FTN1: Intro
Version: 1.1
Date: 2017-07-19
Copyright: 2014-2017 FutoIn Project (http://futoin.org)
Authors: Andrey Galkin

CHANGES

1. FutoIn Intro

FutoIn originally stays for Full Automation Interface.

The idea of "Full Automation Interface" was born in scope of enterprise integration demand focusing on usage of modern to the moment Web patterns. Quickly, the idea got further evolved to be used in rapidly changing Web world as well. The major focus is on defining requirements, assumed processes and interoperability interfaces for modularization on any level.

Of course, there are plenty of technology companies with advanced proprietary API features, but only some of them are really standardized and open to public. User, Developers, Owners and even Governments become locked in technology stack provided by large companies.

The ultimate goal is not only to define standards, but also to provide production-ready reference implementation, which can be used in proprietary solutions.

2. Goals & Philosophy

  1. Loose coupling of any system component on implementation-neutral protocol level, but not platform level or above
  2. Alternative implementations are welcome
  3. Backward compatibility is not a priority, but Migration path is one
  4. Security has priority over usability
  5. On demand revise and redesign is assumed, keeping a single interface for each area

3. Why ???

There are existing solutions, but they get bloated, redundant and overweighted with backward compatibility over time. However, the main answer is "just for fun" and "for experience". There is no reasonable economical or practical justification. The project is just "yet another alternative" in many cases. However, this effort becomes meaningful in scope of larger programs not limited to IT.

3.1. Update for "why" over years

History has shown the right direction with well-known-now OpenAPI initiative.

Obviously, Swagger/OpenAPI lacks too many interface consistency and compatibility features which have been present in FutoIn from the very beginning. Also, FutoIn is generic and neutral to underlying protocols, while OpenAPI is purely HTTP focused.

That's a short justification for why FutoIn continue to be developed & used in production.

4. Language and Translations

De facto, English in IT has become the same as what Latin is in Medicine. Therefore, I see no reason for translations in this project. National-based fragmentation just provides enormous overhead and does not make developers closer. This project unifies human communication interfaces in IT as well. Note: and, just for clarity, I am not native English speaker.

=END OF SPEC=