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What is API (Application Programming Interface)?

A set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate and exchange data.

APIs define how software components interact. Web APIs (typically REST or GraphQL) allow applications to request and send data over HTTP. For example, a weather app uses a weather API to get forecast data.

REST APIs use standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) and return JSON/XML. GraphQL APIs let clients specify exactly what data they need. API design principles include versioning, authentication, rate limiting, and clear documentation.

Related Terms

Middleware
Software that sits between the request and response in a web application, performing processing like authentication or logging.
API Rate Limiting
A strategy for limiting the number of API requests a client can make within a specified time window to protect server resources.
Cookie
A small piece of data stored in the browser by a website to remember user preferences, login state, or tracking information.
CORS Headers
HTTP headers that control cross-origin resource sharing between different domains, specifying allowed origins, methods, and headers.
Canonical URL
An HTML element that tells search engines which URL is the preferred version of a page when duplicate or similar content exists at multiple URLs.
GraphQL
A query language for APIs that lets clients request exactly the data they need, reducing over-fetching and under-fetching.
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