apiwebdevelopment-blog
apiwebdevelopment-blog
APIs and Web Development
1 post
Everything you need to know about APIs and Web Development!
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
apiwebdevelopment-blog · 8 years ago
Text
The Increasing Importance Of APIs In Website Development
Over the past few years, web APIs have become more popular and seen an increase in usage.  Today, they are an important tool which web developers should use and they are also becoming an effective marketing tool for a range of businesses.  If you own a website, you need to understand the benefits and usefulness of APIs which are currently available to you.
What In An API?
Before you can look at all the benefits and uses of APIs, you need to know what they are. An API or Application Program Interface is a set of protocols and routines that provide the building blocks used by programmers and web developers.  In the past, APIs were commonly associated with operating systems and desktop applications.  However, this has changed with the emergence of Web APIs also known as Web Services.
Web APIs allow website design and development companies to create web pages and online applications by using data from a number of online sources.  There are many different Web APIs available for different markets and industries.  However, there are some APIs which are more popular and commonly used such as those in mapping, networking, music and shopping.  
Tumblr media
The Increase In Web API Popularity And Usage
ProgrammableWeb, one of the largest online API resources and directories, only have 32 APIs listed in the summer of 2005.  By March 2011, they announced that they had reached a major milestone with their 3000th Web API added to the directory.  Another major milestone was announced on October 3, 2011, when they added their 4000th Web API.  This 1000 API increase in 6 months shows how popular Web APIs have become.
This is the largest API directory on the web.
Popular Web APIs
Among the most popular Web APIs are those that relate to social media.  The number of social media APIs has increased over the years with the increased usage of social media networks.  There is a direct link in the increase in API popularity with the rise of companies such as Facebook and Twitter.  The Google+ API is the search engine's addition to this increasing market, but the API is still read-only and will only support public data.
Tumblr media
Image credit: programmableweb
Web API Protocols
When it comes to Web API protocols, REST or Representational State Transfers are widely considered the standard.  There are other protocols which are used for Web APIs that you should know about.  These protocols include JavaScript and Soap.
Web API Data Formats
The most popular data format for Web APIs is XML, however, it should be noted that JSON has been growing in popularity.  There are many web developers that prefer JSON for a number of reasons.  One of the reasons is that the data can be read without any complex parsers.  Another reason is that parsers for JSON exist in almost all programming languages.
The parsers used for JSON are also small, fast and less complicated than others. The JSON output is also smaller than XML because there is no need for attributes, namespaces and other features that XML include.  There are many API providers that offer both JSON and XML data formats, but JSON's increased popularity has resulted in some providers only working with JSON data formats.
An example of a JSON only Web API is the Twitter Streaming API.  FourSquare's APIv2 is another and the company states that the reason for only having JSON data formats is that it provides better performance behind the scenes.
The Benefits Of Web APIs
The target market for Web APIs is generally the web developer community.  However, these APIs can also be very beneficial to the end user of the products as well as the API providers.  It is important that you understand all of the benefits of Web APIs before you start using them.
For web developers, the Web API allows an advance in features and functionality for the websites that they create.  There is also the option of greater customization and flexibility when a Web API is used.  Standard widgets can be limited and this is something that many developers will want to avoid.
For end users, a good Web APU will increase the overall usefulness of the website.  The API can also make the website more interactive and enjoyable to use.  These are all factors that end users look for when they visit a website.  
For API providers, a well-built API that is widely used can be a very useful marketing tool.  The API can increase interest in the products and services of the provider and increase website traffic.  It will also be a useful tool to consumers and help to convey the overall message of the company.
youtube
Some Of The Useful Web APIs Currently Available
It should be noted that there are thousands of different Web APIs available and not all of them will be practical or useful to the average web developer.  Many of these APIs are free to use if you follow the terms of service that the provider creates.  It is also important to note that not all APIs are free to use and some will have fees associated with their use.
The Amazon Product Advertising API is a free API that allows developers to display and access Amazon's catalog of products.  The products will be displayed on web pages or within a web-based application.  It is also possible for developers to use the Amazon Affiliate Program to earn an income through the API.
There are 2 Bing APIs that you should know about which are free to use.  The first is the Bing Search API and the second is the Bing Map API.  These APIs allow you to add the functionalities to your applications.
The Envato Marketplace API allows you to access and display Marketplace data.  Some of the data that you can show includes item details, popular files, new files and more.  
The Facebook API offers social plugins which display posts on Facebook and Like buttons for your website.  There are a number of APIs available from Facebook including chat, ads and internationalization.  
The Google Charts Tool allows you to create different charts to display data on your website.  You can use area charts, bar charts, pie charts, line charts and many other types of common chart options.  Google also offers a Google Feed API which makes it possible to mash up public RSS, Atom and Media RSS feeds.  You can also display and integrate the feeds onto your website.
The Google Maps API Family is a group of Map related APIs which allow you to add map functionality to your website.  There is a range of different map functions available such as embedding Google Maps, embedding a static Google map and adding geocoding functionality.  You will also be able to embed Google directions and Google Earth.
Another Google API you should know about is the Google Libraries API.  This is a content distribution network that is very widely used on JavaScript libraries and includes Dojo, Mootools, jQuery, jQuery UI and Prototype.  
The Google+ API is an API solely for the Google+ social network.  It allows you to add any Google+ feature to your application or website.  This API is currently read-only and only allows access to public data.
All of the Google APIs and tools will allow you to add advanced functionality to your website.  There is a complete list available from the search engine.  It is important to note that Google Code Labs are experimental and some of the listed APIs will remain with Google Code Labs permanently.  There are other APIs which may graduate and receive support from Google or be shut down in the future.  If you want to use APIs from Google that will have long-term support, you should only look at ones that have graduated from Google Code Labs.
The LinkedIn API is available on 2 different protocol formats.  These are JavaScript and REST.  It is possible to use the API to display company information as well as job information by industry, company or more.  
The StackExchange API is only available in JSON format.  It is possible to use this API to show questions, answers, comments and more from any of the StackExchange websites.
The Twitter API offers nearly every feature which is available on the official Twitter website.  You can use this API to create applications, widgets and websites that interact with Twitter.  It is also possible to use the API to display your latest Twitter posts, Twitter lists and more.
There are several APIs offered by YouTube to integrate YouTube functionality into your website.  The Player API is especially useful because it allows you to control the feel and look of YouTube videos which are displayed on your website.
YIU Charts is an API that allows you to add combinations of charts to your website.  The API uses HTML Canvas, SVG and VML to render all of the graphical elements needed for the charts.  
API Testing Tools
There are a number of API testing tools that you can use.  These tools include Google Code Playground, Apigee Console and Twitter Console.  There are hundreds of APIs that you can experiment with in Google's Code Playground.  Apigee lets you test a number of different APIs including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Twilio.  
0 notes