Application Programming Interface (API)
Have you ever wondered about how applications like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Google Maps, etc. works? You post on Facebook and immediately it is received by your friends. You share your current location and people get to know about your current city. How these things become easier for you.
It has become easier with the help of API. But what exactly is the API?
What is API?
API stands for Application Programming Interface. It is a tool or set of rules that determine the interaction between two applications or systems.
API is a service that delivers your request to the provider and then the provider delivers the response back to you through the same API.
Why is API used?
It determines how software components should interact. It is used to initiate the interaction between applications. It creates a bridge between two applications that can communicate or interact or talk to each other.
How does API works?
To understand the working of an API, let’s take an example of a restaurant.
You go to the restaurant and place an order through the waiter, then the waiter takes your order and gives it to the kitchen. Then the chef makes your dish as per your specifications. Then it is returned to the respective waiter, in the end, the waiter delivers the order to you.
In this scenario:
The Waiter is acting as an API. Your order as a Request. Kitchen as a remote system. In other words, the waiter is an intermediary between you and the kitchen. In the same way, API works between two applications.
In the same way, API works between two applications.
How to create an API?
You can create an API using multiple programming languages such as:
Python
Java
PHP
Perl
.NET / C#
Node.js
Examples:
Google Maps API
Facebook API
Twilio API
Node.js
