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RAML VS Stack Overflow Documentation

Compare RAML VS Stack Overflow Documentation and see what are their differences

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RAML logo RAML

RAML is a solution that manages an API lifecycle from design to sharing.

Stack Overflow Documentation logo Stack Overflow Documentation

A crowdsourced developer documentation
  • RAML Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-19
  • Stack Overflow Documentation Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-12-25

RAML features and specs

  • Human Readability
    RAML (RESTful API Modeling Language) uses a YAML-based syntax which makes it highly readable and easy for developers to understand and write.
  • Reusability
    RAML allows for the reusability of various components like data types, which helps in maintaining consistency across different APIs and reduces redundancy.
  • Modularity
    With RAML, APIs can be divided into modules and fragments, making them easier to manage and update. This also promotes cleaner organization of complex APIs.
  • Documentation Generation
    RAML supports automatic generation of API documentation, which helps in seamlessly updating and maintaining up-to-date documentation for the APIs.
  • Tooling Support
    There is substantial tooling support for RAML, including API design platforms, code generators, and documentation tools, which enhances developer productivity.

Possible disadvantages of RAML

  • Learning Curve
    Developers new to RAML may face a learning curve, especially if they are not familiar with YAML or similar modeling languages.
  • Limited Ecosystem
    Compared to other API description languages like OpenAPI, RAML has a relatively smaller ecosystem of tools and community support.
  • Market Adoption
    RAML is less widely adopted than competing specifications like OpenAPI, which may limit collaboration and job opportunities focusing specifically on RAML.
  • Complexity in Large APIs
    For very large APIs, managing numerous RAML fragments and dependencies can become complex and may require additional overhead to manage effectively.

Stack Overflow Documentation features and specs

  • Community-Curated
    Documentation is curated by a community of experienced developers, ensuring a high level of accuracy and relevancy.
  • Practical Examples
    Focuses on providing practical code examples and use cases, which can be more beneficial for developers compared to traditional documentation.
  • Collaborative Editing
    Allows collaborative editing, enabling multiple contributors to improve and expand the content over time.
  • Decentralized Contributions
    Encourages contributions from a global community, offering diverse perspectives and solutions.

Possible disadvantages of Stack Overflow Documentation

  • Inconsistency
    Documentation quality and coverage can be inconsistent due to varying contributor expertise and interest.
  • Duplication of Effort
    Might duplicate existing resources, as similar documentation already exists on official documentation sites and other platforms.
  • Non-canonical Source
    Not considered an official source of documentation, which may lead to discrepancies with official documentation.
  • Limited Visibility
    Did not gain as much traction as the Q&A section, leading to limited updates and activity before it was eventually discontinued.

RAML videos

RAML Tutorial

More videos:

  • Review - API Design - Creating Reusable RAML with Mock-Service in 5 Minutes

Stack Overflow Documentation videos

No Stack Overflow Documentation videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to RAML and Stack Overflow Documentation)
API Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100
APIs
100 100%
0% 0
Documentation As A Service & Tools

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Stack Overflow Documentation might be a bit more popular than RAML. We know about 6 links to it since March 2021 and only 5 links to RAML. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

RAML mentions (5)

  • The Good, the Bad, and the OpenAPI: Why Developers Love and Hate It
    While alternatives like RAML and API Blueprint exist, OpenAPI’s widespread adoption and comprehensive tooling make it the go-to choice for most developers. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Mastering API Definitions: A Comprehensive Guide
    RAML is another popular format for RESTful APIs, focusing on making it easier to design and document APIs. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Introduction to TypeSpec
    In this context, a "dispute" began between some API specification languages; as more and more teams adopted APIs, something was needed that would make it possible to define, document, and detail them. Among the competitors, I can remember RAML and the one I was betting my chips on, API Blueprint, but the winner was Swagger, later renamed to OpenAPI. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Navigating Microservices Code Repos
    This happened when I was working for one of my previous employers. I had just joined the company and was working on a microservice that was consuming a REST api exposed by another microservice. There was this JIRA ticket I was working on and I was not sure about the data model exposed by this REST api call. At this point in time the adoption to OpenAPI / Swagger / RAML was just beginning. I was new and was... - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
  • What is Developer Experience and why should we care?
    Provide consistent and easy-to-use documentation. Provide an OpenAPI or RAML file that describes your API and the endpoints. Also, provide easy-to-use interactive online API documentation like Swagger if possible. - Source: dev.to / almost 4 years ago

Stack Overflow Documentation mentions (6)

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing RAML and Stack Overflow Documentation, you can also consider the following products

Postman - The Collaboration Platform for API Development

Devhints - TL;DR for developer documentation

Apiary - Collaborative design, instant API mock, generated documentation, integrated code samples, debugging and automated testing

Documentation Agency - We write your product or library documentation.

Apigee - Intelligent and complete API platform

Archbee.io - Archbee is a developer-focused product docs tool for your team. Build beautiful product documentation sites or internal wikis/knowledge bases to get your team and product knowledge in one place.