Serve a web API using multiple protocols

In most programming languages it's pretty easy to expose a JSON based or SOAP based API. It's a little more difficult, but still not too hard to expose an Apache Thrift API. Exposing multiple protocols simultaneously is another matter altogether. Thriftly.io has the unique ability to allow access to any multiple supported protocol without any extra work from the API developer.

Now you don't need to choose up front which protocol is the most likely to be requested by your API consumers. If you're developing an API right now, consider who might want to use your API. In the Microsoft world for instance (and Java for that matter), many corporate developers will feel most comfortable with a SOAP API. For them, have a SOAP API means they can simply have Visual Studio build an entire interface to your API using just the WSDL.

On the other hand, if you were to give a web developer access to your SOAP API, they'd probably be entirely lost. Javascript doesn't have built-in support for SOAP and there really isn't much out there to help a Javascript developer use a SOAP-based API. They're going to want something that is JSON based.

Apache Thrift for Mobile Applications

But what if you're looking to consume this API from a mobile application? In this case, you're probably concerned with things like parsing speed and data transfer. You certainly don't want your API to be a slow data hog. Or what about the case of server-to-server communication where speed is your biggest concern? This is where the Apache Thrift protocol shines. It's easy to parse, succinct, and very fast.

Unfortunately, in most programming languages, changing from one protocol to another is an expensive proposition. Exposing multiple protocols simultaneously normally means you're stuck writing "plumbing code" to try to map to the various protocol-specific libraries you'd need to use. This can be a time consuming and error prone process.

Thrifty requires Zero-Network Configuration

This is where Thriftly.io shines. Using Thriftly.io's simple "Published" interface, any function you mark as published is simultaneously exposed via all supported protocols! No special coding required. This means that you don't have to consider up front when you're building your API what possible modes of consumption might come down the line later on. Your API can be consumed by programmers using dozens of languages in whatever protocol is most natural to them.

As an added plus, we're constantly expanding our protocol support. Even if we don't currently support a certain protocol, you can rest assured that when we add support, your existing API will work transparently with that new protocol without even requiring a recompile. And unlike WCF Binary protocol, the open protocols supported by Thriftly.io will work outside the confines of the .NET framework, allowing you to support high-speed server-to-server communication with non-Windows based systems easily.

Try for Free Today

You also get access to our Thriftly.io Gateway which allows you to publish your API without having to worry about firewall settings and network configurations. If you haven't already, why not download your free trial of Thriftly Developer and see just how easy it is to get your first API up and running!