External API integration
Problem
An integration depends on contracts, availability, and responses controlled by another system. A failure may involve authentication, format, data, or the provider’s rules.
Analysis
I review the contract, authentication, formats, expected errors, limits, and the points where external data enters the system. This separates a provider rejection from invalid data inside the application.
Solution
The integration validates inputs and outputs, keeps the information needed for diagnosis, and defines safe behavior when the provider does not respond as expected.
Validation
I test successful, incomplete, and error responses, along with behavior when the service is unavailable. Validation covers the consuming flow, not only the HTTP request.
Result or learning
Learning: treating an external API as an unstable boundary makes the system clearer and easier to recover.