What is an API?

API - Application Program Interface

An API expresses a software component in terms of its operations, inputs, outputs, and underlying types.

API - Application Program Interface

An API defines functionalities that are independent of their respective implementations, which allows definitions and implementations to vary without compromising the interface.

API - Application Program Interface

A good API makes it easier to develop a program by providing all the building blocks. A programmer then puts the blocks together.

Working with undocumented APIs

Working with APIs without reading documentaion

Working with APIs you have mastered

IKR

Types of APIs

Language API - Java Docs  

Describing libraries and classes, functions in those libraries

and classes, and the parameters and return types for those functions.

Types of APIs

Library API - UnderscoreJs Docs

Documentation listing and describing each function in the library, the parameters it needs to perform those function and what it should return

Types of APIs

 REST API - FOAAS Docs

Lists and describes all accessible endpoints for a given Representational State Transfer (REST) protocol implementation. Describes verbs and what body is required with those verbs. 

REST Implementation

Endpoints

URIs that execute desired code. 

I.E Functions, but on the server. Where the function names are '/something/:id/something'

REST Implementation

VERBS

GET: Get everything about something.

POST: Added one thing to a list of somethings.

PUT: Change one existing thing in a list of somethings.

DELETE: Delete something.

REST Implementation

REQUEST BODY

If the ENDPOINTS are the function name, the REQUEST BODY are like the parameters that we send to a function.

GET: Generally none, since you get everything.

POST: An object containing necessary information

PUT: An object containing information to be updated, and an id pointing to the object to update. 

DELETE: An id to the object to delete.

Popular formats: JSON and XML

REST Implementation

Response status

Stack:

MongoDB

ExpressJS

AngularJS

NodeJS

API using Express

Stack: 
CoffeeScript

MongoDB

ExpressJS(LoopBack)

NodeJS

API using LoopBack

MongoDB

SQL Server

CoffeeScript

Loopback

AWS

Node.js

BoomTown API