What are APIs | Everything you need to know

APIs is an application programming interphase. It’s a connection between computer software and computers. It allows two applications to talk to each other. It hides the internal detail of a system how it works. APIs can be used on the operating system, database system, computer hardware, and web-based system. What are APIs | Everything you need to know

The term APIs often referred to Web APIs.

History:

The idea of APIs is much older than the term. British scientists Maurice Wilkes and David Wheeler worked on it, in the 1940s for EDSAC, an early computer.

Wheeler and Wilkes first published the book in 1951 APIs specification, the preparation of programs for an Electronic Digital computer. Because it is more of a concept to discover than invented.

In the 2000s Representational state transfer (REST) described the idea of a “network-based Application Programming Interface “with traditional “library-based” APIs. The APIs web is the most common meaning of the term APIs.

Example of an API:

The application connects to the internet and sends data to a server when you use the application on mobile. The daily basis APIs usage is weather data. Weather snippets seem to be found on all platforms, like Google search, Apple’s weather app, or on your smartphones. For example, if you search weather on Google, on the top you will see a box with the current weather condition.

This is utilizing API because Google isn’t in the business of weather data. They know this information from a third party (APIs).

Advantages of APIs:

• Increase productivity:
• Save costs
• Improve connectivity and collaboration
• Improves marketing
• Collect data for intelligence analytics
• Encourage innovation
• Creates new revenue opportunities

Advantages of using APIs for developers:

• Application
• More scope
• New data available
• Automation
• Integration
• Personalization

Application:

Because the use of APIs you access the app components, the delivery of services is more flexibility.

More Scope:

An application layer can be created with the use of APIs, give information to a new audience, and can be personalized to create a customer experience.

 New data available:

It allows all the information generated at the government level to be allowed to every person, not on few.

Automation:

With APIs, computers can manage the work. By APIs, agencies make a quicker and more productive workflow.

 Integration:

By APIs content can be added from any application or site easily. It guarantees more information delivered.

Personalization:

By using APIs any content can be customized to the company or users that use it the most.

 API by use cases:

• Database APIs
• Operating system APIs
• Web APIs

• Database APIs:

Database APIs makes communication between database management and application. Developers work with the database. Allow users to write queries both on proprietary and open source (Oracle, MongoDB, and MSSQL).

• Operating system APIs:

This defines “applications use the resources and services of the operating system”. very OS has its set of APIs, Window API or Linux API. Apple provides API for macOS and IOS.

• Web APIs:

This is the most common API. It provides functional transfer and readable data for the web-based system. Most businesses use more than one API to share and connect applications.

 API specifications:

The main motive of API specification is data exchange between web services. It means the ability of a diverse system, written in different programming languages on different Oss, by using different technologies, to communicate with each other.

• Remote procedure call (RPC)
• Service Object Access Protocol(SOAP)
• Grpc

API documentation:

Following elements make good documentation, such as

• Authentication information
• Explanation for every request( API CALL)
• Tutorials
• SDK examples

 Final words:

API is everywhere, while you searching for weather on Google, paying with PayPal, or interacting on Twitter bot all these things powered by APIs. In this article, I have discussed, APIs, their advantages and benefits. If I miss something in this article, let me know in the comment section. I will put in the May article.