API in Simple Terms

Amir Mohtasebi (@amirmohtasebi)

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NFC API

What is API?- Application Programmable Interface

- It’s a contract between applications allowing them to talk to each other

- This contract is like English language. Everyone knows it.

- API input/output is machine readable

- The API we are talking about is mainly Web API, that is over the internet (rather than a device like iPhone)

ANY Weather

APP

MetServiceAPI

GET /Weather/Wellington

(Give me current Wellington Weather)

{ Min: 8, Max: 10, Description: “Partly Cloudy”

}

TMJ API Example: https://api.trademe.co.nz/v1/Categories/5000.xml

Traditional Way of Building Applications

Image Credit: CA APIAcademy

New Way: Decouple Data from UI

Image Credit: CA APIAcademy

Integration Opportunities are Everywhere

Image Credit: CA APIAcademy

Benefits:Allows us to create new:

- Applications (Mobile Apps, etc.)

- Revenue Streams

- Businesses

Access Models- Public

- To support someone else’s product- Goal: Growth and Adoption (e.g. Twitter and all the third-party clients it has)- Governance: Control over API

- Private- To support our own product- Goal: Reduces the cost of integration (Internal Payment Gateway)- Governance: Control over Product

- Partner- Built to support known products- Can be consumed by known entities (Integration with known third-parties)- Goal: Increase growth/reduce cost/use their resources and competitive advantage- Governance: Control over API and relationship

Summary- It is bringing $$ home

- API is an interface/contract between machines so it is as good as it’s documentation

- It helps us to provide value to the community and instead foster innovation, adoption, engagement

- API governance is important to protect our IP

- Open platform beats closed products every single time