Tag Archives: error

Pivotal Tracker launches new API in public beta

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Pivotal Tracker just announced the availability of their API V5 in public beta, starting August 16, 2013. The launch is justified because the application itself has run against the new API version for a long time now.

photo by John Fischer

The new API introduces several improvements, like the ability to get access to all project data, including epics. They also say that everything in and out of the API is now JSON encoded but the activity Web Hooks still POST information using XML.

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2 steps to better API Error Codes

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One of the biggest difficulties developers can have when writing code that talks with an API is dealing with errors and exceptions, and translating those errors into something meaningful for their applications.

photo by Bent Jensen

Because APIs are based on different technologies and libraries, error codes are often inherited and do not make sense to whatever framework the consumer is using. Even worse is when those error codes and messages are simply passed through to the end-user without any manipulation by the application.

So, how can you make sure that all your API consumer understand your error codes and can handle them properly? If you’re offering a REST API, consumers expect your endpoints to behave like any other HTTP endpoint, so a good start is to simply follow the standards.

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