What Is an API Code?
When you turn on your computer, the operating system loads dozens of programs that were written using slightly different protocols. When you take into account the applications that you use on the Internet and applications installed on your computer then the number of different programming languages that need to work together on your system continues to multiply. APIs are the codified rules that allow applications with different etymologies to work with one other.
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API Code
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An API code is a set of rules that allow different software applications to communicate with each other. The acronym stands for "application programming interface." API codes specify the programming methods that different applications should use to call functions across programs. An API code also indicates how associated applications should handle and share user interface input.
Types of API
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There are several different varieties of API codes. Different types of API code vary in terms of the scope of functions included in the code. Programming language APIs include all functions included in an entire programming language. Smaller APIs may include all of the functions that can be used to write extensions for a single application, or they may create an interface between a limited set of applications that are natively programmed using a different language infrastructure.
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Programming Language APIs
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A single programming language's API code describes the functions that can be performed using that language. The API code includes all functions and subroutines that a programmer can call while writing an application in the language. Components of the code include the syntax of the available functions, the types of variables that can be manipulated using the function and switches or modifications that a programmer can use to indicate variable modes of functioning.
Internet-based APIs
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The ever increasing use of Internet applications has resulted in the need for protocols to share information across those applications. In general, web based APIs include rules for facilitating transmission of data for use with a specific website. Some individual API codes contain framework information that allows a certain website, such as Facebook, to send and receive content to and from other websites. In some cases, such as the Google Maps API, the API code includes information on how to create application extensions that can be manually shared with other users.
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References
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