What I Learned Building Backend Features Used Across Multiple Clients
When engineers are early in their careers, we often think that if an API is correct, tested, and returns the expected response, the feature is ready. Working on production systems used by different clients changed this perspective. Backend changes rarely exist in isolation; the same API can be consumed by web, mobile apps, internal servers, etc. This means a backend change can be technically…
In this article, the author reflects on their experience building backend features used across multiple clients and shares insights gained from this process. The author emphasizes that backend changes rarely occur in isolation, as the same API can be consumed by various clients such as web, mobile apps, and internal servers. This interconnectedness means that a backend change can be technically correct but still break the product if not well-planned.
The author stresses the importance of considering the broader API contract, not just the endpoint, request body, or response. They provide an example where an API returning a single role has to accommodate clients that still expect a single role while transitioning to support multiple roles. The author also highlights the significance of backward compatibility during feature development, suggesting the introduction of new data as optional first and migrating existing records before making it mandatory.
This approach is illustrated through a case study of a feature that introduced mandatory speaker roles, where the author transitioned from an optional new role capability to a mandatory one by first introducing the new role information without requiring it for existing data, then migrating existing records to default roles, and finally making the new requirement mandatory.
Brief written by urgent.news from Dev.to's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
