APIs and WEB APIs; what are they?
What are APIs and what are they used for
Web APIs (or Application Programming Interfaces) are software intermediaries which are generally grouped into sets of specific tools, whose main purpose is to carry out certain tasks within programs.
In brief, APIs allow programmers to use otherwise inaccessible information/functions inside software or web services in order to modify them and use them in new ways. They can therefore be considered to be programmer interfaces, just as the keyboard is a user interface.
Although in the past WEB APIs were only used for programming of offline desktop applications and operating systems, they have recently gained importance in web categories such as Social Networks, online shopping, mapping, research etc.
Nowadays many Internet services are equipped with API libraries and provide these for free public use. This is the case of systems such as Google Maps and Twitter, which allow largescale use of their libraries in a range of other services.
Advantages guaranteed by API
WEB APIs greatly facilitate programmers’ work, while guaranteeing additional income for companies which supply them and offering undeniable advantages for users too (who in practice are their end users).
As far as programmers are concerned, APIs offer advanced functions which can be implemented quite simply on their sites. End users get an improved web experience, while providers can achieve greater visibility and build client loyalty.
Some uses of API
Thanks to Application Programming Interfaces, web use has increased enormously and has at the same time become simpler. These instruments, in fact, have made tasks like registering for services or on websites using a Facebook account possible without the need to manually insert any personal data at all.
While Flickr APIs supply methods for organising photo albums efficiently, Google Maps APIs provide a variety of methods which allow for the customisation of maps and the information displayed on the maps themselves.
In order to illustrate how much WEB APIs have changed over the course of time, let us consider how they consisted of basic software libraries in the past, while today these components are becoming increasingly common and in fact essential: tools which will allow the web of the future to be constructed.
APIs are gradually bringing about the transformation of previous models and mentalities by:
- Modifying the public’s conception of software and service;
- Increasing connectivity;
- And developing new ways of interacting.
According to the American finance and economy magazine Forbes, Application Programming Interfaces represent the digital ‘glue’ which holds the entire technological world together. Their effect is to make this complex and articulated world neater and more comact.
List of the most well-known APIs
Despite there being a large number of WEB APIs present on the web, the main ones are Amazon Product Advertising API, Bing API, Envato Marketplace API, Facebook, Google Chart Tools and API and Google Feed API.
As well as these, other very important APIs include All Google APIs and Tools, LinkedIn API, StackExchange API, Twitter API, YouTube API, YUI Charts, Google Maps API Family, Google Libraries API and Google+ Platform API.
That concludes our summary of Application Programming Interfaces: paradigms of programming which help certain programmers provide other programmers and ordinary end users with services operated from their own software platforms.
If things continue as they are, in future these tools could assume even greater importance. Their important role has already been recognised by the well-known magazine Forbes and it is gradually expanding and entering an increasing range of sectors.
Translated by Joanne Beckwith