January 2019 Summaries

Tyk is introducing support for native Go plugins, which offer superior performance and flexibility compared to existing plugin systems such as JSVM, Python, and gRPC. These native plugins are compiled dynamic libraries that can be loaded at runtime, allowing them to operate with minimal overhead and access the same data structures as Tyk's internal Go code. This approach not only facilitates the extension of Tyk’s capabilities but also enables patching of existing binaries in real-time, addressing issues and implementing new features more swiftly than through traditional release cycles. However, maintaining compatibility between plugins and existing binaries can be challenging, as differences in Go versions or dependencies can cause failures, although solutions like Docker can help streamline this process. Tyk aims to make native Go plugins available in its upcoming 2.9 release, enhancing the extensibility and adaptability of its API management platform.