Unlocking the Magic of Digital Interactions - Introducing API, the Bridge Between Worlds!

Unlocking the Magic of Digital Interactions - Introducing API, the Bridge Between Worlds!

APIs, or Application Programming Interfaces, are the invisible bridges that enable different software systems to communicate and interact with each other. They serve as intermediaries, allowing developers to access specific functionalities or data from one application to use in another. APIs are the backbone of modern technology, empowering diverse platforms, websites, and mobile apps to share information seamlessly. They simplify complex processes, enhance user experiences, and foster innovation by promoting collaboration and integration between software components. In essence, APIs play a crucial role in unlocking the potential of digital ecosystems, making the exchange of information between applications fast, efficient, and effortless. Application Programming Interface or API is a software interface that allows two applications to interact with each other without any user intervention. For example: if I want to render some data stored in a JSON from a backend server, an API can be used.

SOAP:

Simple Object Access Protocol or SOAP is a communication standard which was built in the '90s by Microsoft and has a heavy file structure with a database. It does not provide caching so reloading is slow when SOAP is used, but it has a very good security protocol. You can consider it as an envelope inside which the letter stays, similarly when data is encapsulated using SOAP.

REST:

Representational State Transfer or REST is an architectural style that defines a set of constraints to be used for creating web services. REST API is a way of accessing web services simply and flexibly without any processing. It allows caching, just faster reload but lacks the principle of good security. You can consider it as a postcard in which the message is visible, similarly when data is visible and not hidden.


What does API consist of?

An Endpoint :

An API Endpoint is the URL ending for a server or a service. In

Eg: https://v2.jokeapi.dev/joke/Any?contains=program

In this URL /Any?contains=program is the endpoint.

A Method:

An HTTP request of what should be done by API

Eg: GET, POST, DELETE, PUT, PATCH

A Header:

It is the set of data and metadata associated with the API

Eg:

A Body:

A body is the data your API sends to/for the client.

Eg:

A Param:

API parameters are the variable parts of a resource

Eg: contains=program&category=Programming

Status Code:

An HTTP status code is a message a website's server sends to the browser to indicate whether or not that request can be fulfilled.

Listed below are a few common status codes:

1xx

100: Continue

101: Switching Protocol

102: Processing (WebDAV)

103: Early Hints

2xx

200: OK

201: Created

202: Accepted

203: Non-Authoritative Information

204: No Content

205: Reset Content

206: Partial Content

207: Multi-Status (WebDAV)

208: Already Reported (WebDAV)

226: IM Used (HTTP Delta encoding)

3xx

300: Multiple Choice

301: Moved Permanently

302: Found

303: See Other

304: Not Modified

305: Use Proxy

306: unused

307: Temporary Redirect

308: Permanent Redirect

4xx

400: Bad Request

401: Unauthorized

402: Payment Required

403: Forbidden

404: Not Found

405: Method Not Allowed

406: Not Acceptable

407: Proxy Authentication Required

408: Request Timeout

409: Conflict

410: Gone

411: Length Required

412: Precondition Failed

413: Payload Too Large

414: URI Too Long

415: Unsupported Media Type

416: Range Not Satisfiable

417: Expectation Failed


How is an API made?

A basic API consists of three components:

Route:

API routes provide a solution to build your API with any framework (for example Next.JS, Django) Any file inside the folder pages/API is mapped to /API/* and will be treated as an API endpoint instead of a page.

Controller:

API Controller handles incoming HTTP requests and sends a response back to the caller. It consists of functions which define action and are needed to be performed.

Model:

API Model defines the data storage format and the data transaction format.


API Security

HTTPS

We can secure an HTTP by adding TLS certification. Without TLS, a third party could intercept and read sensitive information in transit, like API credentials and private data.

Password Hash

We can add a password by the means of hashing algorithm(bcrypt, SHA) to access API data. The method also keeps a check on the integrity of the password

API Key

An API key is a code used to identify and authenticate an application or user, used to control the utilization of the API’s interface and track how it is being used.

O Auth

OAuth is an open-standard authorization protocol or framework that describes how unrelated services can safely allow authenticated access to their assets without actually sharing any sensitive information.

Time Stamp

Along with other request parameters, you may add a request timestamp as an HTTP custom header in API requests. The server will compare the current timestamp to the request timestamp and only accepts the request if it is after a reasonable timeframe (30 seconds, perhaps).


To read about more APIs, refer to these blogs: