Difference Between RAML and Swagger

For developing APIs, RAML and Swagger are two of the most popular tools in the market. It is quite difficult to choose between them but there are some differences in which the selection can be done. Let us look at the aspects in which they are different from each other.

What is RAML?

RAML stands for “RESTful API Modelling Language” and provides the information which is necessary to describe RESTful APIs.  It was developed in 2013 by RAML Workgroup. It is one of the excellent planning tools. It is termed one of the simplest ways to develop APIs. One can design, build, test, document, share, and support their APIs with RAML.

Advantages

• It enables to reuse of the code.
• It ensures consistency in your API.
• It has a strong visual-based IDE and online tooling with a collaboration focus.

Disadvantages

• It lacks documentation.
• It enables code reusability but in limited numbers.
• It has poor tool support for newer versions.

Alternatives 

• Postman
• Stoplight
• Boomi
• SwaggerHub

What is Swagger?

Swagger helps users build, document, test, and consume RESTful web services. It was developed in 2011 by SmartBear Software. Now, it is known as Open API/OAS. It follows bottom-down specifications and has large community support. It is termed for everyone as it is open-source software to develop APIs

Advantages

• It has strong framework support.
• It has proper documentation.
• It has large community support.

Disadvantages

• Code Reusability is not allowed in Swagger.
• APIs are not readable by humans.

Alternatives

• Postman
• jsdoc
• Apiary
• Gitbook

RAML vs Swagger

Below are the differences between RAML and Swagger:

	RAML	Swagger
Developed	It was developed in 2013 by RAML Workgroup.	It was developed in 2011 by SmartBear Software.
Goal	The goal is to provide necessary information to RESTful APIs to provide a simple way in designing API.	The goal is to keep documentation, client libraries and source code all in synchronization.
Other Names	It is also known as RESTful API Modelling Language.	It is known as Open API.
Current Version	The current version is RAML1.0(2017-07-06).	The current version is 3.0.1(2017-12-17).
Code Reusability	It allows code reusability but in a limited manner.	Code Reusability is not allowed in Swagger.
Documentation	It does not have a strong documentation point.	It has a lot of documentation.
Specification	It is a top-down specification.	It is a bottom-down specification.
Primary Sponsor	The primary sponsor of RAML is Mulesoft.	The primary sponsor of Swagger is SmartBear.
Navigation	Navigation is easy.	In comparison with RAML, navigation is difficult in Swagger.
Support	It supports strong visual-based IDE, JSON schema, and W3C XML. Also, it supports Elixer and Pearl.	It supports Erlang, Typescript, Coldfusion,visual-based, and Clojure.
Tool Support	Newer versions have poor support for the tools.	It lacks in good developer tools.
Tools	Tools such as Sandbox, MireDot, and Firecamp integrate with RAML.	Tools like Node.js, GIT, Firefox, and Google Chrome integrate with Swagger.
Readable	APIs are readable by humans.	APIs are not readable by humans.
Companies	Companies using RAML: doubleSlash Taboola Leveris Folk Labs and many more.	Companies using Swagger: Google Microsoft Netflix and many more.
Framework	It does have framework support. It allows for design patterns and maintains a single specification.	It does have strong framework support.
Errors	In RAML, the rate of errors is more hence it uses API Blueprint which is concise.	In Swagger, the rate of errors is less when compared with RAML as it uses automatic document generation.

Conclusion

Both tools are compatible with many languages such as Java, .NET, JavaScript, Node.js, Python, Ruby, PHP, Scala, Go, and many more. Also, they both are excellent tools to produce APIs. If one has to choose between RAML and Swagger, then RAML is the better option to opt for. In the end, it depends on the user to choose which platform is according to their requirement.

My Personal Notes arrow_drop_up

Save