A Complete Guide to API Development – Importance, Working, Tools, Terminology and best Practices

Assuming that you’ve heard the word ‘API’ for like a zillion times while communicating with mobile app developers, today I’m going to cover everything about APIs in this article which includes what is API, API development, how to use API, how does API work and so on. So, put on your seat belts and get ready to get into the world of APIs – the superheroes behind the functioning of the mobile apps.

What is API and Why Is It Important?

API (Application Programming Interface software) is a set of instructions, standards or requirements that enables a software or app to employ features/services of another app, platform or device for better services. In short, it’s something that lets apps communicate with each other. For example, when we hit the ‘Connect Facebook’ button on Candy Crush, it does not ask us to enter our Facebook account details. Rather, it accesses the data from the Facebook server and lets us enjoy playing – all thanks to API. An API is the base of all the apps that deal with data or enable communication between two products or services. It empowers a mobile application or platform to share its data with other apps/platforms and ease the user experience without involving the developers. On the top of it, APIs eliminate the need to build a similar program or platform from scratch; you can use the existing one or some other app/platform. Because of these factors, both app developers and business leaders focus on the API development process.