API is the acronym for Application Programming Interface.
API is an acronym that comes from the English language and refers to the expression Application Programming Interface (whose translation is Application Programming Interface ). The concept refers to the processes, functions and methods that a specific programming library provides as an abstraction layer to be used by another computer program.
We can understand the API as a code that tells applications how they can maintain communication with each other . These rules allow different programs to maintain interactions.
Another way to understand what an API is is linked to the provision of functions that have widespread use. In this way, a programmer can resort to the functionality of an API and thus avoid starting the programming task from scratch. Thanks to their flexibility , APIs help avoid a large volume of work that is usually common to many projects, instead offering code that has been tested by millions of users and that, in many cases, continues to receive maintenance and updates to ensure its stability.
Usefulness of an API
An API serves to establish communication with a database , an operating system or a communications protocol , to name a few possibilities. Even social networks use different APIs: a tool for managing tweets, for example, can use an API to establish communication with the servers used by Twitter .
One of the keys to how APIs work is ease of integration . These tools must be simple to integrate with other software so that communications can be developed successfully. Likewise, your updates should not generate conflicts so that your work remains optimal.
To avoid problems related to its updates, it is necessary that one of the following two points be met, or both: that the format of the data sent in response to the program in which it is integrated does not change; Make sure the documentation explains very clearly how to adapt the program so that it can continue to use that data.
The PayPal platform API is widely used.
The case of Paypal
In addition to social networks, one of the platforms whose API is most used globally is PayPal . It is an online payment system ideal for simplifying international transactions, both for individuals and professionals. When a developer wants to include a payment gateway from this company on their website, they must use the freely distributed API and follow the instructions to find the configuration that best suits their needs.
In a few steps, it is possible to embed the PayPal form, simply taking advantage of the functions offered by its API, which are the result of hundreds of hours of work and have been tested by millions of people around the world . If we wanted to do this from scratch, regardless of the fact that in this particular case we would not be able to directly access PayPal's servers, we would have to dedicate a lot of work time to writing and testing each line of code, and that would unnecessarily delay the development of our project. .
Programmers and APIs
The work of programmers is very particular in that it is characterized by constant learning, given the pace at which languages and the technologies in which they are used evolve. Among your daily activities is consulting the documentation of one or more APIs, to find the functions you need at each step.
It is important to remember that both the API and the programming languages are "arbitrary" , in that they could be constructed in infinite ways: a function called LoadMessages , for example, could well be called GetComments , AccessConversation , or even CasaAzul ; The names of the variables and functions are chosen by the developers, and that is why it is necessary to consult the API documentation to know them.