if you ever come across the apple stock app then you have surely seen an API in action but maybe just didn't know.
The term API got me confused alot when i was first trying to understand it that's why in this section i will be explaining what an API is in the most simple form possible.
So the term API(application programming interface) An API is a set of programming code that enables data transmission between one software product and another. It also contains the terms of this data exchange.
Let me break it down a bit, an API is responsible for the information seen on apple's stock app, apple didn't want to waste lot of time gathering information from all different businesses so they decided to take the easy way an use an API with made the collection of data much more easier. So you can see an API as a bridge between an information and the backend, with APIs developer could get information's *10 faster.
TYPES OF APIs
Private APIs
These application software interfaces are designed for improving solutions and services within an organization. In-house developers or contractors may use these APIs to integrate a company’s IT systems or applications, build new systems or customer-facing apps leveraging existing systems. Even if apps are publicly available, the interface itself remains available only for those working directly with the API publisher. The private strategy allows a company to fully control the API usage.
Public APIs
An open API, also called public API, is an application programming interface made publicly available to software developers. Open APIs are published on the internet and shared freely, allowing the owner of a network-accessible service to give a universal access to consumers.
Partner APIs
Partner APIs are APIs exposed by/to the strategic business partners. They are not available publicly and need specific entitlement to access them. Like open APIs, partner APIs are the tip of the iceberg because they are the most visible ones and are used to communicate beyond the boundaries of the company.