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Things like postman (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/postman/fhbjgbiflinjbdggehcddcbncdddomop?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/postman/

Things like postman (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/postman/fhbjgbiflinjbdggehcddcbncdddomop?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/postman/fhbjgbifli...) exist for normal REST APIs. But it's lack of use suggests to me this isn't something people need.

jesstaa 11y ago
Interactively querying REST APIS is a massive pain, doing anything useful requires multiple dependent queries, postman doesn't really help with that. Being able to query a graph interactively is actually useful, I've used graphiql to explore the data graph to figure out the query I need for the data requirements of a component before I start writing the actual component itself.
- davedx 11y ago
  > doing anything useful requires multiple dependent queries That really depends on your API! We have an orchestration layer that exists specifically so our front end does not have to run multiple queries all the time. Most of what our front end does is by running a very small handful of queries. I think orchestration layers are something most growing/larger orgs strive for, in my experience.
  - jesstaa 11y ago
    If it's actually a REST API then it's going to take multiple queries. Certainly you can put an non REST API in front of it to reduce the queries. Every site does it and every site does it in a different way. GraphQL is built to solve this exact problem in a standard way.
    - goldbrick 11y ago
      https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9280223 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9280223 What even uses GraphQL, other than Facebook?
davedx 11y ago
We use postman extensively at work. We even have non-devs using it to hack with API's to get things done without having to wait for a UI to be built. It's a great tool. I especially like how you can serialize all of your saved endpoints and send them to other devs.
stupidcar 11y ago
"1,407,161 users" "it's lack of use" ...?
- daurnimator 11y ago
  I've never actually seen people use it day to day; nor hear it talked about. I (wildy) assume a lot of people download it, but never use it. I'd be interested to see retention stats.

jesstaa 11y ago

Interactively querying REST APIS is a massive pain, doing anything useful requires multiple dependent queries, postman doesn't really help with that. Being able to query a graph interactively is actually useful, I've used graphiql to explore the data graph to figure out the query I need for the data requirements of a component before I start writing the actual component itself.

davedx 11y ago
> doing anything useful requires multiple dependent queries That really depends on your API! We have an orchestration layer that exists specifically so our front end does not have to run multiple queries all the time. Most of what our front end does is by running a very small handful of queries. I think orchestration layers are something most growing/larger orgs strive for, in my experience.
- jesstaa 11y ago
  If it's actually a REST API then it's going to take multiple queries. Certainly you can put an non REST API in front of it to reduce the queries. Every site does it and every site does it in a different way. GraphQL is built to solve this exact problem in a standard way.
  - goldbrick 11y ago
    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9280223 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9280223 What even uses GraphQL, other than Facebook?

davedx 11y ago

We use postman extensively at work. We even have non-devs using it to hack with API's to get things done without having to wait for a UI to be built. It's a great tool. I especially like how you can serialize all of your saved endpoints and send them to other devs.

stupidcar 11y ago

"1,407,161 users" "it's lack of use" ...?

daurnimator 11y ago
I've never actually seen people use it day to day; nor hear it talked about. I (wildy) assume a lot of people download it, but never use it. I'd be interested to see retention stats.