API Component Set

The API (Application Programming Interface) set of components is used for interaction of programs with each other and data exchange. All interactions of API components are carried out using functions, classes, methods, structures, as well as constants of one application, which is accessed by others.

All APIs can be divided into two categories:

1. API, built into the browser use data from the browser and computer environment to do more complex work with it. For example, the Geolocation API provides data that you can already use to mark your location on an interactive map.
2. Third-party APIs are provided by services and sites that you need to find on the Internet yourself. For example, a bank API can provide you with real-time exchange rate information.

The main ways the API works are:

• SOAP API represents the simplest protocol and at the same time the least flexible API. The SOAP protocol provides data exchange between the server and the client via XML.
• RPC API belong to the category of remote procedure call systems, in which the client sends a request to the server, and the server sends a response to the same client.
• Websocket API supports two-way data exchange between the server and client applications, and transmits all information via JSON objects. Websocket API is the latest development of web API.
• REST API is currently the most popular and flexible API. In this way of working, client requests to the server are used to run internal functions, which then return data back to the client.

See also