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Why private APIs are the hottest thing around and other news

We all know APIs are popular, but a new survey from Postman shows just how important they are. In other news, Sauce Labs offers more support for the latest iPhone.

Nearly three-quarters of software developers spend at least 25% of their time weekly working with APIs, according to a recently released survey from Postman. And those aren't just any APIs: The majority of developers spend 90% of their time working with internal or private APIs.

At a time when there's never been more pressure on developers to produce software faster, it's not surprising that usage of public and private APIs is so high. In the Postman survey, internal or private APIs dominate, but developers still said they spend about 20% of their time using public APIs.

Private APIs are very useful for other internal development practices, like microservices, so it's not surprising the Postman survey found microservices are considered the "most exciting technology" of 2017. Overall, 27% of the developers surveyed said they were very interested in microservices.

But whether they're using public or private APIs, the Postman survey takers weren't completely satisfied with the tools they have, as 80% said they wanted more offerings to help them better utilize APIs. Typically, developers use two tools to manage their workflows at any given time, whether with public or private APIs. And their other complaint was documentation; most felt the supporting information provided with the public or private APIs was insufficient.

How do you stack up?

According to Stack Overflow, the median salary of a developer in the United States just starting out is $75,000. With 15 years of experience, that number rises to just shy of $125,000.

How well do you compare? Well, now there's a tool that can tell you exactly how you stack up -- also from Stack Overflow. The Stack Overflow Salary Calculator looks at location, education, years of experience, what kind of tools you use and what kind of developer you are. Right now, the calculator is limited to the United States, Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

In the big picture, where you live matters the most when it comes to a paycheck; salaries in the United States are substantially higher than in any of the other countries. The second-most important factor seems to be type of developer, with DevOps developers getting the highest salaries, followed closely by data scientists.

Testing for the iPhone 8

Because timing is everything with software testing, cloud-based testing provider Sauce Labs announced it can now offer same-day testing of iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus applications, as well as support for testing Apple's new iOS 11 operating system.

These new releases continue to add pressure to software development teams to get applications out quickly and bug-free. In many companies, the answer is to automate testing, but that is far easier said than done in most organizations. And with the growing number of devices that require testing, many teams are turning to third-party test providers. With its latest release, Sauce Labs can now offer customers over 1,000 actual devices to test -- either by hand or through an automated process -- in a public or private cloud.

Next Steps

How to safely manage APIs

What matters most with API platforms?

Are APIs really for everyone?

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How much time do you spend working with private or internal APIs?
Strictly speaking, both APIs and Microservices may be used in only private way, i.e. inside the company. Any ise of external API or Microservices carries a tremendous business risk for your company becuase the API/Microservices providers have no liability  to their consumers (which is not the case for using Services designed and used in accordance to the OASIS SOA RAF stnadardised specification).