API: Application Programming Interface

From a technical perspective, an API or Application Programming Interface has become ubiquitous in the world of web browsers, operating systems, and applications. Essentially it is exactly what it is titled but, on much deeper level – what is it actually used for? 

At its most basic level, an API is a piece of a platform’s functionality that is available to use by developers. The greatest benefit of using an API is that you don’t necessarily need to know how it works; just that it is available for use. 

The Easy Life

APIs make application development much easier by providing access to objects or entire applications for integration. Just about every website and app now will make use of some sort of third-party API. Why reinvent the wheel when it’s readily available everywhere? Take, for example, the embedding of Google Maps on a web page. This is a Google object that is made available via the Google Maps API, allowing the developer to make use of complex code without having to recreate it from scratch.

API Much?

Imagine having to set up a new username and password for every single website and app account you encounter. The variety in password structure and login combinations would make it too cumbersome to manage. This is where OAuth comes in, which is a standard that defines a number of APIs you can use to sign in to your account – whether it be Google, Facebook, or some other third-party service. This allows you to bypass having to create a unique account for that website, with the added benefit of your API password being protected by tokenization.

Want to make use of iPhone’s fingerprint touch for login to certain apps? There’s an API for that. Or how about making use of an Android device’s camera so you don’t have to write a million lines of code to summon a camera? There’s an API for that. Perhaps you want to be that really annoying website that asks users for their location via a popup dialog box? You can bet there’s an API for that as well.