Introduction to API

Application ProgrammingInterface

• Analogous to a User Interface.
• Allow programs to communicate with each other.

Aim

• What is an API
• Demo - A webpage calling a JavaScript program calling a Python program

API

• API is a specification or a set of rules that describe the expected behaviour of a program.
• Hides implementation details.
• Allows abstraction of logic / modular programming.

e.g. https://docs.python.org/3/library/math.html

Different types of API

• The same API can be implemented as libraries in multiple languages.
• Libraries / frameworks are language specific.
• Web services are language agnostic.