Designing APIs Like a Pro: Lessons from Jerry Nixon on Data API Builder and Beyond

Strategic Technology Consultation Services This episode of The Modern .NET Show is supported, in part, by RJJ Software's Strategic Technology Consultation Services. If you're an SME (Small to Medium Enterprise) leader wondering why your technology investments aren't delivering, or you're facing critical decisions about AI, modernization, or team productivity, let's talk. Show Notes "Simple is always the better choice, but easy is not always the best. So sometimes you'll go to graph, it's a little bit harder for us to write the code for around it, but the bandwidth consumption is considerably smaller. the compute consumption and the ability for it to run on a mobile device is considerably easier."— Jerry Nixon Hey everyone, and welcome back to The Modern .NET Show; the premier .NET podcast, focusing entirely on the knowledge, tools, and frameworks that all .NET developers should have in their toolbox. I'm your host Jamie Taylor, bringing you conversations with the brightest minds in the .NET ecosystem. Today, we're joined by Jerry Nixon. Jerry is a Principal Product Manager at Microsoft, focussing on the tooling and Developer Experience around Azure SQL Server. Jerry shares his advice for architecting web-based APIs, RESTful design, and using what fits within your team, and of course we talk about Data API Builder. "When you think about what an architect really is and their responsibility, the decisions, architectural decisions are the decisions that are the most expensive to change. That's kind of like who should be making this decision? Well, how expensive is it to change? It's very expensive."— Jerry Nixon We also talk about the importance of interpersonal skills in modern software engineering (whether you're working in open source or not), psychological safety, and the importance of self-reflection in our day-to-day work. Before we jump in, a quick reminder: if The Modern .NET Show has become part of your learning journey, please consider supporting us through Patreon or Buy Me A Coffee. Every contribution helps us continue bringing you these in-depth conversations with industry experts. You'll find all the links in the show notes. Anyway, without further ado, let's sit back, open up a terminal, type in `dotnet new podcast` and we'll dive into the core of Modern .NET. Full Show Notes The full show notes, including links to some of the things we discussed and a full transcription of this episode, can be found at: https://dotnetcore.show/season-8/designing-apis-like-a-pro-lessons-from-jerry-nixon-on-data-api-builder-and-beyond/ Useful Links: SQLBits The original definition of RESTData API Builder documentationData API Builder on GitHub on MS Learnsamplesdocker Registry SQL Dev PathFusionCacheJerry on X (formerly known as Twitter)Podcast editing services provided by Matthew BlissMusic created by Mono Memory Music, licensed to RJJ Software for use in The Modern .NET Show Supporting the show: Leave a rating or reviewBuy the show a coffeeBecome a patron Getting in Touch: Via the contact pageJoining the Discord Remember to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser, or wherever you find your podcasts, this will help the show's audience grow. Or you can just share the show with a friend. And don't forget to reach out via our Contact page. We're very interested in your opinion of the show, so please get in touch. You can support the show by making a monthly donation on the show's Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/TheDotNetCorePodcast. Music created by Mono Memory Music, licensed to RJJ Software for use in The Modern .NET Show. Editing and post-production services for this episode were provided by MB Podcast Services.