DEMYSTIFYING THE ESSENTIALS OF APIs

Have you ever used your computer system and have come across the term API, and have been inquisitive about the term, ever since?

As a computer user, it is quite normal to come across terms you aren’t familiar with yet. One of these computer jargons is the API.

And, as a computer software developer, just delving into the coding world, you need just as much information to get you started. One of these pieces of information is the API.

WHAT ARE THEY?

The API, an abbreviation for Application Programming Interface, is a computer function that allows two or more computers to communicate with each other, using a set of rules and protocols. An API also connects two or more software to each other, allowing easy requests and responses back and forth. Unlike the user interface, which allows easy communication between the user and the computer, the API allows communication between two or more computer software.

The API allows many companies to give their workers, external third-party developers, and business partners access to their application data.APIs are in different types, but, overall, their integration allows the frictionless use of the computer system.

IMPORTANCE OF APIs

For individual users and modern business owners, the API have aided the use of the computer in many ways, eight of which are listed below:

1. Innovation

With the presence of an Application Programming Interface, developers now have access to new tools. These tools allow them to show their innovation, using the API to the best of its functionality.

2. Automation

Have you ever experienced automated an online post before? In this scenario, you schedule a post on your social media wall, knowing fully well that it will automatically go online, even if you don’t track its process.This is exactly the function of the API. It takes your inserted command and executes it as at when due.

3. Monetization

While some companies offer API services to their audience, other companies monetize their API, selling the access the API offers. They sell this access to their family of developers.An example of this type of company is Google Maps, which offers location-based APIs and charges based on the number of requests made for map data.

4. Customization

Another core importance of the API is that it allows flexibility and customization. With an already-coded API, you, as a developer, just need to get an app and tweak some certain information about it, to meet your consumer’s taste.

5. It improves customer experience

With the help of API, businesses can serve their consumers in a short period of time, giving room for successful deals and perfect customer experience.

6. It saves Costs and Time

Instead of developing software from scratch, which costs a lot of time and money, APIs give developers access to ready-made software functionalities. When this is implemented well, it increases productivity and reduces the cost of production.

7. Security

One of the best benefits of an API is that it offers some sort of protection to the system and its users. For instance, when you log into your Twitter account, you insert your details into the medium. The API takes these pieces of information and sends it to the required software. Throughout this process, your information is kept safe, so no other user has access to it.

8. Little/No Risk of Misinformation

It is a known fact that human beings are prone to errors. They make mistakes, from time to time. When someone is subjected to too much information, he tends to make even more mistakes, taking one piece as the other. However, this is where it comes in.APIs take the correct piece of information from the starting point and take it to its endpoint, with no risk of misinformation.There you have it. I trust you now know about your APIs. For more info, you can click on this.