Things You Must Know About APIs

With increasing technologies and tech-savvy people, API is closely surrounding us to allow apps to communicate with each other. You may have heard this acronym from developers and techies, but do you know it? How does it work? What are the must-knows? Let’s learn it all here.

What is an API?

API or Application Programming Interface allows apps to exchange information with each other. There might be a lot of different technicalities associated with the underlying procedure of API, but the purpose is communication with one another. API has to work in the background to send messages or make purchases for the interaction of two applications. This common language allows different platforms to exchange data and customize products according to their needs.

How does API work?

API establishes communication between two applications with the help of simple commands and acts as messengers to deliver requests and responses. There is a server and a client to handle the query. If the server has an answer to the client’s question, then the API will return with the requirement, but if it doesn’t, then it will display an error message. Online booking services like Makemytrip or Goibibo use several databases to get in touch with each airline to request booking information about ticketing services and baggage without the client feeling the need to communicate with the airline. Other services like BookMyShow and more work on the same principle. Similar patterns and processes are observed in APIs of order-related queries.

Things you must know about APIs

APIs are not just application programming interfaces but much more than that, and they are another key to the growing IT sector. Listed below are 4 CMOs to utilize the power of APIs to grow one’s business.

Partner with close collaborations

To develop the best out of an API, the essential part is the communication and acknowledgment between the developer, client, and internal stakeholders from the start. The belt of good communication and collaboration fastens through the app development process to the customer. If a developer starts with weak links and routes, the end is more likely to be a confusing product and a frustrating experience, but the app will be more viscid and enriching if you get it right.

Before designing the API, you need to know what you want your app to do

It can be challenging to figure out the working of an API if the developer lacks clarity about app development. One must know from the beginning about what they want their app to do - from services to features- everything and then get back to API planning. Begin with deciding what the app will do, and then delineate the user’s journey with the app. This will bring transparency to API building and the behavior that you can expect. Thus, the API and the app have a reciprocal relationship driven by your idea and tasks.

APIs are not always accessible.

There might be some freely available APIs that allow you to download a minimal amount of data, but you will have to pay when you generate sturdy download data. Some APIs have pricing based on the users, which might be free for the first few hundred or thousands, but if that exceeds, you will have to pay a cost to access the information. This is beneficial to big businesses, sites, and organizations that develop an app. The monetization of the app comes with a large number of users.

APIs are of two types - Private and Public.

Public APIs available on the web, like image recognition, language translation, and AI, are helpful APIs open. They can be tricky to incorporate even though they are free and easy to access. They still need to be wrapped under your skills and art of incorporation to make them functional and practical. While some businesses will have to develop their API to utilize the data, if there is a specific purpose, the server serves the purpose of information source and types as and when required. All in all, from AI to IoT, everything may seem fascinating in news headlines under technology. Still, APIs are working tirelessly to run horses to make all of them work together on any level. To build an app, one must know what it has to do, understand the bit part in the process and provide sufficient information for creativity and efficiency.

Other useful articles: