API Standards Reference

API Design Requirements

• Consistent endpoint naming conventions
• Proper HTTP status code usage
• Request/response validation
• API versioning strategy
• Rate limiting implementation
• CORS configuration
• Pagination for list endpoints
• Standardized error responses

Security Implementation Standards

• Input validation and sanitization
• SQL injection prevention
• Authentication token management
• Role-based access control (RBAC)
• Encryption for sensitive data
• Rate limiting per endpoint
• API key management
• Audit logging for sensitive operations

Database Architecture

• Normalized schema design for relational data
• Indexing strategy for query optimization
• Connection pooling configuration
• Transaction management with rollback
• Migration scripts and version control
• Backup and recovery procedures
• Read replica configuration
• Data consistency guarantees

Performance Optimization

• Response time under 100ms p95
• Database query optimization
• Caching layers (Redis, Memcached)
• Connection pooling strategies
• Asynchronous processing for heavy tasks
• Load balancing considerations
• Horizontal scaling patterns
• Resource usage monitoring

Testing Methodology

• Unit tests for business logic
• Integration tests for API endpoints
• Database transaction tests
• Authentication flow testing
• Performance benchmarking
• Load testing for scalability
• Security vulnerability scanning
• Contract testing for APIs