RAML vs Shields.io: What are the differences?

What is RAML? RESTful API Modeling Language (RAML) makes it easy to manage the whole API lifecycle from design to sharing. RESTful API Modeling Language (RAML) makes it easy to manage the whole API lifecycle from design to sharing. It's concise - you only write what you need to define - and reusable. It is machine readable API design that is actually human friendly.

What is Shields.io? GitHub badges as a service. Legible & concise status badges for third-party codebase services.

RAML and Shields.io can be primarily classified as "API" tools.

Some of the features offered by RAML are:

• Create and pull in namespaced, reusable libraries, containing data types
• Annotations let you add vendor specific functionality without compromising your spec
• Traits and resource Types let you take advantage of code reuse and design patterns

On the other hand, Shields.io provides the following key features:

• Have your own GitHub badges
• Visual consistency
• Look good on high-res displays

"API Specification" is the primary reason why developers consider RAML over the competitors, whereas "Easiest way to create lovely badges" was stated as the key factor in picking Shields.io.

Shields.io is an open source tool with 8.53K GitHub stars and 2.01K GitHub forks. Here's a link to Shields.io's open source repository on GitHub.

According to the StackShare community, Shields.io has a broader approval, being mentioned in 7 company stacks & 11 developers stacks; compared to RAML, which is listed in 9 company stacks and 6 developer stacks.