SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - May 5, 2010) - Mashery, the leading provider of API (Application Programming Interface) management and strategic services, revealed key insights from the Mashery API Developer Pulse, a study that polled more than 550 mobile and Web application developers at the South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) event in March 2010. The Mashery Developer Pulse asked industry leading developers to sound off about the APIs they choose to build with and why as well as asking general questions about the development environment today. Developers put Google, Twitter and Amazon at the top of the list for the "best APIs" available for application development, and also revealed a long tail of dozens of APIs that developers enjoy working with on a regular basis.
Overall, developers say they want more information from APIs -- one-third say code samples are most helpful, while 25 percent want more clarity around API license terms. Mashery also discovered that most developers (64 percent) aren't motivated by paychecks to build applications with APIs. In fact, 17 percent are doing it outside of their day job.
"Mashery prides itself on having a strong understanding and connection with the developer community," said Delyn Simons, Director of Platform Strategies at Mashery. "By keeping a pulse on what makes developers tick, we can continue to meet growing demand for our API services, while innovating to ensure we're launching well-constructed, simple-to-use APIs that move businesses forward."
Mashery enables companies to focus on their core business by managing the complicated API infrastructure and developer engagement with its extensive developer network to help companies drive sales, build new revenue channels and realize faster time-to-market for innovative applications.
"APIs allow an army of independent software creators to come up with ever more diverse and powerful ways of interacting with a company's data and services," said Daniel Choi, Mashery API Network developer and creator of the popular online mashup of Netflix and The New York Times APIs plus iPhone app, instantwatcher.com. "For developers, a solid API strategy includes clear API documentation, a commitment to responding to developers' questions, and terms of service that leave plenty of leeway for us to do interesting things with an API and at the same time, find ways to profit from our work."
The study also found that 73 percent of those polled are using online/browser and mobile for development platforms. Desktop, GPS, set-top and gaming console developers have yet to attract significant API developer adoption.
The most popular programming languages are PHP and JavaScript cited by 48 percent; however, despite the growth of iPhone applications, only six percent of the API developers polled are using Objective-C programming language, primarily used in iPhone application development.
To learn more about the results and a discussion of trends in API development, join Mashery executives at this year's Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco on May 5th.
Director of Platform Strategies Delyn Simons will lead an API panel discussion, "Riding the Rollercoaster of Developer Ecosystem."
When: Wednesday, May 5 at 11:10am PT
CEO Oren Michels will discuss the "ABC's of APIs: Why not having an API in 2010 is like not having a website in 2001: Real World Case Studies of API Success."
When: Wednesday, May 5 at 1:30pm PT
About the Mashery Developer Pulse
Mashery surveyed 560 developers between March 11-March 15, 2010 at the SXSWi industry conference. For complete results, click here. The study is meant to provide information to better serve both the developers (API consumers), as well as companies interested in developing their APIs (API producers).
About Mashery
Mashery's API management tools and strategic services help companies connect with customers and partners in a changing digital world by extending reach across devices, markets and the Web. Mashery leads the industry with a holistic approach for API initiatives -- from setting platform strategy and measuring business objectives to the heavy lifting of providing and managing infrastructure to facilitating relationships with our 50,000-strong network of Web and mobile application developers. Our knowledge, experience and proven strategies enable companies to focus on their core business while driving sales, building new revenue channels and realizing faster time-to-market for innovative applications. Mashery was founded in 2006 and has built an impressive list of clients that include Best Buy, Netflix, and the New York Times. For more information, visit www.mashery.com.
Contact Information:
Media Contact:
Aimee Eichelberger
(415) 963-4174 ext. 15
aimee(at)bordergratehouse.com