API Definition Mapping for CI/CD Runtime Traceability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Identifying a particular API specification during API runtime is challenging in Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipelines, making it difficult for developers to understand the origin and context of APIs and trace them back to their source control.
Innovation Solution
The system generates an API definition by observing traffic, associates it with an API definition name and specification, and deploys it through a CI/CD pipeline, implementing a runtime API and mapping it to the definition, while using hashes and Git commits for correlation and vulnerability tracking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If APIs are added by CI/CD pipeline with frequent changes to include new functions, then API functionality and adaptability are improved, but difficulty in identifying particular API specification during runtime increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by generating API definitions from specifications before runtime, creating a mapping between API specifications and their definitions. This pre-processing enables efficient identification during runtime without compromising the adaptability of frequent API changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism - the API definition - that acts as a bridge between the API specification and runtime API. This intermediary contains identifying information that enables traceability back to the original specification, solving the identification difficulty while maintaining API flexibility.
2Adaptability or versatility
If developers change API specifications frequently to include new functions, then API versatility is improved, but tracing APIs back to source control becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by creating a traceable link between runtime APIs and their source specifications through API definitions. This feedback mechanism allows developers to trace back API origins even as specifications change frequently, preserving context information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates copies of API specification information in the form of API definitions that contain identifying metadata. These copies preserve the origin context and specification details, enabling traceability without restricting the frequency of specification changes.
3Reliability
If runtime API mapping to definitions is implemented, then API security integration is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the API management process into distinct components: API specification, API definition, and runtime API mapping. This segmentation allows security integration at each level independently, improving overall security while managing complexity through modular organization.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a method includes generating an application programming interface (API) definition by observing traffic. The API definition is associated with an API definition name and an API specification. The method also includes mounting the API definition with an application and deploying the application by a Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipeline. The method further includes implementing a runtime API and mapping the runtime API to the API definition.