3.1.14 use of external code sources

Question 1

what is a web mashup?

Answer 1

a web page used to combine data from 2 or more sources to create a product

Question 2

what does API stand for?

Answer 2

application programming interface

Question 3

what do API provide?

Answer 3

a set of functions and procedures that allow the creation of applications which access the features/ data of an operating system, application, or other service.

Question 4

what 4 things can programmers use to integrate code from external sources into their code?

Answer 4

1 - external code
2 - web feeds
3 - JavaScript
4 - widgets

Question 5

give some examples of APIs

Answer 5

Flickr, Yahoo, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, PayPal, price comparison tools for online shopping and multi-site searches

Question 6

what is IFrame?

Answer 6

Inline Frame

a HTML document embedded inside another HTML document on a website

Question 7

what are IFrames used for?

Answer 7

used to embed content from another source into a webpage

Question 8

what can IFrames be configured with?

Answer 8

with its own scrollbar independent of the surrounding page’s scrollbar

Question 9

to the user IFrames are…

{2}

Answer 9

…still on the same site

the user does not have to reload the surrounding page

Question 10

but in reality IFrames have…

Answer 10

embedded content and programming from another source

Question 11

what do IFrames often use?

Answer 11

JavaScript

Question 12

what are IFrames designed to do?

Answer 12

designed to embed interactive applications in web pages which can be either client or server side

Question 13

what is an interface (in APIs)?

Answer 13

the way that code on 2 different systems can communicate with each other

Question 14

what are APIs carefully coded to do?

{2}

Answer 14

to expose only chosen functionality and data to 3rd parties who want to use the external functionality and code
- have to safeguard other parts of the application

Question 15

what are APIs shown as to the end user?

Answer 15

invisible to the end user - they run silently in the background

Question 16

what do APIs provide?

Answer 16

a channel for applications to work with each other to make sure hr client gets the required functionality and information

Question 17

examiner’s tip

Answer 17

you should be able to explain the use of external code sources and how to integrate code from these sources into your own code
(press 5 to move on)

Question 18

check your understanding question:

what is a mash up? {2 marks}

Answer 18

a coded application used to combine data from 2 or more sources to create a new product

Question 19

check your understanding question:

what is an IFrame? {2 marks}

Answer 19

an IFrame (Inline Frame) is an HTML document embedded inside another HTML document; it is used to embed content from another source into a Web page

Question 20

check your understanding question:

what is an API? {2 marks}

Answer 20

API stands for Application Programming Interface; an interface is a common boundary between 2 systems; an API allows code on 2 different systems to communicate with each other

Question 21

What are the advantages of external sources of code?

Answer 21

• APIs allow programmers to create programs much faster (dont have to rewrite code)
• APIs can be more secure because teams of developers maintain and update the code.
• External libraries simplify complex areas of coding so that non specialist programmers are still able to interact with devices that would otherwise require a high level of expertise to interact with.