Public API

A Public API is one of the three essential components of an Open Source City, specified in the Introduction.

The open API concept is about more than just making reports easier to find. It’s about: making public city data easier to access, including programmatically; opening the city’s business up to public analysis; encouraging collaboration among residents to fix processes, develop enhancements and promote new initiatives; and fostering networking among Hamilton programmers and application developers.

All publicly available city data should have the following characteristics:

1. It should be complete – all public data should be available.
2. It should be consist principally of low-level data rather than a high-level summary.
3. It should be made available in a timely fashion.
4. It should be non-proprietary but rather clearly and unambiguously in the public domain.
5. It should be both findable and accessible to anyone at any time.
6. It should be stored in a format that is both machine- and human-readable.
7. It should be combine-able with other public data.
8. It should provide a platform on which third parties can build innovative tools and add-ons.