The Different Ways to Engage with the OpenAPI Specification

Written by Kin Lane
Jun 21, 2021

I am spending time thinking about the big picture of how each of the leading API specifications are operating, and trying to find the best way to communicate the different ways people in the community can get more involved. To help put each of the building blocks used by each of the API specifications front and center I wanted to profile each of the building blocks used by OpenAPI, AsyncAPI, and JSON Schema. Helping me better understand the building blocks in use, but then also better understand how I can amplify, cross-pollinate, and drive more participation.

When it comes to OpenAPI, these are the three links I would give folks to get introduced to the specification:

• Website
• About
• Blog

Next I would recommend you get connected with OpenAPI via their primary social channels to stay in tune with what is going on:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn Group
• Github Org

Then when it comes to actually begin learning about the specification and what it does I recommend these channels:

• Documentation
• Introduction
• Getting Started
• Best Practices
• Testimonials
• FAQ
• Email List
• Calendar

Once you learn about the spec and want to actually get involved in moving the specification forward:

• Specification
• Specification Repo
• Proposals
• Technical Steering-committee
• Contribute
• Registry

Then, if you want to go deeper like I have, I recommend diving into the business behind the OpenAPI specification:

• Charter
• Members
• Membership Inquiry Form
• Membership Join

There are also a handful of additional content resources that are worth looking at to understand OpenAPI:

• Style Guide
• Presentations
• Wikipedia

Then we can get into the legal details of how it all works if you want to understand this part of specification:

• Privacy Policy
• Terms Of-service
• Trademark Usage

Then there are two event related links that are worth noting, providing other ways to get involved in the community”

• Meetups
• Conference

This provides a nice snapshot of how you can engage with the OpenAPI Initiative (OAI) at almost every level. I would say that all of this has come together organically over the years, but it provides a nice look at the overall landscape eof the OAI. I have all of this stored as an API so that I can keep updating, grouping, and using to understand how we can better engage with the OAI, but also help me compare how the OpenAPI specification is managed against other specs. Next I will take a similar look at AsyncAPI, and help me better understand the “diff” between how they are operated.

---

← Previous

Next →