Deciphering the evolution of APIs and managing internal API systems

I'm currently exploring the world of APIs and I have a few questions that are puzzling me.

Question1: I understand that APIs facilitate communication between different applications. But why would a company need an API for internal use? For example, if XYZ company has a Java/JS application that accesses data using its own internal API, what is the purpose of having an API when the resource is within the same company? Additionally, should such an API be RESTful or SOAP-based?

Question2: Imagine I have users interacting with my API "x1" which connects to database "d1" with schema "s1". If I were to transition to a new database "d2" with schema "s2" and a new API "x2", how can I ensure a seamless transition for my users without them being aware of the changes? How can this migration be done transparently?

Question3:

Furthermore, what does it mean when they say "REST can be cached"? Can you provide an example to illustrate this concept? Are REST and SOAP the only types of APIs available?

These questions were posed to me recently, and I found myself struggling to provide clear answers. Can someone shed some light on these topics and help clarify my confusion?

javascriptjsonapirest

Answer №1

An Application Programming Interface (API) is essentially a toolbox of reusable functions designed to perform specific tasks. When you use a function like `fopen` in a C program, you are actually utilizing the POSIX API, which dictates how that function should operate. The beauty of APIs lies in their ability to abstract away the intricacies of each function's implementation, allowing your program to seamlessly run on different systems with the help of corresponding libraries.

While direct APIs work well within the same system and programming language, there are cases where more diverse resources need to be integrated. This calls for alternative types of APIs such as text-based interfaces or Inter-Process Communication (IPC) methods like signals and pipes.

Enter networked APIs, particularly Web APIs, which enable seamless communication between processes regardless of their physical location. By leveraging HTTP and related technologies, Web APIs empower organizations to create public interfaces and scale their systems across multiple servers using various languages and tools. The concept of abstraction enables easy replacement of API services without disrupting the programs consuming them, potentially easing the process of system redesigns.

Web APIs can be built in many ways, but they generally fall into two main categories:

  • RPC (Remote Procedure Call) APIs revolve around actions and predefined parameters, mimicking remote function calls. Standardization efforts like SOAP provide guidelines for structuring RPC-style APIs using XML envelopes.
  • Resource-oriented APIs shift focus to objects rather than actions, resembling access to resources through URLs with defined representations. REST embodies this approach by mapping URLs to objects and utilizing HTTP methods like GET, POST, PUT, etc., for handling operations on these objects.

Language neutrality in APIs necessitates defining data representation formats, with commonly used formats being XML and JSON, along with alternatives like Google's Protocol Buffers.

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