Supreme guide to API Development – 2020

While processing your applications for further improvement, you must have come across the term API. Henceforth, you must be wondering what is an API?

API is also known as Application Programming Interface. It is the core of development. Today, modern development is quite difficult if there are no APIs.

API has a variety of definitions. However, this guide is all about API development. If you wish to know about it in detail, read on to gain the basic knowledge regarding API.

Before we dive into the rest of the details, let’s get started with its definition.

What is an API?

In the world of computer and programming, API (application programming interface) is a set of information that has an array of definitions, communication protocols, and tools necessary to build web apps and software. In other words, it is a collection of packages and methods that makes the software and web building process hassle-free.

It comprises each of the building blocks used by the mobile app developer. With this, you must have had an idea of how vital API is, for the web apps and software to communicate efficiently.

The application programming interface comes in various forms. It can be in the form of a software library, database system, computer hardware, web-based system, or operating system.

To sum up, an API can also be defined as a channel that helps two applications to connect with one another. Consequently, API permits the applications to recover data in order to display the relevant piece of information on your mobile screen. You can also refer to it as a built-in iOS.

Why are APIs Important?

Let’s take a world without an API. The capacity or serviceability of the applications that you use will be limited or restricted. With that, the time invested to develop the API would increase consequently.

This is because any function or ability that is not incorporated as a module of the programming language needs to be developed separately.

APIs contrast applications altogether. This permits them to accompany each other.

If APIs were not introduced, life would have been difficult. For instance, the hotel selecting service makes use of an external API for acknowledging the picture of rooms. It is by API that you select and book rooms and opt for its services. API undoubtedly enhances the functionality of hotels.

No APIs will lead to less functionality and the usability of applications would be limited to a small list of functions.

What are the types of API?

Basically, there are 4 chief categories of API. They include,

• Open APIs

This API is also referred to as the public API. It has absolutely no restrictions as it is available and accessible to the public.

• Partner APIs

In this API, one individual requires certain rights and licenses. This will help them to access this category of APIs as it is not accessible to the public and a partner.

• Internal APIs

This is also known as private APIs. Only internal systems have accessibility to this category of API. Thus, this is less known as it is used inside the company. the company uses this API in several teams.

• Composite APIs

This category of API merges with various data and service APIs. The main use of this API is to accelerate the method of execution and refine the performance.

With this, now you must have got a good amount of knowledge about APIs. Let us now delve into the major terms that are used in API development.

Terminology

• API key

An API Key can be defined as a code that is passed in by the programs of the computer in order to identify the calling program.

• Endpoint

This is a place where the APIs interact or communicate with the accessible resources in another system.

• JSON

JSON stands for JavaScript Object Notion. It is a data format that is used for APIs in order to exchange data present on the web. This exchange of data takes place between two applications.

• GET

Generally, APIs and websites use GET. This is a method that is used to retrieve or receive data from a specific server at a specific resource.

• POST

POST is a method that is used to send data to the API server for renovating or generating a resource.

• OAuth

OAuth is generally known as a framework. It stands for open-standard authorization. It offers secure user account information that the third party website uses or such applications that takes user information without availing the user password.

• REST

REST can be defined as an architectural style. This eases the communication and interaction between the two systems.

• SOAP

SOAP stands for simple object access protocol. It is an XML-based messaging protocol that is used to interchange information between several devices.

• Latency

Latency displays the total time interval utilized by a certain API in the process between requesting and responding.

• Rate-Limiting

Rate-Limiting denotes the control rate of the incoming and outgoing traffic. Rate limiting API can also be defined as the number of times a specific user hits an API.

• API Throttling

It manages the utilization of APIs by the users for a certain time period.

 

Now let us look into the tools that are necessary for the functioning of an API.

There are several tools that are needed by an API. Below are a few tools that are casual ones as well as the ones used by Pro.

Tools required to develop an API

As said earlier, there are a variety of tools and tech included in the method of creating an API. Below are a few products and tools that are used by the developers for developing APIs.

• Apigee

Apigee is known as Google’s API management provider. It helps the developers to nail the digital transformation by restoring towards the approach of an API.

• APIMatic and API Transformer

These provide experienced automation generation tools. These tools are used to build or develop high-quality SDKs. The transformer transforms these code snippets and SDKs from API special format to other formats namely, RAML or API Blueprint.

• API Science

API Science is utilized to evaluate the performance of both internal and external APIs.

• API Serverless Architecture

This tool helps mobile app developers to design, publish, build, and host APIs through a cloud-based server infrastructure.

• API-Platform

API-Platform falls in the category of open source PHP framework. It is an appropriate tool for web API development.

• Auth0

Auth0 is referred to as an identity management solution that is used to validate and sanction APIs.

• ClearBlade

ClearBlade is an API management provider that accepts the IoT technology in your process.

• GitHub

GitHub is an open-source hosting service. It allows the developers to handle code files, version control, and pull requests.

• Postman

Postman is such a tool that authorizes the developers to run, document, examine, and assess the performance of the API.

• Swagger

Swagger falls into the category of the open-source framework used to develop APIs. All the top techs like Apigee, Microsoft, PayPal utilizes this tool.

• Swagger Editor

Swagger Editor is a data format motivated in languages like Python and XML.

• Swagger Tools and Integrations

This offers a set of frameworks that serves the swagger ecosystem.

• OpenAPI Spec Tooling

This tool offers an array of frameworks that serves the Open API ecosystem.

• API Studio

You can write, mock, and share the specifications of your Swagger on the web.

• Dredd

Dredd is hugely utilized to certify API documentation noted in API Blueprint.

• Restlet Studio

It is a web IDE used for API Design.

• API Spec Converter

This can be transformed between various API Spec formats.

• Prism

This tool supercharges the OAS file with transforming, mocking, etc.

• Apimatic

This tool supports API Description formats namely, RAML, IO Docs, WADL, OAI format, HAR 1.4, etc.

• Mulesoft Anypoint

This tool permits you to plan, design, and publish the enterprise-grade API with the help of RAML.

• Sandbox

Sandbox offers an easy, simple, and quick mock RESTful API from the API definitions.

 

• Restunited

 

This tool is creative. It generates or develops the SDKs and documentation along with debugging and evaluating or examining.

By now, you know all the basic elements of API. Let us now look at the working of an API.

How does an API work?

Basically the API collects information from a specific server and displays them on the user’s screen.

Let us explain it with an example.

For instance, you plan to do an outing with your family to a different country. Or say, to a different city or state. What is the first thing that you need to do? Of course, you will go ahead to book flight tickets and hotel tickets for that particular location. 

To go ahead with this, you either take the help of a mobile application or you sit in front of your PC to go through the ticket booking website.

In terms of booking a flight, you will be selecting your destination, departure time, and the date of returning. With all the details entered, you will then submit the form.

After this, you see a list of flights popping up on your screen with the allotted ticket charges, timings, availability of seats, and few other necessary details.

The question here is, how does this happen?

Basically, in order to display the results on your mobile screen or monitor based according to your input, the platform sends a request. The ticket booking platform sends a request to each of the airline’s websites in order to access the database of each flight. 

This is how they retrieve and store information in them. They receive this information or data through API. The website responds back with the desired data which the API again delivers. This is what makes the results visible on the user’s screen.

In fact, the flight booking application here, and the website of the airline acts like an endpoint. The API here works as a mediator who sends and receives data or information based on the input of the user.

This is how an API works in the modern world. Do you now believe why the modern world needs API to the fullest? Let us now look at the characteristics that API has.

Characteristic features of API

• Modification or search by criteria

An API must allow its users to search for data on the basis of several criteria. Say, a date. This is because, we consider the alterations (update, edit, delete) immediately after the initial data synchronization.

• Paging

Most of the time, it happens that we are unwilling to see the entire data altered. We only want to have a glimpse of it. In such cases, the API must have the ability to determine the quantity of data. It must know how much data is required to display at one go and at which frequency. It must also advise the user regarding the amount of data that is remaining.

• Sorting

In order to ensure that the end-user gets each page of data in a sequence, the API should have the ability to empower the users for sorting the data according to the time of modification.

• JSON Support/REST

Although it is not compulsory, it is great to consider your API to be RESTful. This ensures the effective development of API. The REST APIs are lightweight and allow you to retry or re-upload the file or mobile app process in case it fails. However, this becomes tough in cases of SOAP. Besides that, JSON’s syntax denotes most of the programming languages. This further makes it easy for any mobile app developer to change it into any language.

• Authorization via OAuth

Again, it is mandatory that your API authorizes through OAuth. This is because it is comparatively faster than the other methods. You simply need to click on one button and there you go! To sum up, the time taken to process should be minimum or bare. The response time should be good and the level of security should be high. It is extremely important that you put efforts in the best possible way to secure your applications, as at the end of the day, it deals with a huge amount of data.

Final Thoughts

Concluding, APIs are undeniably an integral and chief element in the process of modern development. If you invest even a short period of time to study them, you can still make use of them widely in order to extend or enhance the capacity and functionality of your application.

With this, the Supreme guide to API Development comes to an end. This guide is extremely helpful for any visitor as it educates you about its smallest of details. Therefore, web API development is extremely easy as it can be integrated or incorporated in any of the web applications or mobile applications effectively. In fact, the applications that are built with the help of IoT technology are referred to as the used APIs.