn about APIs
How It Works
Creating APIs: 1. Navigate to your API Management instance in Azure Portal 2. Select 'APIs' from the left menu 3. Choose how to create: Blank API, OpenAPI specification, WADL, WSDL, or import from Logic App, Function App, or App Service 4. Configure display name, URL suffix, and backend service URL 5. Add operations (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, etc.) with request/response definitions
Documenting APIs: 1. Use OpenAPI (Swagger) specifications for automatic documentation generation 2. Add descriptions to operations, parameters, and responses 3. Include code samples and examples in the Developer Portal 4. Configure products to group APIs logically 5. Enable the Developer Portal for external documentation access
Versioning and Revisions: - Versions: Present different API versions to consumers (path-based, header-based, or query string-based) - Revisions: Make non-breaking changes safely before publishing
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Create and Document APIs in API Management
1. Know the import formats: OpenAPI/Swagger (JSON or YAML), WADL, WSDL, and Logic Apps are supported import sources. Questions often test which format is appropriate for REST vs SOAP services.
2. Understand Products vs APIs: Products contain one or more APIs and are what developers subscribe to. APIs define the actual operations. Exam questions frequently test this relationship.
3. Remember URL structure: The format is typically https://{service-name}.azure-api.net/{api-url-suffix}/{operation}. Questions may ask about constructing correct endpoint URLs.
4. Versioning schemes: Know the three schemes - Path (v1/v2 in URL), Header (custom header), and Query string (?api-version=). Be ready to identify which scheme fits a given scenario.
5. Revisions vs Versions: Revisions are for non-breaking changes during development; versions are for breaking changes presented to consumers. This distinction appears frequently in exam questions.
6. Developer Portal: Understand that it auto-generates documentation from OpenAPI specs and provides interactive API testing. Questions may ask about customization options.
7. Policies location: Know that policies can be applied at Global, Product, API, and Operation levels, with more specific levels overriding broader ones.
8. Subscription keys: Remember that APIs can require subscription keys passed via header (Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key) or query parameter. This is a common security-related question topic.
9. Mock responses: APIM can return mock responses for operations not yet implemented. Look for scenarios describing API prototyping or frontend development proceeding independently.
10. Named values: These are reusable configuration values (like connection strings) that can be referenced in policies. Questions may present scenarios requiring centralized configuration management.