Computer Support Blog

Jargon, words specific to an industry, profession, or setting, tends to pop up with what a layperson might find to be an alarming frequency in articles that pertain to developments within the tech sector.  As a result, readers are bombarded with numbers and terms that many writers simply assume their readers are familiar with: USB, FireWire, Ivy Bridge, etc.  To help demystify the tech sector and make technical jargon more accessible to non-tech readers, we occasionally explore a common jargon term.  Today’s exploration is API.

API is a term thrown around with increasing frequency, especially in reference to programming apps for mobile computing devices like smartphones and tablet computers.  That leads many to the misconception that API solely pertains to apps.  However, API is a very broad term for a series of specifications that allow different types of software to interact with one another.  API stands for application programming interface, but in this context, “application” is more general – think “software” – than limited to mobile computing applications.

An application programming interface is a piece of proprietary software that utilizes source code, as opposed to binary codes.  This means that computer programmers who write APIs are not writing in mathematical codes, but using programming languages like Java, Visual C++, or python.  One of the first confusing aspects of APIs that many people outside the tech sector might not understand is that virtually every major platform on the Internet has its own, unique, programming style.  So, while Facebook and Twitter might have some similarities in how they look or operate, “under the hood” they are very different entities.  Writing programs for Facebook requires a different API than software you would use to integrate a product or service with the Twitter platform.

Many software programs utilize APIs to present information that tells your computer or mobile device how a program or application is supposed to look on each platform.  Have you ever encountered a website that looks very different using Internet Explorer versus Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox?  Sites look different ways sometimes because they are written with coding unique to the browser upon which it will be viewed.  In a similar fashion, there are many applications that look and respond differently on Android-based devices versus Apple iOS-driven devices because those applications have different APIs, specific to the mobile browser.

APIs are used to integrate content from one site or platform with another, like inserting a stock ticker for a specific stock issue from Yahoo! Finance with your website.  Because this is such a common practice, many in the tech sector assume that readers know all about APIs.  With competition heating up between major social networks and mobile operating systems, some are changing the way they let programmers program for their sites or platforms.  Twitter, for example, just dissolved a longstanding partnership with LinkedIn and now is limiting APIs that share information between the two networks.

Having even the most basic understanding of what an API is can make comprehending current events in the tech sector easier.

About RESCUECOM:

RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.

For More Information, Contact:

David Milman, CEO

315-882-1100

david@rescuecom.com

Filed under: computer help, david milman, Internet, networks, online resources, online support, performance, rescuecom, software