Скачать или смотреть API Basics: What is an API and How Does It Work?

What is an API? In this video, discover what APIs are, how they function, and how they allow different software systems to interact and share data. Learn how developers use the power of APIs to integrate code from different sources, creating the web and mobile applications we use every day.

API stands for Application Programming Interface. An API is a set of protocols that let different pieces of software communicate with each other and share data. Developers use APIs to connect chunks of code from different places to create the web and mobile applications we use every day.

You can think of an API like a restaurant. The customer is the application, the waiter is the API, and the kitchen staff is the API server. The customer starts by reading the menu, which lists all the available food. When the customer places an order with the waiter, they are making an API request. The waiter takes the order to the kitchen, where the food is prepared and handed back to the waiter, who delivers it to the customer. The food is the API response. By design, the customer doesn’t need to interact with the kitchen directly—they only need to communicate with the waiter.

There are many types of APIs, including REST, SOAP, GraphQL, gRPC, MQTT, and more. Each one is suited to different applications. For example, REST APIs use HTTP verbs to create and retrieve resources, like a waiter running orders back and forth. gRPC uses HTTP/2 and handles larger volumes of complex data well, like a catering service compared to a typical restaurant.

Developers use APIs to add features and functionality to applications without rewriting existing code. For example, to provide text translation, a developer can call the Google Translate API instead of including a full dictionary in their app. APIs can also handle payments, social media sharing, and location services—tasks that have already been solved and can save time and money.

This video introduces what APIs are, how they work, and how they help developers build feature-rich, resilient applications. APIs are used everywhere, across every industry, with endless possibilities for what you can create.

Learn more about APIs here: https://go.pstmn.io/5e118463
00:00 What is an API?
00:25 Explanation API applications, servers, requests, and responses
01:30 Different types of APIs
02:15 How developers use APIs