Does a mobile app need more access than the public API of a site?

Posted by Iain on Programmers See other posts from Programmers or by Iain
Published on 2012-11-30T18:58:19Z Indexed on 2012/11/30 23:19 UTC
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api

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mobile

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api-design

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mobile-app

I have a site with a public API, and some mobile app developers have been brought in to produce an iPhone app for the site. They insist they need to see the database schema, but as I understand it, they should only need access to the documented public API.

Am I right? Is there something I've missed? I've told them that if there's a feature missing or data they require I can extend the API so that they can access it. I thought a web service API held to much the same principles as OOP object API's, in that the implementation details should be hidden as much as possible.

I'm not a mobile app developer so if there is something I don't quite see then please let me know. Any insight or help will be much appreciated.

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