May 2017 Summaries

Postman has evolved from a tool primarily known for building and testing API requests to a comprehensive platform used by over 17 million developers for managing APIs with features like syncing collections, automating tests in continuous integration pipelines, and setting up mock servers. The tutorial highlights Postman's capabilities through a practical example of retrieving an image from NASA's API, obtaining an authentication key from Imgur, and uploading the image to Imgur, showcasing Postman's functionalities like environment variables, OAuth 2.0 authorization, chaining requests, and running collections. Users can group requests into collections, automate runs using Newman or schedule monitors, and easily share collections with others by generating shareable links or using the "Run in Postman" button. This expanded functionality has been shaped by user feedback, allowing developers to create seamless workflows and integrate Postman into their API development processes more effectively.

Postman has introduced a built-in integration with Microsoft Flow, allowing users to automate workflows between their preferred apps and services, including email services like Outlook and Gmail, or cloud storage solutions like Box. This integration enhances the functionality of Postman Pro accounts by enabling real-time tracking of changes through Collection and Team Activity Feeds, automating API tests with Postman monitors, and receiving notifications via the Microsoft Flow mobile app. Users can set up integrations by creating custom workflows with Microsoft Flow, which involves generating a webhook URL and specifying a JSON schema for data transfer. The integration simplifies API monitoring and management by connecting Postman with various cloud-based services and tools such as Power BI for business intelligence.

Postman has introduced enhancements to its platform, allowing users to better organize their HTTP requests through advanced folder nesting capabilities within collections. These improvements come in response to user feedback requesting more organizational flexibility, such as adding folders within folders and reordering them to align with specific workflows. Users can now create customized folder structures by dragging and dropping folders, offering a more tailored organizational experience. These updates are currently available on Postman's Canary build and are set to be released in the stable builds for various operating systems, including OSX, Windows, Linux, and Chrome.

Postman has introduced "Examples," a feature that allows developers to create mock requests and responses early in the API development lifecycle, enhancing team communication and accelerating the development process. This feature lets developers and testers simulate API endpoints and responses without needing a live server, enabling them to start front-end development or testing based on agreed-upon examples. Users can create, save, and edit various response examples, such as status codes, to provide clarity and understanding of the API's behavior to team members. Examples are integrated into Postman's API documentation, allowing for real-time updates and easier sharing of API expectations. This addition builds on Postman's existing mock server capabilities, facilitating parallel work between front-end and back-end developers and testers, and is now available in Postman's stable builds across multiple platforms.

Imgur, a leading image-sharing platform with over 150 million monthly users, has optimized its engineering processes by integrating Postman Pro to enhance API management and documentation. By leveraging Postman's capabilities, Imgur ensures that its team, consisting of 14 engineers, remains coordinated through shared collections and real-time updates, supported by Slack notifications for API code changes. This integration streamlines mobile developers' workflows, allowing them to replicate and troubleshoot endpoints efficiently. Furthermore, Imgur has improved its public API documentation by automating updates through Postman, eliminating the need for manual processes and enabling seamless publishing using a custom domain. The platform also utilizes Postman monitors to test core endpoint flows, providing infrastructure engineers with insights into operational changes and response times, ensuring a robust and user-friendly experience for the platform's extensive user base.

Keyboard usability is a crucial aspect of optimizing the efficiency of development tools, as it offers a more effective input method than a mouse by minimizing movement and effort. In Postman, keyboard shortcuts are categorized into navigational, manipulation, and global shortcuts to improve user interaction and speed. Navigational shortcuts allow users to quickly move around the interface, such as focusing on the sidebar and selecting requests to send. Manipulation shortcuts enhance the user's ability to edit and organize collections, while global shortcuts perform critical actions like saving and sending requests, regardless of the current focus. Postman acknowledges that standard shortcuts may not satisfy every user's needs and is working on enabling custom key bindings to enhance user workflows. Users are encouraged to provide feedback on potential new shortcuts, and additional resources can be accessed through the Learning Center for comprehensive documentation on Postman's keyboard shortcuts.