Application programming interface: a defined way for software systems to exchange requests and information.
An API sets out how one piece of software can use data or functions supplied by another. The software making a request follows the interface’s rules, and the receiving software processes it and returns an appropriate response. Web APIs carry these exchanges across a network, while other APIs operate within a program or device. An integration uses such interfaces to connect systems or automate a workflow. Knowing an API therefore means understanding the requests it accepts and the information it returns, alongside the rules governing access.
In job listings
Birks sought a Senior Business Applications Developer in Montreal with REST API and web-services skills, alongside JavaScript, Node.js and JSON. The requirement concerned programming interfaces and the technologies used around them. It provides a specific example of API knowledge as a technical skill in business application development. Search local jobs for “api”.
