API Validation Rules for Faster Production Failure Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing API validation methods are resource-intensive and inefficient, often failing to detect issues during production use due to complex specifications, ambiguities, and the need to test authorization systems separately, leading to increased downtime and resource consumption.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for validating APIs using a subset of rules from a specification, incorporating test and production data, and generating user-friendly interfaces to quickly identify integration and transformation failures, thereby reducing downtime and resource usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If full specification validation is performed on APIs, then validation thoroughness is improved, but resource consumption and processing time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the complete API validation process into two distinct phases: test-time validation using a subset of rules for quick feedback, and production-time validation using the full specification for thorough verification. This segmentation allows resource-intensive full validation to occur only when necessary while providing rapid validation during development and testing phases.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by using a subset of validation rules during test phases rather than the complete specification. This partial validation is sufficient for catching major issues during development while consuming fewer resources. The full specification validation is then applied in production to ensure complete compliance.
2Measurement precision
If complex specification validation is performed, then validation accuracy is improved, but detection speed decreases due to ambiguities and complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The validation process is segmented into test-time and production-time phases with different validation strictness levels. During test phases, a simplified subset of rules provides faster feedback for development iterations. During production deployment, the full specification with complete validation rules ensures accurate detection of compliance issues.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic validation by adjusting the validation rule set based on the phase of the API lifecycle. The system dynamically switches between a subset of rules during testing and the full specification during production validation, optimizing both speed and accuracy for each phase.
3Ease of manufacture
If authorization systems are tested separately from APIs, then testing modularity is improved, but integration failures are not detected until later
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges authorization system testing with API validation by incorporating authorization rule checks into the API validation process. The validation system simultaneously verifies both API compliance with specifications and authorization system compliance, detecting integration failures early while maintaining the modular structure of separate authorization rules.
Data Source
AI summary
In some implementations, a validation device may receive a set of rules associated with requests to and responses from a set of application programming interfaces (APIs). The validation device may transmit, to the set of APIs, a plurality of requests based on the set of rules. The validation device may receive, from the set of APIs, a plurality of responses corresponding to the plurality of requests. The validation device may verify the plurality of responses against the set of rules. The validation device may transmit, to a user device, instructions for a user interface indicating one or more results from verifying the plurality of responses against the set of rules.