(web) APIs
What is a web API?
Think of a Web API as a restaurant menu. When you visit a restaurant, you don't need to know how the chef cooks the food - you just order from the menu. Similarly, a Web API provides a "menu" of services that websites and apps can request. For example, if you want weather data, you can ask the Weather API for it, without needing to understand how the weather monitoring systems work.
What?
• Web APIs are structured communication protocols that allow different software applications to interact and exchange data with each other over the internet
• They act as intermediaries between different systems, enabling apps to request services, data, or functionality from other applications without needing to understand the underlying code
• Web APIs use standard web protocols like HTTP/HTTPS to send requests and receive responses, typically in formats such as JSON or XML
• They provide a secure way to access functionality by requiring authentication and limiting what actions external applications can perform
• Web APIs enable integration and data sharing across platforms, allowing developers to build upon existing services rather than creating everything from scratch
How?
Basic Structure: Web APIs are accessed through URLs (endpoints) where you send requests and receive responses.
Using Fetch API (Built into Browsers). Yes, a browser API to fetch an web API.
API Sources
Too many to list. See this popular listing sites.
https://publicapis.dev/
https://publicapi.dev/
https://www.postman.com/cs-demo/public-rest-apis/collection/tfzpqfc/public-rest-apis
https://github.com/public-api-lists/public-api-lists
https://github.com/public-apis/public-apis
References
For more information.
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