Hackforge Academy

Explanation

API Versioning allows developers to introduce new features or changes without breaking existing clients. Common versioning strategies include URI Versioning, Request Parameter Versioning, Header Versioning, and Content Negotiation.

Code:

// Version 1
GET /api/v1/students

// Version 2
GET /api/v2/students

Explanation

URI Versioning is the most commonly used approach. The version number is included directly in the endpoint URL, making it easy to understand and maintain.

Code:

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api/v1/students")
public class StudentControllerV1 {

    @GetMapping
    public String getStudents() {
        return "Student API Version 1";
    }
}

Explanation

Request Parameter Versioning uses a query parameter to determine which version of the API should be executed. This keeps the URL structure unchanged.

Code:

@GetMapping(value = "/students", 
params = "version=1")
public String getStudentsV1() {
    return "Student API Version 1";
}

@GetMapping(value = "/students", 
params = "version=2")
public String getStudentsV2() {
    return "Student API Version 2";
}

Explanation

Header Versioning uses custom HTTP headers to specify the API version. This approach keeps URLs clean and separates version information f rom resource identifiers.

Code:

@GetMapping(value = "/students", 
headers = "X-API-VERSION=1")
public String getStudentsV1() {
    return "Student API Version 1";
}

@GetMapping(value = "/students", 
headers = "X-API-VERSION=2")
public String getStudentsV2() {
    return "Student API Version 2";
}

Explanation

Content Negotiation Versioning uses the Accept header to determine the API version. This is often considered the most RESTful approach because version information is included in the media type.

Code:

@GetMapping(value = "/students", 
produces = "application/vnd.hackforge.v1+
json")
public String getStudentsV1() {
    return "Student API Version 1";
}

@GetMapping(value = "/students",
 produces = "application/vnd.hackforge.v2+
json")
public String getStudentsV2() {
    return "Student API Version 2";
}