Building a Simple REST API Endpoint from an Interface Spec

Key Points:

• Understanding business requirements specifications
• Breaking down requirements into actionable tasks
• Using LLMs to generate initial code drafts
• Analyzing the Interface/API Specification to identify key elements (endpoints, methods, request/response formats).
• Mapping requirements to code components
• Crafting the initial prompt to request the API endpoint code, providing necessary context (language, framework, spec details).
• Iterative prompting to add details like input validation, basic error handling, and database interaction placeholders.
• Integrating the generated code into a minimal project structure.
• Basic manual testing or using a simple script to verify the endpoint’s response structure.

Assets:

• Example Interface/API Specification snippet (Markdown or simple text format).
• Prompt Template: “Generate API Endpoint from Spec” (Reusable Markdown template).
• Example LLM interaction flow (showing initial prompt, refinement prompts, and responses).
• Code Snippets: Generated endpoint code, minimal application setup code.
• Callout (Inline Tip): “Common Pitfall: Over-reliance on the first LLM output. Always expect to iterate and refine based on the spec.”
• Callout (Inline Note): “Tip: Be explicit about the desired libraries and framework versions in your prompt.”