API

API
(Application Programming Interface)

 
HTTP

↬ HyperText Transfer Protocol.
↬ Rules for getting something from one place to another.
 
REST
↬ Representational State Transfer.
↬ it must do the following:

1. Separate the client from the server
2. Not hold state between requests
3. Use HTTP and HTTP methods 

The Four Verbs

1. GET: retrieves information from the specified source
2. POST: sends new information to the specified source.
3. PUT: updates existing information of the specified source.
4. DELETE: removes existing information from the specified source.

 

Anatomy of a Request

 

1) request line

2)header

3)body  

 

Authentication & API Keys

 

"APIs require authentication using a protocol called OAuth." 

Eg:

var apiKey = "FtHwuH8w1RDjQpOr0y0gF3AWm8sRsRzncK3hHh9";

 

XML 

(E xtensible Markup Language )