What is an API? Complete Beginner's Guide

Modern software development relies heavily on the ability of different systems to communicate. Whether you are checking the weather on your smartphone, paying for a product with PayPal on an e-commerce site, or logging into a new app using your Google account, you are interacting with APIs. API stands for Application Programming Interface . To understand this concept, it is best to break it down into its core components. An Application refers to any software with a distinct function. The Interface is the point where two systems meet and interact. Therefore, an API is a set of rules and protocols that allow one software application to interact with another. In the physical world, an interface is something like a light switch. You do not need to understand the electrical grid, the wiring behind the wall, or the physics of electricity to turn on a light. You only need to know how to interact with the switch. The switch provides a simplified way for you to request a service from the electr