Knowledge Base

What is API (Application Programming Interface)?

What is API?
With a short definition, API is the software that enables applications developed with its own data and working principles to work by communicating 
with each other.

What Are the Types of API?
Open API (also known as Public API): They are APIs that are open to public use by developers and other users with minimum restrictions. They may
 require registration, use of API Key or OAuth, or they may be fully open. They focus on external users to access data or services.

Internal API (aka Private API): It is hidden from external users and only exposed by internal systems. Internal APIs are not intended for external
 consumption, but rather for use in different internal development teams for better productivity and service reuse.

Partner API : These APIs offered to or by strategic business partners. They are not public and require special privileges to access them. Like Open APIs,
 Partner APIs are the tip of the iceberg because they are the most visible and are used to communicate across company boundaries.

Composite API : Composite APIs are APIs that combine multiple data or service APIs. They are created using the API editing capabilities of an API 
builder. It allows developers to access several endpoints in a single call.

What is REST API and SOAP API?
While API is a specific set of rules that determine how programs communicate with each other, REST and SOAP APIs define how the API is presented.

Each is similar in functionality but differs from each other with a few key differences.

REST (Representational State Transfer) is a set of rules that developers follow when creating an API. REST is read using JSON (JavaScript Object 
Notation). One of these rules is that the API should be designed to be easy to use and meaningful to developers.

For more detailed information about REST API, What is Rest API? You can check our article.

SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is another design pattern for web services. It uses XML (Extensible Markup Language) instead of the typical 
JSON that the REST API uses. XML is designed to be machine and human readable.

What is the Remote API?

Remote APIs are designed to interact through a communication network.

"Remote" also means that the resources handled by the API are located outside of the requesting computer.

Since the most widely used communication network is the Internet, most APIs are designed according to web standards. Not all Remote APIs are web APIs, but it's fair to say that web APIs are Remote.

What are the Contributions of the API to Developers?

Let's say you want to develop an application for iPhone. Apple's operating system provides numerous APIs to streamline the development process, as every operating system does.