APIs Flashcards
What is an API?
A set of commands, functions, protocols, and objects that programmers can use to create software or interact with an external system.
It provides developers with standard commands for performing common operations so they do not have to write the code from scratch.
What does an API documentation consist of?
Describes how you can interact with the chosen API.
What is cURL?
A way of making an HTTP request through the command line.
It’s a tool to transfer data from or to a server, using one of the supporting protocols.
What does the question mark after BTCUSD denote? : $ curl https://apiv2.bitcoinaverage.com/indices/global/history/BTCUSD?
The question mark denotes the beginning of your parameters
How does an API request happen?
Your server makes a request via the API or the interface to somebody else’s server and you’re passing in some parameters as inputs. And their server interacts with their database in order to grab the relevant piece of data that you need based off your request and your parameters.
Once it’s gotten that data then it sends it back through the response and you will end up with that data you wanted from their database.
What are the two tiers of APIs?
- APIs that are accessible to the public.
2. APIs that are only accessible internally.
