Question 1

How does the Cisco API design guide handle OAuth2 authentication?

Accepted Answer

It mandates the exclusive use of OAuth2 for user authentication and authorization, as specified in section 3.2.1. Tokens must be transmitted in request headers, not URLs, to enhance security and prevent exposure.

Question 2

What's the difference between narrow and wide representations in this guide?

Accepted Answer

Narrow representations include only data from the resource itself with references to others, while wide representations include data from referenced resources. The guide recommends narrow by default to avoid proxying and ensure data freshness, per section 3.3.

Question 3

Cisco API design guide vs Google API design guide: which should I use?

Accepted Answer

The Cisco guide is more prescriptive and security-focused, tailored for enterprise network APIs. Google's guide is broader for public APIs. Choose Cisco for internal, security-critical environments; Google for public-facing, consumer-oriented APIs.

Question 4

How to implement pagination using the Cisco API guidelines?

Accepted Answer

The guide supports pagination with limit and offset parameters, and specifies JSON response templates including 'next' and 'prev' URLs. It advises on non-transactional paging to handle race conditions, detailed in section 3.6.3.

Question 5

Is the Cisco API design guide free to use for non-Cisco projects?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the GitHub repository is publicly accessible, but the README notes that latest guidance may require a Cisco login. The core guidelines are open, but full compliance might not be necessary or practical outside Cisco.

Question 6

How to handle error responses according to this guide?

Accepted Answer

For 4xx and 5xx errors, it specifies a JSON format with an 'error' object containing a key, message array, and trackingId. This ensures consistent error reporting without revealing internal details, as outlined in section 3.9.

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