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API has become one of the most common terms for technology enthusiasts and every web application development company all across the world.

In today’s world API plays a vital role in businesses and hence, the overall economy. APIs are omnipresent and are used by common people on a daily basis.

From making payments, booking tickets, or logging into social media websites, API is present in numerous kinds in every industry in our daily lives.

Apart from day-to-day applications, APIs have also come up with some fun characteristics. This includes the translation of English to other languages, giving away all the Pokemon data as a central unit through Pokemon API, and more.

The utilization of this technology has not been fully explored. But this article will let you go through a basic idea of what actually an API is and how it is affecting everyone’s life and will continue to do so in the future.

Understanding The Meaning Of API

API or Application Programming Interface can be described as a set of instructions, requirements, and standards that enable applications or software to perform some specific task.

These are used to add some feature or functionality into some other software. This makes the software better and reduces the efforts that the developers have to put in.

APIs once developed can be used in n-number of other applications and software. They can also be used with cloud services.

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If we talk about it in technical language, these are set of codes that can be reused in different software to let those applications perform some task by a software development company.

Every API has a specific meaning and the codes are written in a manner that they don’t disturb the architecture of the software they are integrated into.

APIs have made the job of developers easy and they are in themselves really important for the development community.

API developers are as important as the developers who develop the whole software. They are respected by the developers for easing their jobs.

Components Of APIs

  1. Technical Specification – The technical specifications describe the options of data exchange between various solutions. These solutions include the specifications done existing in the form of requests and data delivery protocol for processing.
  2. Software Interface – Software interface means the code written that will meet the requirements of the user. In this, the software requires functionality or access information called the API when it specifies the requirements to the system. The other software does the job of returning the data functionality and other requirements as requested. API also gives a proper specification of the interface through which these applications communicate with each other.

Function calls are the large statements that perform the work of requesting software such that they provide particular services and actions.

These function calls implement API as well as describe their documentation. Function calls can be described as the phrases of API that hold the main grammar for the same.

There can be plenty of purposes that APIs can serve in a full stack development company. In a generalized approach, they help in simplifying or speeding up the process of software development.

Developers can add functionality from other providers to the existing solutions with the help of APIs.

Another major advantage is that they help in developing new applications by making use of third-party providers.

Types Of APIs

Just like everything else APIs have types too. APIs are distributed into categories based on their release policies.

1. Private

These are the application software that is intended for the use of the web development company that is creating it.

The solution is made according to the requirements of the company or the development agency and it is made to be used in different software made by them.

They make use of this API to develop new systems within their organization. Even if the software that is developed with this API is used by the people outside the organization, the developing company will have full control of it.

That means, they can define how it can be used and what are circumstances someone will have to face if it is used in the wrong manner.

2. Partner

These types of applications are developed by two companies/organizations. Because these are developed between two partners, they are also shared and promoted between them only.

There is a contact between the organizations that develop the API that defines how the companies can use it.

One web application development company can get the revenue benefit by providing its partner capability benefits and access to the data.

They can also discuss how the digital assets will be used and shared. These are all sensitive assets and there needs to be a mutual understanding between the partner companies about them.

These two companies are also responsible for the experience of the third-party users of the API.

3. Public

These are the APIs that are external which means they are not controlled by any specific software development company.

There is a developer who makes changes to the API but it can be used by any other organization according to their requirements.

These APIs allow the companies to increase awareness about their brand. It also allows the companies to earn extra income if it is executed properly into the market. These APIs can also be classified into two types; Open and Commercial.

Open APIs are available for anyone who wants to use it. Their features are free to use by any developer or organization without any conditions.

These APIs should be available for free. They can be used for testing and creating other applications.

Commercial APIs on the other hand are the ones for which users have to pay. If one has to use a commercial API in their application, they will have to pay the developer or the developing organization before they are allowed to use it with any one of their software.

4. Composite

These are a composition of two or more services or functions into one API. Two already existing APIs are combined together to form one new composite API.

These are really useful as there is software that needs the functionality of two APIs and they have to integrate both of them one after another.

The number of APIs in the code will increase the lines of code and that will directly impact the load on the app.

If two of them are integrated into one then the application can be faster. It also reduces the overall cost for any IT development company


How Do APIs Work?

Understanding the working of API can be a bit complex. To simplify it, we have taken the example of a railway booking system.

Let us assume that you have opened a website or app for booking a railway ticket from station A to station B.

You have filled in all the required details such as departure station, date, train, city, personal details, and other necessary stuff.

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Now the moment you fill this form and proceed with your booking procedure, a list of suitable trains appears showing details such as seat availability, timings, price, type of seats, and more. The technology behind all of this is the APIs.

In order to provide accurate data to the users, the platform created by a mobile application development company performs a request to the server of the website/app so that it is able to access the database and get all data with the help of API.

After this, the website responds with all relevant information that was formerly delivered via API.

With this example, we can see that API acts as a mediator which helps in streamlining the data sharing process.

While on the other hand, the website and the booking platform are two endpoints of the process. API does the job of connecting and establishing communication between these two.

API basically works in two ways as far as communication is concerned which are SOAP and REST.

Terminologies Associated With APIs

To use and understand something you need to know its terminologies. It is also useful when the organization decides to hire dedicated developers with a strong skill set.

Below all the basic terminologies related to APIs are mentioned with a brief introduction about them.

  1. API Key – This is a command that is passed on to computer software that calls the API. This is like a function call, they will call the API at the point where they are placed in the code or whenever the user asks for it by choosing it. These are also intended for authenticating the users to use the API within a program. Until the key is not entered, the API will not react to the program.
  2. Endpoint – The touchpoints that are used for interaction between the server and the API are known as the Endpoints.
  3. JSON – JavaScript Object Notion is a format of data. This is used by the APIs to interchange the data between them. It helps the APIs to work properly within a mobile application development company without any miscommunication problems. The information interchange can happen among a web server and web application or two applications. This is the reason why software behaves so smoothly.
  4. GET – GET is a method that is used by the system for requesting data from the server at a specific resource.
  5. POST – This method is just the opposite to GET. This is used for sending data to the API server that tells it to update or create a specific resource.
  6. OAuth – It is Open Authorization or just an authorization framework for APIs. This is something that provides secure and restricted data to the end user’s data that is meant to be used by the apps or third-party websites without having to access their password.
  7. Latency – This is the time taken by the APIs to process or respond to a request that is made by the software or the users. It is important to hire dedicated developers because this hugely affects the latency of the APIs created.
  8. Rate-limiting – It is the method of controlling the rate of incoming or outgoing traffic through the API. This process is called rate-limiting. It can also be defined as the total number of requests that the user makes to the API.
  9. API Throttling – API throttling is the time where the use of the API by the users is controlled. This is done to make changes to some parts of regulating the flow of requests in the application.

Tools Used For API Development

There are many options that are available when we talk about API development. Some of those tools that are used by the best of the API developers around the world are mentioned below:

1. Sandbox

This is one of the most popular API development tools. It offers fast and simple mock RESTful API from API definitions.

This is a tool that reduces the risk and cost that is related to third-party API calling while testing it. Developing an API with Sandbox is easy yet powerful.

2. Apigee

This API development tool is managed by Google itself. Yes, a tool that is managed by the internet search giant has to be one of the best in its category.

These tools really come out as a great help for companies that want to update their legacy software or want to transfer data between their application and services. Also, this comes in handy when the developer is building connected applications.

3. Dredd

This is an HTTP API testing framework that is used to validate the description of an API that works in the backend of a web application.

This tool goes through the description of the API thoroughly and it determines if the API is properly validated or not.

4. APIMatic

This is a developer experience platform for web APIs. This is intended for the mobile application development company that aims to create SDKs for the APIs.

These can work for almost 10 platforms. It is also used to keep it in sync with the updates of API.

This tool allows the developer to convert their API descriptions into different formats like WADL, Swagger, RAML, OAI format, API Blueprint, HAR 1.4, Postman Collections, IO Docs, etc.

5. SoapUI

This is an open-source testing tool that can operate on multiple platforms. SoalUI can be used to automate the tests.

It has the capability to automate both types of tests i.e., functional and non-functional tests. This is used for regression, compliance, executing, security, and load testing of the web APIs.

6. Swagger

This is another open-source API development platform. There are many big organizations like Microsoft, GettyImages, Apigee, and Paypal that make use of Swagger. This is one of the most trusted API development frameworks.

Features That Are Must-Have In API Design

There are a few features that can make API development fast and will also help to manage the team well. Some of those features have been listed below:

1. Authorization and Authentication

Authorization and authentication are the two pillars of data security. It basically means verifying the right identity.

Authorization can be defined as a medium of deciding whether a verified user can perform a particular action or not.

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Some of the most famous specifications for managing authorization as well as authentication are OAuth, OAuth2, and JWT.

2. Pagination

With the passage of time, it is evident that the database will grow in every mobile app development company.

As a result, some of the resources become slow and take a longer time to retrieve. The most common way of doing this is creating pagination or caching objects.

Paging can be defined as the process to determine how much data can be displayed. It also decides the frequency of displaying data.

Another process that ensures that users get data as per their requirements and modification is sorting.

3. Cache

A caching strategy makes it possible to retrieve resources at a very good speed. Once the data is ready for end-users consumption as well as in an in-memory database, the cost of requests is considerably reduced. For developing such a strategy, one can use tools such as Redis and Memcached.

4. Wrapper

API wrappers are associated with those containers that specify one particular language. Users combine various sets of API calls into user-friendly functions. Wrappers also have the ability to call several APIs without even interacting with the user.

5. HATEOAS

The full form of HATEOAS is Hypermedia as the Engine of Application State. It is one of the lists of modules of the REST application architecture.

Hypermedia can be defined as the content that consists of links to other forms of media including images, videos, etc. The usage of HATEOAS helps the users to coordinate with REST APIs.

6. Error Handling

Efficient error handling can help the developers debug the program easily at the later stages. It can help them identify if the problems that occurred were a result of a server error or client error.

There are some errors in which the client can change the requests but in others, they would have to contact the support team.

7. Validation

In API the correctness of the data is validated. It can be categorized into two categories:

  • Server Validation
  • Client-Side Validation

Both of these are important to keep the API running properly.

8. Testing

API testing is just like software testing. The code and the interface of the app are tested. The testing team makes sure that all parts of the API behave just the way it is intended.

Top Practices For Building APIs

When you know the best tools and must-have features to develop an API for an IT development company, you think that you can do it all.

But, if you are not aware of the best practices to develop an API all of it may go into vain. This is why here are some practices that you need to know about when you are developing your API.

1. Throttling

There are situations when you might have to redirect the traffic, safeguard from DoS or Denial of Service, and backup the APIs. Throttling the APIs is the best method that all developers should consider.

2. SDK and Libraries

If you wish to boost the speed of development and implementation then you need to offer all the important resources to your development team.

This can be done if you offer them resources that contain the lines of code that can be reused with any software that they are working with.

3. Security

You need to secure your API but this should not be done at the cost of the user-friendliness of the API.

If the user has to spend a lot of time just to pass the authentication tests, they might not be able to stay with the app for long.

If your application behaves like this then it is far away from being user-friendly. This is why your application should be safe but the process should be fast yet strict.

A software development company that deals with API development need to keep this in mind.

4. Documentation

It is a great practice to offer a big range of documentations. This is something that all API development companies need to consider.

You can create an extensive document for the API that allows other developers to understand everything about the API and its structure and development process.

It is always a good practice for a mobile app development company to document their development projects. This information will add up to the user experience.

5. Enable Overriding HTTP Method

There are some proxies that support POST and GET methods only and that is also the reason why developers should allow their RESTful API to override the HTTP method. This can be done by employing the custom header of HTTP X-HTTP-Method-Override.

Conclusion

API development is not a small task. These are the parts that help so many applications around the world.

Be it a web application, an android application, or an iOS app, all of them need API. Without APIs, developers today would have to spend so much time writing those lines of code that they can now just include in their code.

These are written in a way that they don’t change anything in the entire structure of the application in any wrong way.