In days gone by, the phrase “API integration” was known to a handful of people directly working with the API. Nowadays, in the rapidly developing world, when information and communication technologies, such as virtual IP telephony, customers resource management system and many others, have touched almost all business niches, this abbreviation is increasingly becoming popular among office workers and their managers, whose field of work is not correlates with the programming.
What does API mean, where is it use, and what is such an interface for? We will try to simplify these issues and discuss more about them in this article. Here are some examples that will help even “novices” to understand the essence of work and interaction with the API.
Definition and principle of operation
An API, or Application Programming Interface available on various API marketplace, helps describe how computer programs interact. For instance, it allows programmers to make an application installed on a smartphone, be it Instagram or Facebook, to connect with the server corresponding to it. It allows performing several actions or viewing certain information on the site with the help of the client. For performing this, developers create special codes containing a description of the data type, functions, procedures, constants, structures that help programs, simply put, to understand each other.
Examples of API usage
Usually, APIs are used for making programs and applications interact with operating systems or Websites. Let’s dwell on each of these examples in a detailed way:
Interaction of applications with operating systems
Most of the modern operating systems come with a built-in API. Such a thing allows programmers to develop programs that interact with a certain OS. In addition, the integration of API to graphical user interface makes it possible to use programs with the same type of user interface and significantly simplifies the development of new ones.
Simultaneously, the APIs of different operating systems have discrepancies that significantly complicate the transfer of a finished application from one platform to another. In such instances, you need to resort to some type of programming workarounds:
- Developing cross-platform libraries of tools.
- Creating libraries to map system calls of one operating system to system calls of another.
- Usage of cross-platform programming languages.
- Standardization of codes in programming languages.
Moreover, a developer usually has several different APIs available to help achieve the same result.
Web application
The application of API for promoting interaction among programs, services, and clients with websites is getting popular, so there are several examples of such use. Let’s consider some of them.
Data import and export
Usage of API while exporting or importing data from online services into desktop programs, smartphone apps or other different cloud services. For example, API integration allows you to integrate a virtual PBX with a CRM system or applications such as Google sheets. Moreover, it also allows you to automatically receive and save various kinds of data on customer calls: record telephone conversations, their duration, call time and much more.
Marketing research
With the help of API, developers can easily link the rapidly gaining popularity in Internet marketing, the call-tracking tools with customer relationship management software, Google Analytics services with platforms for targeted advertising by other systems. This suggests that you can clearly indicate to the service what information is necessary to be tracked, collected and transferred, where to save the data and what sorts of actions can be performed with it.
Payments
Interaction of smartphone applications and several online payment services with banking systems is not new. A similar “understanding” among such diverse systems is carried out through the help of the same API.
Search for products and services
It is very easy to use different online services available on the Internet to search for goods, services, and prices. This helps Internet resources “pull” the necessary information about products from primary sources. For example, you can easily find and book tickets for a flight without necessarily visiting a particular airline’s website. With the help of API integration, and based on the required user information about the time, place of departure, and destination, it displays offers directly to the online resource page.
Social networks and SIP telephony
As mentioned earlier at the starting of the article, API has long been used to connect smartphone applications with other social networks. After all, it makes it effortless to log in, comment on Instagram reels, Twitter using the application on your smartphone and not through the website itself.
It also makes it possible to use SIP clients on smartphones, computers and laptops. The latter’s interaction with the servers on which registration happens, connection with SIP clients and various other processes, to the same extend, is carry out using the same API.
What do APIs and modern business have in common?
It may seem that there is a connection between commercial activity and the API. However, there is no direct connection, but direct use of API to integrate different applications, programs, websites, etc., in businesses provides numerous advantages, such as:
- Integration of an e-commerce store or other commercial Internet resource with smartphone applications, desktop software, online services.
- Integration of IP-telephony with CRM, 1C and other useful systems for collecting and using customer data, call recording, call forwarding, telephone statistics, etc.
Of course, this is not the complete list of advantages that the use of API opens up. Many small and large-scale Internet companies, payment systems, financial organizations – all of them use modern technological trends because of the use of an Open API.
