Connectivity is an amazing thing. By now, we’re all used to the instant connectivity that puts the world at our fingertips. From desktops or devices, we can purchase, post, pin, and pick anything, anywhere.
We are connected to the world and each other like never before. But how does it happen? How does data get from here to there? How do different devices and applications connect to allow us to order, make a reservation, or book a flight?
What is an API?
The unsung hero of our connected world is the Application Programming Interface or API. It’s the engine under the hood and behind the scenes that we take for granted, but it’s what makes all the interactivity we’ve come to expect and rely upon possible. But exactly what is an API? It’s a question everyone asks—okay, not really, but we’re glad you did.
The textbook defines this: An Application Programming Interface (API) is a set of routines and protocols in computer programming. To speak, an API is a messenger that takes requests and tells a system what you want to do, then returns the response to you.
The Restaurant Analogy
To understand how an API works, imagine you’re in a restaurant:
- Menu: Represents the available options you can request.
- Waiter (API): Takes your order from the menu and communicates it to the kitchen.
- Kitchen (System): Prepares your order based on the request.
- Waiter (API) again: Delivers the prepared food back to your table.
In this analogy, the waiter facilitates the communication between you (the user) and the kitchen (the system). Similarly, an API facilitates communication between different software applications, databases, and devices.
Real-World API Example: Booking a Flight
Just think about the online travel booking process:
- Selection: You choose your departure city, date, return city, and other variables using a travel service’s website.
- Request: The travel service uses the airline’s API to request information about available seats, prices, and options.
- Response: The airline’s API responds with the requested data.
- Display: You can make a reservation after the travel agency shows you this information.
In this scenario, the API serves as the intermediary that allows the travel service to access and retrieve information from the airline’s database, ensuring that you get the data you need to book your flight.
Why APIs Matter
So now you can see that it’s APIs that make it possible for us all to use travel sites. The same goes for all interactions between applications, data, and devices—they all have APIs that allow computers to operate them, and that’s what ultimately creates connectivity.
Read More: PICO 4: The BEST Meta Quest 3 Cheaper Alternative
So whenever you think of an API, just think of it as your waiter running back and forth between applications, databases, and devices to deliver data and create the connectivity that puts the world at our fingertips.
FAQ:
How does an API work?
Applications, systems, and devices share data through APIs. This is accomplished by a cycle of requests and responses. The API receives the request, gets the data, and sends it back to the user.
Who uses API?
APIs are used in web applications to connect user-facing front-ends with critical back-end functionality and data. APIs are used to deliver content by streaming services such as Spotify and Netflix. APIs are used by automakers such as Tesla to provide software upgrades.
Is an API a server?
An API isn’t the same as the remote server — rather, it is the part of the server that receives requests and sends responses.
Is writing API easy?
The difficulty of the project depends on what the API needs to do. It’s possible to create a very simple API in about 20 lines of code. It’s also possible to create an API that involves years of work and millions of lines of code.
Is an API a database?
APIs work with any type of database: An API provides an additional layer of abstraction on the DB query. Ultimately, this allows programmers on both the back end and front end to avoid concerns about breaking everything through versioning or worrying about the type of database in use.
What is API in real life?
APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are a way for different software systems or applications to communicate with each other. APIs define a set of rules and protocols for transmitting data between two or more software systems.
