Development of REST API for Digital Advertising Application Using an
Iterative Incremental Method (Case Study: Show-Up Apps)
Rifqi Rosidin
1
, Deden Witarsyah
1
, Muharman Lubis
1
and Haryasena Panduwiyasa
1,2
1
Information System, School of Industrial and System Engineering, Telkom University, Bandung, Indonesia
2
Industrial Engineering, School of Industrial and System Engineering, Telkom University, Bandung, Indonesia
Keywords:
Rest API, JSON, Postman, Black-Box Testing.
Abstract:
Technological developments are rapidly growing, especially in web application development. A full-stack de-
veloper involves combining presentation with business logic, which is front-end application development that
focuses on engagement and user interface, and back-end development focuses on algorithms and databases.
The Show Up application which helps business owners in marketing and selling products with social media
integration, currently still uses a complicated full-stack development method, making it challenging to de-
velop and integrate because the presentation and business logic are mixed in one part of development. It takes
a series of systems that can bridge the two effectively and efficiently. In this study, the Iterative Incremen-
tal method is used to develop an API that aims to integrate between sections, including the front-end and
back-end programs, using the Representational State Transfer (REST) Rest API approach to the Show-up as a
product application so that it can be integrated with various devices such as mobile, web, and desktop, using
the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) standard data format. The effectiveness of the Rest API is tested using
the black-box method, with two tests: Unit testing and Performance testing. From unit testing, it is evident that
all features work well. Then, with performance testing, the Rest API Show-up application server can receive
1,000 client requests in 1 minute and process 2,000 server requests.
1 INTRODUCTION
Amid the transformation of business digitalization in
the industrial 4.0 era, various types of technology
are conducted to connect systems quickly, explicitly,
and flexibly to support business operations and ensure
they are carried out effectively and efficiently (Pan-
duwiyasa et al., 2021a). However, it is often found
in several information systems and corporate applica-
tions that are constrained in developing the integra-
tion process and adding the correct functions to pro-
duce a compatible and robust feature when running
on two devices or in a different environment (Zeeba-
ree et al.,2020; Rosidin et al., 2020). As a result of
this case, it triggers some of the application features
to have malfunctioned (Panduwiyasa et al., 2021a).
This problem is experienced by the advertising and
digital marketing platform, namely the Show-Up Ap-
plication.
Show-Up is an integrated business platform that
facilitates the user to advertise, distribute, and sell
the product with the help of social media. The prob-
lem started when the integration of data processing
and technical functions between the main web-based
applications and social media, which were mostly
mobile-based, could not be carried out due to differ-
ences in the types of devices and the development of
the devices, both due to programming languages and
application environments (Rosidin et al., 2020; Pan-
duwiyasa et al., 2021b). A step that is needed to be
taken as a solution to the integration process of two
applications or systems with different types of devices
and development environments efficiently is to imple-
ment the Application Programming Interface or API
(Hidayat et al., 2020).
API is an interface used as an intermediary be-
tween different applications based on the develop-
ment method, programming language or physical sys-
tem (Barros et al., 2020). The development of API-
based applications will allow the back-end and front-
end to be used more widely, as they are able to sepa-
rate concrete system logic from presentation engage-
ment, or what is commonly called the user interface
(Neumann et al., 2021). This API concept can be use-
Rosidin, R., Witarsyah, D., Lubis, M. and Panduwiyasa, H.
Development of REST API for Digital Advertising Application Using an Iterative Incremental Method (Case Study: Show-Up Apps).
DOI: 10.5220/0012440200003848
Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Advanced Information Scientific Development (ICAISD 2023), pages 25-31
ISBN: 978-989-758-678-1
Proceedings Copyright © 2024 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda.
25

ful for users to make it easier to access data; for ex-
ample, with a web service on the website system, data
changes occur, and the data system in Android ap-
plications can automatically change. With APIs cre-
ated by other users, they cannot directly access the
database, but they have to request it via the internet
and then access the available APIs (Neumann et al.,
2021).
This study uses the Representational State Trans-
fer (REST) architecture as the business logic of the
Show Up application. This REST architecture was
chosen over Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)
because REST is a client-server architecture where re-
quests are sent by the client to the server, then pro-
cessed, and the appropriate response is sent back to
the client. REST, showing that REST services are
not limited to XML but can also support JavaScript
Object Notation (JSON), as well as plain text, unlike
SOAP which only supports documents in XML for-
mat (Neumann et al., 2021; Chatterjee, 2020). The
purpose of making the API for the Show Up appli-
cation product is to facilitate integration between ap-
plications such as web, mobile, and desktop, so that
users can be flexible in using the platform when ac-
cessing the Show Up application[9]. The API devel-
opment using JSON as a standard form of data com-
munication and JSON Web Token (JWT) as a sys-
tem user authentication code. The Iterative Incremen-
tal method was chosen in this study because busi-
ness needs are always evolving and API needs are
constantly changing, so this method is suitable be-
cause system development can be done in stages (Pan-
duwiyasa et al., 2021a).
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 REST (Representational State
Transfer)
REST (Representational State Transfer) is a web-
based architecture using the HTTP (Hypertext Trans-
fer Protocol) protocol as data communication (Li
et al., 2016) . The implementation of REST archi-
tecture on the server can be done independently of
each other (Hu, 2021). In this case, the client imple-
mentation is independently done without interfering
with the server or backend. The REST architecture
has standard request methods, namely GET, POST,
PUT, and DELETE (Hu, 2021). GET is used to re-
trieve data from the server. PUT is used to update
data on the server. POST is used to send data to the
server (J
´
anoky et al., 2018). Then DELETE is used
to delete data on the server. Web services based on
the REST architecture are known as RESTful Web
API services. This web service uses HTTP methods
to implement REST architecture concepts. There are
several principles for designing REST, respectively:
1. Addressability
Each resource requires at least one associated URI
for a REST service. URI is used to specify a re-
source or set of resources.
2. Statelessness
A client-to-server request must contain all the in-
formation necessary to understand the request and
cannot use the context stored on the server.
3. Cacheable
Data marked as cacheable is stored on the sys-
tem and can be reused in the future in response to
the same subsequent request, rather than produc-
ing the same result iteratively. Cache constraints
are used to allow response data to be marked as
cacheable or non-cacheable.
4. Uniform Interface
Applying general software engineering principles
to component interfaces creates a unified inter-
face, simplifies overall system architecture, and
improves dialog visibility.
2.2 JSON Web Token
JSON Web Token is an open standard (RFC 7519)
that defines a way to transmit information as a JSON
object (J
´
anoky et al., 2018). this information can be
verified and trusted because it is digitally assigned
JWT can be signed using hidden (HMAC algorithm)
or public/private key pair using RSA or ECDSA.
Claims can then be encrypted, as JSON Web Encryp-
tion (JWE), or can be digitally signed or protected
using JSON Web Signature (JWS). JWE specified in
RFC7516 (Jones et al., 2015). The JSON format is
specified in RFC8259 (Brier, 2020). JWS consists of
three parts. Headers are used to secure claims, the
payload, or body, describes the claim in JSON format,
and the least is message signature or authentication
code on base64 url to encode header and payload.
2.3 Software Testing
Software testing is the process of running a program
or system involving any activity to find problems,
bugs or other properties that interfere with the ca-
pabilities of the program or system and determine
that the program or system meets the required results
(Garousi et al., 2020). The software testing steps are
divided into three sets, respectively:
ICAISD 2023 - International Conference on Advanced Information Scientific Development
26

1. Unit testing is a testing method in which the pro-
grammer unit tests the program to see if it is us-
able or not.
2. Integration testing, namely integration testing of
two or more application units.
3. Software testing validation testing for to ensure
that the software meets functional requirements
2.4 Blackbox Testing
Black box is a testing method where data testing
comes from predetermined functional requirements
without considering the final structure of the program,
this test is also known as functional testing (Brier,
2020; Sutiah and Supriyono, 2021). Because it is
only related to the functionality of the software mod-
ule, black box testing also refers to functional test-
ing, a test method carried out on the implementation
of functions and verification of input and output data
(Nidhra, 2012). Black box testing tries to find errors
in several categories, including:
1. Functions that are not appropriate or non-exist
2. Interface error
3. Errors in data structures or database access
4. Performance errors
5. Error initialization and termination
3 METHODOLOGY
The method used in application development research
is iterative incremental. This method was chosen be-
cause this method can be used in making Rest API
(Rosidin et al., 2020), Iterative incremental model is
a system development method that develops based on
the waterfall model problem. This model combines
elements of waterfall model in an iterative condition.
The stages of development in this method consist of
four main stages (Susanto and Meiryani, 2019).
Based on the Figure 1, At each stage of develop-
ment in this methodology there are inputs and outputs.
All of the input and output can be concluded (Rosidin
et al., 2020);
1. The inception stage,
Is the first stage that focuses on the beginning of
research process, such as making a system back-
ground, compiling business problems and identi-
fying risks, defining the scope of research to un-
derstand and resolve the problem with ideated so-
lution,
Figure 1: Iterative Incremental Method.
2. The elaboration stage,
Is the second phase that focuses on analysis and
design, publishes the basis of the project archi-
tecture, makes construction plans that support re-
search objectives and preparing the process,
3. The construction stage,
Is the third stage that focuses on developing soft-
ware to produce a prototype or customized fea-
tures,
4. The transition stage,
The final stage focuses on application testing, in-
cluding performance and functional testing, qual-
ity assurance and user testing to make the appli-
cation ready for use and consumption by users.
The process will restart from the beginning after
the product requires more concrete development
or updates.
If grouped according to the stages of development,
the Iterative Incremental process in this study can be
presented as shown in Table 1.
There are five proven advantages of iterative in-
cremental over other methods, respectively (Bhu-
vaneswari and Prabaharan, 2013):
1. Iterative Incremental allows the developer to gen-
erate the software quickly during the software de-
velopment life cycle (SDLC).
2. Iterative Incremental is more flexible and less
costly to change scope and requirements if com-
pared to another methods.
Development of REST API for Digital Advertising Application Using an Iterative Incremental Method (Case Study: Show-Up Apps)
27

Table 1: Description of research activities.
Phase Activities Output
Inception Literature Re-
views
Background,
Problems, and Re-
search objectives
Elaboration Analysis and
design system
Use case, entity
relationship dia-
gram and Enpoint
API
Construction Implementation Program code
Testing Testing API
Transition Release The Rest API is
ready to use
Deployment Rest API installed
on the server
3. It is easier to test and debug during a smaller iter-
ation.
4. Customers or users of the application can respond
to each build.
5. It easier to manage risk and failure because every
part of the development is identified and handled
during the iteration.
3.1 Use Case Diagram
Based on the case study, Show Up application con-
sists of a pair user, namely external and internal users
or commonly called admin users. External users have
several functions, namely authentication, managing
ads and transactions. While the admin can manage
users and manage transactions. Figure 2 is a use case
diagram describing the functional system to be cre-
ated:
Figure 2: Show-Up Apps Use Case Diagram.
3.2 Entity Relational Diagram
An Entity Relational Diagram (ERD) aims to describe
the data storage structure of applications used in mak-
ing REST APIs (Susanto and Meiryani, 2019).
Figure 3 is an ERD which consists of several enti-
ties. User entities are used to store user data both in-
ternally and externally. Advertising entities are used
to store advertising data generated by users. The ad-
Figure 3: Show-Up Apps Entity Relational Diagram.
vertisement photo entity is used to store advertise-
ment photo datas. The bids entity is used to store ad-
vertisement bid data. The transferring entity is used to
store advertising payment transfer data. The bank ac-
count entity is used to store account data. The transac-
tion entity store advertising transaction data with any
social media influencers.
3.3 REST API Architecture
This architectural design aims to describe how the
system works in communication between systems.
Figure 4 is a system architecture diagram where the
REST API Show Up acts as a liaison between sys-
tems. REST API Show Up will process data sent
from a mobile or web application or commonly called
a “Client”, then it will be processed on the server, then
the server will return the data to the client(Wolde and
Boltana, 2021).
Figure 4: REST API Architecture.
4 RESULT AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Product Implementation (Show-Up
Apps)
In the process of implementing the Show-Up Appli-
cation, from production to post-development, several
steps need to be taken, including the following activi-
ties, respectively:
1. Authentication
This authentication feature is divided into 2,
namely login and register. Login is used for au-
thentication when you want to enter the applica-
tion so that you can access the features in the
Show Up application. This login process uses
a jwt token which is useful for identifying users
ICAISD 2023 - International Conference on Advanced Information Scientific Development
28

who are logging into the application. Further-
more, the register is used for user registration so
that later they can log into the application. Here is
the authentication API url based to Table 2.
Table 2: API Authentication of Show-Up Application.
Method Enpoint Body
POST /api/register • name
• email
• password
• password con-
firmation
POST /api/login • email
• password
2. Manage User This feature is used to manage users
such as viewing registered users and updating pro-
file data. The following is the enpoint and body of
the API on the Manage users feature. Following
to Table 3 is the API of Manage User activity
Table 3: API Manage User.
Method Enpoint Body
GET /api/users -
GET /api/users/me -
PUT /api/users/:id • name
• password
• alamat
• follower insta-
gram
• username insta-
gram
3. Manage Advertisement
This feature is used to manage ads such as creat-
ing, viewing, updating and deleting advertisement
that have been managed by the user. In this fea-
ture, users can see a list of influencer offers. Fol-
lowing to Table 4 is the API of Manage Advertise-
ment activity.
4. Transaction
The transaction feature is used to carry out bar-
gaining activities between advertisers and influ-
encers. Then after making an offer, the ad owner
must pay according to the amount of the price of-
fered to the influencer. Following to Table 5 is the
API of Transaction activity
4.2 Software Testing
The Software testing used in this research are divided
into two part, respectively; Unit testing and Load test-
Table 4: Manage Advertisement.
Method Enpoint Body
POST /api/advertisements • title
• descrip-
tion
• photos
GET /api/advertisements/:id -
GET /api/advertisments -
PUT /api/advertisments/:id • title
• descrip-
tion
• photos
DELETE /
api/advertisments/:id
-
Table 5: API Transaction.
Method Enpoint Body
POST /api/transactions/bid • advertise-
ment id
• price
POST /api/transactions/bid/
transfer
• bid id
• confirmation
photo
POST /api/admin/payment/
approve
• alamat
POST /api/admin/payment/
reject
• bid id
ing. Unit testing is a test that is carried out by ensuring
the functionality of the REST API that is made to run
properly (Vegas et al., 2009). Load testing is a testing
technique that tests the robustness of the system used
(Jin et al., 2020). The following are the results of unit
testing and load testing.
1. Unit Testing
Figure 6 describes the results of testing the REST
API using the Postman application (Wolde and
Boltana, 2021). In this testing, what is tested is
the functionality of the system and the process-
ing time to access each enpoint. Based on the
Table 6, all enpoints can run well with good ex-
ecution results, the fastest execution time is 176
milliseconds and the longest time is 344 millisec-
onds, with average 284 milliseconds:
2. Load Testing
Table 7 is the result of load testing with server
specifications of 1 GB RAM memory and 1 Core
CPU. This test uses the loader.io application by
making several requests at once in 1 minute. This
server is only able to accommodate 1000 requests
in 1 minute with a consequence of 55% error
Development of REST API for Digital Advertising Application Using an Iterative Incremental Method (Case Study: Show-Up Apps)
29

Table 6: Result Testing API.
No Enpoint Time
(ms)
status
1 POST: /api/register 344 success
2 POST: /api/login 245 success
3 GET: /api/users/me 349 success
4 POST: /api/advertisement 351 success
5 GET: /api/advertisement/:id 297 success
6 GET: /api/advertisement 300 success
7 PUT: /api/advertisement/:id 334 success
8 DELETE:
/api/advertisement/:id
186 success
9 POST: /api/transactions/bid 420 success
10 POST: /api/transactions/bid/
transfer
233 success
11 POST: /api/admin/payment/
approve
174 success
12 POST:
/api/admin/payment/reject
181 success
AVERAGE 284
while requests above 1000 servers will experience
down.
Table 7: Result Load Testing.
Request
Client
Response
Time
(ms)
Response
success
Average
Error
Rate (%)
Status
Server
250 236 240 4 Ok
500 253 475 5 Ok
800 257 774 6.25 Ok
1000 279 900 10 Ok
2000 302 900 55 Down
5 CONCLUSIONS
Based on the results of research that has been done,
the conclusions obtained are as follows:
1. The research method used in this study is the
Iterative Incremental method, as the system’s
business requirements are dynamic and easy to
change. The Laravel framework and MySQL
database were used for REST API implementa-
tion.
2. The application authentication is performed us-
ing the JSON Web Token as the identifier of the
logged-in user. The features of the REST API in
Show-Up applications consist of authentication,
managing ads, managing transactions, and man-
aging users.
3. The Black-Box testing was used to test the REST
API, with two tests: unit testing and performance
testing. The unit test used the Postman application
to ensure the functionality was running properly;
based on the test results, all endpoints ran as ex-
pected, with the fastest execution time of 176 mil-
liseconds and the longest is 344 milliseconds. Per-
formance testing was used to test the robustness
of the system showing that the system could re-
ceive 1000 client requests in one minute and 2000
server requests were down.
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