Where Does API Complexity Live?

API architectures, such as REST, GraphQL, Federated GraphQL, and Fission, handle common concerns like data fetching, security, caching, contract management, and governance, each distributing these responsibilities differently. In REST, data fetching is client-side, security is managed by infrastructure, and caching is protocol-based, though often imperfectly implemented. GraphQL shifts data fetching to the server, making it efficient but moving caching and security responsibilities to the application layer. Federated GraphQL distributes schema ownership among teams, which can reduce bottlenecks but introduces governance complexity. Fission, a newer approach, inverts schema design by starting with consumer needs and automating governance at design-time, aiming to reduce human governance overhead but requiring robust tooling and product management. Each architecture retains the same complexity, merely redistributing it according to the organization's needs and capabilities, illustrating that the choice of architecture involves determining where these responsibilities best fit within a system.

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