Confused about APi term
I never quite understood the definition of "API", it's been years now
For me in the beginning, it was fetching data from some server like twitter api, discord api, and reddit api, API acts the bridge. But then in MDN docs, some stuff (maybe methods i dont remember) is declared as API.
Also, now im reading about promises, its called an API too: https://davidwalsh.name/promises
Please help me with this doubt
The JavaScript Promise API... XMLHttpRequest API Battery API Fetch API (this does makes sense to me coz we fetch data and manipulate it)what even is an API?
11 Replies
api is a broad term
it just means "application programming interface"
i cant understand it for other stuff
like Promises
how is "JS Promises" an api?
Commonly we use the term api for interaction with backend servers. That's what you are thinking of right now.
but it could be also something to connect to via browser, window, local machine or whath ever.
you dont know what is happening internally with all those services, but it is made easier for by having an interface that exposes a set of methods or properties to call/use
Fetch API → interact with servers
Promise API → interact with async values
DOM API → interact with HTML
Twitter API → interact with Twitter data
it's not just that: it defines a way on how you interact with the thing
or how the thing will behave
for example, the dom api exists in php too, and it is really close to what exists in js
and others that use the dom model should work mostly the same
another example, with twitter, you can have a rest api
and that, yes, describes how the server-side works and a strusture it should follow
the promise api does stuff with the scheduling, but you can only use it with the methods that exist
same for the accelerometer, serial, bluetooth, webgl/webgpu
i do understand the confusion of OP.
Normally you hear people say. 'Does it have an api?" but then we are talking about controlling data from a different source or such
We don't really use the term for things that are directly accessible, like in the application we work in.
yeah, but "api" behaves more like a concept than something defined in strict rules
like the concept of color in general
API stands for "application programming interface" and is a fancy way of saying, "this is the contract we agree to for you to intereact with [something]". So the fetch API is how you interact with fetch requests. The DOM API is how you interact with the document object model. The Twitter/Discord/Reddit/etc (REST) API is how you interact with that service via REST. Which is another topic that is wildy misused—even the person who created the idea says the way 90% of people use it is wrong 🤷
and if you want to confuse things even more, there is abi - application binary interface
which is the set of methods/functions and data that a binary exposes and expects you to use
ahhhhhhhhh
Thank you
Yes, I was thinking about backend
One thing to help understand "why API?" is that it is a computer industry term dating back to the late 60s and the "idea" existed long before that. It is simply an established set of rules for communicating between modules. Those modules can be full applications or parts of applications. Software or hardware. When you expand the term beyond the realm of web development, the way it is used in web development makes more sense.
— For a good explanation (if you want a deep-dive) see this Wikipedia article (which is where I got a couple of the specifics—and to make sure I knew what I was talking about).
API
An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build such a connection or interface is called an API specification. A computer system that meets this standard...
this sounds ai generated, but pretty accurate