WEB API
What is a Web API
API stands for Application Programming Interface. API is actually some kind of interface which is having a set of functions. Web API helps in enabling the development of HTTP services. A Web API is just an Interface to allow access to your system (such as site) via standard HTTP request methods. The data itself is usually wrapped in some standard format (such as JSON or XML) to make it easy to handle. Let’s have a look for Web API.
Web applications are popular as the web browser is available in default, we don’t need any installation of software on computers with operating systems. Web API is the enhancement form of the web application to provide services on different kind of devices like laptop, mobile and others. The web API can be developed by using different technologies such as java, ASP.NET, etc.
Web APIs are very useful in implementation of RESTFUL web services using .NET framework. Web API helps in enabling the development of HTTP services to reach out to client entities like browser, devices or tablets. ASP.NET Web API is used for performing HTTP services that can be accessed by cross-platform clients on different applications, including such as web, windows, mobile, etc. ASP.Net Web API supports Restful applications and uses GET, PUT, POST, DELETE verbs for client communications.
Web API Features
- Supports convention-based CRUD actions, since it works with HTTP verbs GET, POST, PUT and DELETE.
GET (Read)- Retrieves the representation of the resource.
PUT(Update)- Update an existing resource.
POST (Create)- Create a new resource.
DELETE (Delete)- Delete an existing resource.
2. Accept header and status code for HTTP responses.
3. ASP.NET Web API is a perfect platform for building RESTful services.
Server Side web API
A server-side web API is a programmatic interface. It consists of one or more publicly exposed endpoints. It defines a request-response message system.
Client side web API
Client Side web APIs target standardized JavaScript bindings.
Why use Web API?
Web API uses by different kind of users,
- Mobile Browsers
- Mobile Applications.
- IOT devices.
A Web API helps to access service data from different internet devices like browsers, mobile apps, and other devices. Web API helps to work on RESTful Web Services. And also, with the help of Web APIs we can develop light weight and maintainable web services which has good performance. The devices that have tight bandwidth or having a limitation in bandwidth, then the Web API services are the best for those devices. So, according to above description Web APIs make get data or use functions easy.
Examples for Web APIs
We can take ,
- Twitter APIs,
- Facebook APIs
- Google APIs
- YouTube APIs
as web APIs that use by organizations like Google, Facebook for the purpose of getting data.
Limitations of Web APIs
- If the Web API provider decides to change or remove its APIs in response to unintended use of its data , your archiving tool will no longer work. That means — for how long you don’t have access to API- you cannot continue your work.
- A good web takes a little time to think through and plan.
