Tim Berners-Lee – Automated Hacks

Chapter 23 (1990–1994): The Web’s First “Syndication APIs” and the Long Road to RSS and Atom

In the early 1990s, the Web didn’t have RSS or Atom—but it did have the core ingredients of syndication APIs: stable URLs, machine-friendly representations, and repeatable retrieval via HTTP. This chapter traces how early HTTP interfaces and publishing habits made feeds inevitable.

Chapter 4 (1990–1994): Before JavaScript—How Early HTTP Interfaces Turned the Web Into the First Web API Platform

From HTTP/0.9 and early URLs to HTML forms and MIME types, 1990–1994 quietly created the web’s first practical API surface—long before JavaScript existed.

HTTP as the Foundation of Web APIs (1990–1994): The Birth of the Web and Early Interfaces

Chapter 1 (1990–1994) of web API history: how early HTTP turned the newborn Web into a programmable interface—long before “REST” and “JSON” became everyday terms.