• Home
  • Archive
  • Tools
  • Contact Us

The Customize Windows

Technology Journal

  • Cloud Computing
  • Computer
  • Digital Photography
  • Windows 7
  • Archive
  • Cloud Computing
  • Virtualization
  • Computer and Internet
  • Digital Photography
  • Android
  • Sysadmin
  • Electronics
  • Big Data
  • Virtualization
  • Downloads
  • Web Development
  • Apple
  • Android
Advertisement
You are here: Home » API Basics in Plain English

By Abhishek Ghosh June 5, 2013 1:12 pm Updated on June 5, 2013

API Basics in Plain English

Advertisement

API Basics explains what we do with this API and why and how really you can use your own API. It is really not that difficult than it sounds to be. We wrote about API or Application programming interface in details in an article, how to test your Cloud Based App RESTful API, you have heard of WordPress API, this API, that API; but basically you never understood what this API is. If your understanding with API is like this situation, this light article on API Basics will definitely help you. This article API Basics not only explains but provides easy examples to build something of your own.

 

API Basics

 

API is a specification for a particular application that returns a set of functions for a specific task to interact with a specific software component. Sounds difficult ? Look, API can be very simple or very very complex. An API call might require privileged access (that means you will need some key to read it) or can be generally, publicly accessible. Quickly read this relatively unrelated guide – Find Your Facebook Fan Page ID and Facebook Profile ID Easily. You have heard that Facebook has API. Now, you want to know the number of Likes this website’s Facebook page. Well, you can do it by directly going to the real webpage on Facebook via browser. But just to know the number, what is the need of loading a whole webpage ?

Facebook describes here how to use such way :

Advertisement

---

 

Vim
1
https://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/api/selecting-results/

 

Practical example for the above situation to know our Facebook Page’s Fan number is to go to this URL :

 
API Basics in Plain English
 

http://graph.facebook.com/thecustomizewindows
 

Depending upon your Operating System, you will get it on browser result of array of data or you will prompted to save, save as text file. This is not meant to be directly read by you or me, it is intended for the programs which can easily get the data. If you are using OS X or Linux, you can open your Terminal App and also fetch the data in this way :

 

Vim
1
curl http://graph.facebook.com/thecustomizewindows

 

This returns this result :

 

So, without using browser we actually can know many data of our Facebook page. What is the use ? The use is for example to show it on Widgets or kind of such things. We need to use some programming language for that part. For example, Twitter follow button with follower number, the scripted thing will be :

 

  That will return this : Follow @AbhishekCTRL
These are kind of very simple examples. I have made that data-show-count=”false” to data-show-count=”true” ; that is why I am getting that number beside. The API call is within the Javascript in this case.

 

API Basics : Create a Simple Own API

 

This is a very basic example set :

 

 

This is intended for PHP, but can be modified and used in Ruby. In fact, the Syntax highlighting is with Ruby as there is no PHP opening tag. So, first you need to know some programming language, otherwise how you will write your own logics ? If you know the language, its simple like the above, you just need to keep it open, and provide a browser accessible output url. From $this -> $txt or from $that -> $json.

We should stop here in this guide because this is just the API Basics.

Abhishek-Ghosh Tagged With API Basics , basics of api , API description in plain english

This Article Has Been Shared 952 Times!

Facebook Twitter Pinterest

Abhishek Ghosh

About Abhishek Ghosh

Abhishek Ghosh is a Businessman, Surgeon, Author and Blogger. You can keep touch with him on Twitter - @AbhishekCTRL.

Here’s what we’ve got for you which might like :

Articles Related to API Basics in Plain English

  • Installing TYPO3 on Rackspace Cloud Sites

    Installing TYPO3 on Rackspace Cloud Sites provides you a basic information on TYPO3 CMS and guide on how to install this CMS on Rackspace Cloud Sites easily.

  • Red Hat OpenShift PaaS : Smart Guide to Host Your App

    Red Hat OpenShift PaaS has pre-configured one click installers for Frameworks, one click installers for WordPress, Drupal. Free for 50k visitors per month.

  • Installing Apache2 With PHP5 and MySQL Easy Guide

    Installing Apache2 With PHP5 and MySQL on Rackspace Cloud Server with Ubuntu Linux is written in easy language and as step by step guide for the newbies.

  • Install Open Journal Systems on Rackspace Cloud Sites

    Install Open Journal Systems on Rackspace Cloud Sites just like any other PHP MySQL based application in easy to follow steps.

  • Eight Tips for Secure Cloud

    Eight Tips for Secure Cloud are for are using the extremely useful services whose security are still regarded as uncertain. What users can do in this situation?

Additionally, performing a search on this website can help you. Also, we have YouTube Videos.

Take The Conversation Further ...

We'd love to know your thoughts on this article.
Meet the Author over on Twitter to join the conversation right now!

If you want to Advertise on our Article or want a Sponsored Article, you are invited to Contact us.

Contact Us

Subscribe To Our Free Newsletter

Get new posts by email:

Please Confirm the Subscription When Approval Email Will Arrive in Your Email Inbox as Second Step.

Search this website…

 

Popular Articles

Our Homepage is best place to find popular articles!

Here Are Some Good to Read Articles :

  • Cloud Computing Service Models
  • What is Cloud Computing?
  • Cloud Computing and Social Networks in Mobile Space
  • ARM Processor Architecture
  • What Camera Mode to Choose
  • Indispensable MySQL queries for custom fields in WordPress
  • Windows 7 Speech Recognition Scripting Related Tutorials

Social Networks

  • Pinterest (24.3K Followers)
  • Twitter (5.8k Followers)
  • Facebook (5.7k Followers)
  • LinkedIn (3.7k Followers)
  • YouTube (1.3k Followers)
  • GitHub (Repository)
  • GitHub (Gists)
Looking to publish sponsored article on our website?

Contact us

Recent Posts

  • Online Dating: How to Find Your Match March 20, 2023
  • Web Design Cookbook: Logo March 19, 2023
  • How Starlink Internet Works March 17, 2023
  • The Importance of a Camera Tracking System in Virtual Production March 15, 2023
  • Understanding the Key Differences between Docker and OpenVZ March 14, 2023

About This Article

Cite this article as: Abhishek Ghosh, "API Basics in Plain English," in The Customize Windows, June 5, 2013, March 20, 2023, https://thecustomizewindows.com/2013/06/api-basics-in-plain-english/.

Source:The Customize Windows, JiMA.in

PC users can consult Corrine Chorney for Security.

Want to know more about us? Read Notability and Mentions & Our Setup.

Copyright © 2023 - The Customize Windows | dESIGNed by The Customize Windows

Copyright  · Privacy Policy  · Advertising Policy  · Terms of Service  · Refund Policy

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT