What is an API and how does it work?
Everyone has mobile phone with so many application installed. When you use mobile phone to access a pre-installed application, let’s say weather app, to know about the weather report, you are using an API. What this API actually means will become clearer as we explore it.
APIs are mechanisms that enable two software components to communicate with each other using a set of definitions and protocols. For instance, the software system of the weather bureau contains daily weather information. Your phone’s weather app “talks” to this system using APIs to provide you with daily weather updates.
WHAT DOSE API STANDS FOR?
API stands for Application Programming Interface. Any software with a specific function is referred to as an application when discussing APIs. Interface can be considered as a service contract between two applications. This agreement specifies the requests and responses that the two parties will use to communicate. Developers can find instructions in their API documentation on how to format those requests and responses.
HOW DO APIs WORK?
Consider a restaurant waiter. The kitchen is the supplier who will carry out your order, and you, the consumer, are seated at the table with a menu of options.
For the kitchen to receive your order and for the food to be served to your table, a link is required. It cannot be the chef, since they are in the kitchen preparing food. Something is required to link the client placing the order and the chef preparing the cuisine. The waiter, or the API, comes into the picture at this point.
Your order is taken by the waiter, who then delivers it to the kitchen and instructs it. The response — in this case, food — is subsequently delivered back to you. Additionally, if the API is properly made, perhaps your order won’t crash!
APIs enable communication between your product or service and other products and services without requiring you to understand how they are built. This can simplify app development, saving time and money. APIs provide you freedom, make design, administration, and use simpler, and open up options for creativity when you’re creating new tools and products — or managing ones that already exist.
In short, APIs enable you to expand resource access while preserving security and control. It’s up to you how and to whom you grant access. Good API administration, which uses an API gateway, is the key to API security. A distributed integration platform can be used to connect to APIs and develop applications that use the data or functionality exposed by APIs. This platform connects everything, including legacy systems and the Internet of Things (IoT).
There are four different ways that APIs can work depending on when and why they were created.
SOAP APIs
These APIs use Simple Object Access Protocol. Client and server exchange messages using XML. This is a less flexible API that was more popular in the past.
RPC APIs
These APIs are called Remote Procedure Calls. The client completes a function (or procedure) on the server, and the server sends the output back to the client.
Websocket APIs
Websocket API is another modern web API development that uses JSON objects to pass data. A WebSocket API supports two-way communication between client apps and the server. The server can send callback messages to connected clients, making it more efficient than REST API.
REST APIs
These are the most popular and flexible APIs found on the web today. The client sends requests to the server as data. The server uses this client input to start internal functions and returns output data back to the client. Let’s look at REST APIs in more detail below.
WHAT ARE REST APIs?
REST stands for Representational State Transfer. REST defines a set of functions like GET, PUT, DELETE, etc. that clients can use to access server data. Clients and servers exchange data using HTTP.
The statelessness of REST APIs is a key characteristic. Servers that are stateless do not save client information between requests. Similar to the URLs you type into your browser to view a website, client requests to the server. The server’s response is just basic data without the customary graphical web page display.
WHAT IS WEB API?
An application processing interface (Web API or Web Service API) connects a web server and a web browser. While all APIs are web services, not all web services are APIs. REST API is a special type of Web API that uses the standard architectural style explained above.
Because APIs were traditionally developed before to the development of the World Wide Web, many terminology relating to APIs, such as Java API or service APIs, exist. Modern web APIs are REST APIs and the terms can be used interchangeably.
HOW TO USE AN API?
The steps to implement a new API include:
- Obtaining an API key. This is done by creating a verified account with the API provider.
- Set up an HTTP API client. This tool allows you to structure API requests easily using the API keys received.
- If you don’t have an API client, you can try to structure the request yourself in your browser by referring to the API documentation.
- Once you are comfortable with the new API syntax, you can start using it in your code.
One of the most demanding aspects of software development today is APIs. In order to facilitate the development of diverse applications, platform providers like Google, Facebook, and Salesforce have made their APIs available. As a result, APIs are given a market and increased strategic value.
You can learn more about API here. Happy learning!!
