Is an API a software ?

Question

Hi ducks. I know that API stands for Application Programming Interface and it is used to send a query to database/... and receive answer. But is it a software or piece of code or what ? and any example of an API ?

Answer 1

API is not necessarily used to send queries to a database. It is not SQL!

Let's start from the basics. API is an interface to a program. It ensures guided usage of the program.

A little analogy might help. Say you have a water dispenser, the type with buttons. When you need hot water, you don't disassemble the machine and work out hot water yourself. Instead, you simply press a button and hot water is "magically" produced. If that dispenser was a computer program, the buttons are the API.

An API ensures that clients of a program only use it in the intended way without breaking things. API can be a few accessor methods in a program. It can also be something as complex as a native app.

APIs are necessary when more than one person needs to modify a program e.g a database. Not everybody has good database skills also third-party apps may need to access your database. You don't go about giving direct access to anyone that needs to use your database.

Answer 2

No, it's a description or blueprint of an interface. A software can implement or use that interface, but API on its own is not a software

Answer 3

It's basically a function. A complicated one but still one.

The function takes parameters you send it and comes back with a response, whether XML or JSON