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What is really an API? Examples, Code + History

Samuel Kufre Willie on March 03, 2024

Introduction What is an API? This is a common question that every new developer will often ask when introduced to the concept. The n...
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Nathan Hedglin

APIs are NOT REST APIs.

Programming Languages have APIs, libraries have APIs, Operating System have APIs. Arduino has an API.

Application Programming Interface means there is a connection point (interface) between someone else's software (application) that you can access from code (programming).

An API is just the connection point between someone's else's code and yours

Great post but I'd rename it to "What is a REST API?"

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Samuel Kufre Willie

You are correct Nathan!!

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Ravavyr

All of this is a very nice long write up about APIs and various ways these are implemented.

I would like to state though that an API is really just this:

  • the client [a computer, any device that will send a request]
  • an endpoint [any url that accepts requests and processes them and returns them]

What the client is [pc,laptop,mobile, another server] doesn't matter.
What the endpoint is [server file, custom subdomain, root domain, lambda function] doesn't matter.
As long as the information requested is received by the client.

We've called these SOAP requests, endpoints, APIs, Rest APIs, Json endpoints, XML endpoints, etc etc etc.
In the end, it's a request and a response, that's it.
KISS method applies and helps newbies understand it faster.

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Samuel Kufre Willie

You correct as well... 💪💪💪